The 1979 California Angels
The Angels’ franchise entered its 19th season without a single playoff berth. However, the club finished second in the previous campaign and expectations were high as GM Buzzie Bavasi acquired Rod...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the...
Would your favorite baseball team make the playoffs if player X had not been traded? Imagine your team’s roster from any particular year. Remove all of the players that your team acquired through...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – Sustained Mediocrity
About the Book In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1901 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team. I...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1902 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1903 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1904 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1905 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1906 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1907 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1908 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1909 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – General Manager Scorecard
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1910 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1911 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – General Manager Trading Scorecard
Inspired by the Philadelphia Phillies chapter in the “Bill James Baseball Abstract 1985” entitled “The Philadelphia Trading Record” (pages 202-206), the following study reveals the best and worst of...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1912 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1913 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleTaking the Extra Base: The Players
Stimulated by the Texas Rangers chapter in the “Bill James Baseball Abstract 1984” entitled “Running The Bases” (pages 156-159), the following study reveals the top base runners in the past 85 seasons...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1914 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleTaking the Extra Base: The Teams
The following entry complements my preceding article, “Taking the Extra Base: The Players”. I will review my findings with respect to team baserunning outcomes. Inspired by the Texas Rangers chapter in...
View ArticleFun Facts About Inside-the-Park Home Runs
One of the most exciting plays in baseball is the inside-the-park home run. The ITPHR is a rare event in today’s game due, primarily due to smaller field dimensions. It can involve a diving attempt at...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1915 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleThe Best Pitchers Who Never Threw A No-Hitter
The no-hitter remains one of the rarest feats in Major League Baseball as only 237 complete game no-hitters have been hurled since 1901 (roughly 1.5 no-hitters per year). Let’s examine a group of...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – The Journey From Expansion to Competitive Team
In the comments section from one of my recent articles, “nocaBall” posed the following query: “I would like to ask your opinion of how many years it takes an expansion team to develop a complete team?...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1916 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – The Worst In-Season Trades Since 1950
The in-season deal in modern baseball is typically proposed under the following circumstances: A team may wish to trade a potential free agent that will likely sign with another team in the upcoming...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – 1917 Season Replay
In “Hardball Retrospective: Evaluating Scouting and Development Outcomes for the Modern-Era Franchises”, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original team....
View ArticlePark-Neutral Home Runs
“The ways in which the ballparks alter the game and therefore the statistics of the players who play there are so massive that it is impossible to perceive the abilities of the players accurately...
View ArticleRotisserie vs. Reality
Are the standard Rotisserie Baseball categories an accurate way to measure what it takes to put together a winning team in real life? Using Sean Lahman’s baseball database (specifically the totals from...
View ArticleBABIP by Location
Are there any factors that influence batting average to various locations on a baseball diamond? Does batter or pitcher “handedness” provide any advantage? Can we identify traits among the leaders in...
View ArticleBaseball Birthplaces and the Retro World Baseball Classic
Upon the conclusion of the 2017 World Baseball Classic (the fourth iteration of the tournament which began in 2006), I started to wonder how the rosters would have looked in previous years. Using...
View ArticleHardball Retrospective – Addendum 2014 to 2016
The following article supplements my research for Hardball Retrospective, providing retroactive standings based on WAR and Win Shares for each “original” team over the past three seasons (2014-2016)....
View ArticleIdentifying the Largest Gaps Between Teams and Their Farm Systems
In the process of conducting research for the “Minors vs. Majors” chapter for my upcoming book “Hardball Retroactive,” I tabulated the overall won-loss records among the minor league affiliates for...
View ArticleState of the Game – Mike Port on Umpiring, Rule Changes and Analytics
Mike Port’s professional baseball career spanned more than four decades, from 1969 to 2011. When his aspirations to play in the big leagues ended with an injury shortly after signing with San Diego, he...
View Article
