The Blue Jays ranked eighth in MLB in Defensive Runs Saved last season with 44 and they’ve spent a good portion of their offseason trying to improve upon that. A closer look at the components of Defensive Runs Saved might explain why.In 2022, the Blue Jays ranked 3rd in Runs Saved from infield and outfield [...]
This is the time of year when we typically write about the Hall of Fame-worthiness of players on this year’s ballot. We’ve previously written about almost all of the prominent candidates and we can sum it up thusly: By the Bill James-created Hall of Fame Value stat (HOF-V)*, which sums a player’s Win Shares and four times [...]
Happy Holidays!Every year at this time we do some supplemental, statistically-driven MLB awards. These will salute some of the leaders in specific areas of our recordkeeping. Here are the 2022 winners:The Hard-Hitter AwardSports Info Solutions charts every batted ball as hard-, medium- or soft-hit, based on the ball's location and velocity (note that this differs [...]
The most distinct thing about how Carlos Correa plays shortstop is that he does so in a way that minimizes the mistakes he makes. We can back up what we say here based on tracking done by our Video Scouts, who watch every play of every game. They credit and demerit players using approximately 30 categories of [...]
Trea Turner and Aaron Judge were among those richly rewarded with new contracts at this year’s winter meetings. We mention them specifically not just because of the size of their contracts, but because they’re currently adjacent to each other on a prominent statistical list. Player Total Runs Shohei [...]
By MARK SIMONIf only it were so simple such that we could judge Hall of Fame candidates just on their on-field performance.If we did, the Contemporary Baseball Era player ballot would look a lot different than the eight names who will be voted upon by a committee of 16 voters on Sunday.Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, [...]
For the third straight year, Sports Info Solutions is rewarding defensive excellence on a global level. Today, we announce the winners of the NPB and KBO Fielding Bible Awards.The awards were voted on by a panel of experts and members of SIS’ operations staff, who spent the entire season tracking NPB and KBO games. Among [...]
This article is an abridged version of one on NL MVP candidates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado that appears in The Bill James Handbook, available now from ACTA Sports.If we’re going to talk about the best infield corner combos in major league history, we can begin by producing a list of instances in which a [...]
By MARK SIMONChas McCormick played 52 of the 220 games he played college baseball at Division II Millersville (Pa.) University in center field. In the minors, he played 270 games in the outfield and only 56 in center field.But in the majors, the Astros have needed him to be adept at the position, particularly after [...]
SIS is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Fielding Bible Awards. This marks the 17th season that we have honored the best defensive players in MLB. The awards are voted on by a panel of experts who consider statistical analysis, the eye test, and any other factors that they wish to consider. Here [...]