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John Dewan's Stat of the Week
Fielding Bible Awards Preview (Part I)
For the next two weeks, this space will feature a two-part series on the top candidates for The Fielding Bible Awards, which will be announced later this month.The Fielding Bible Awards are voted on by a panel of experts who can vote based on whatever criteria they choose, including observation and subjective judgement, as well [...]
Who's the NL MVD (Most Valuable Defender)?
The NL MVP race has tightened up. Though it appeared that Paul Goldschmidt’s winning was a foregone conclusion for much of the season, Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado and Freddie Freeman have all been worthy competitors.The NL MVD race (MVD standing for Most Valuable Defender) is also quite tight. Three players are separated by 0.1 Defensive [...]
Who's the AL MVD (Most Valuable Defender)?
People love debating the MVP races every year. We’re seeing it now, particularly with some who wish to consider the merits of a one-of-a-kind player in Shohei Ohtani versus a player having a one-of-a-kind season in Aaron Judge.But what about the race for MVD – Most Valuable Defender?You can think of this as an early [...]
What's Aaron Judge Crushing?
Did you see Brewers pitcher Luis Perdomo’s reaction to giving up Aaron Judge’s 59th home run of the season?Perdomo made the ultimate mistake.** Click here to see it **First off, he threw Judge a slider.Per FanGraphs’ pitch values, which have been tracked for the last 20 seasons (using our pitch data), no hitter has had [...]
Which Teams Shift The Most?
By MARK SIMONThe Dodgers have led the majors in full shift frequency in each of the last four seasons, so they're going to have some adjusting to do with the implementation of new rules prohibiting such defensive alignments next season.A full shift is defined as one in which three infielders are playing on the pull [...]
The Yankees and 100 Defensive Runs Saved
The Yankees hit a milestone earlier this week when they reached 100 Defensive Runs Saved for the season.Now understand that Defensive Runs Saved aren’t like wins or home runs. Your defensive performance can fluctuate and the Yankees did in fact dip below 100 to their current total, 98. They’ll likely finish at or above 100 [...]
August's Defensive Player of the Month
By MARK SIMONThis is not a misprint. Reds outfielder Aristides Aquino has 19 Defensive Runs Saved in 389 innings this season.Aquino tied for the MLB lead with 9 Runs Saved in August and won our voting for MLB Defensive Player of the Month for August.What differentiates Aquino, and helps him record so many Runs Saved [...]
Albert Pujols Finishing With A Flourish
As of July 9, the Albert Pujols farewell tour had been a dud. He was hitting .198 with a .624 OPS.But over the last six weeks, the Cardinals designated hitter and occasional first baseman has looked much more like he did in his prime.Since July 10, he’s hitting .393 with 10 home runs and 20 [...]
Aaron Judge's Amazing Stretch ... and Season
By MARK SIMON“Oh what a sock it was!”“It was one of the sockiest socks we ever saw.”Those are the words from the person who wrote the game story in the New York Daily News for the Yankees' 4-3 win over the Tigers on May 26, 1920 (there's no byline, so they are forever anonymous to [...]
Notable Outfielders Dealt At Deadline
BY MARK SIMONThose who cover MLB are calling the Juan Soto trade among the biggest in baseball history, with the Padres acquiring a generational talent and sending the Nationals the top players in their farm system in return.And while it’s likely that Soto’s bat will have a huge impact, not just on this pennant race [...]