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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
BY MARK SIMONOn this week’s edition of the Sports Info Solutions Baseball Podcast, we talked to Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh about the team’s success and his work behind the plate this season.Raleigh rates as one of the top pitch framers in MLB in 2022, so this seemed like a good time to look at the [...]
BY MARK SIMONAs we get set to start the second half of the season, let’s run through the MLB leaders in Defensive Runs Saved.At catcher, it’s a runaway. Jose Trevino of the Yankees leads all catchers in Runs Saved by a wide margin. His 15 Runs Saved are more than double the next-closest catchers, Reese [...]
Last night, Corbin Burnes threw 7 1/3 innings against the Giants, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out 10.In doing so, Burnes took over the No. 1 spot in Bill James’ World’s No. 1 Starting Pitcher Rankings.Burnes, the NL’s reigning Cy Young winner, has a better ERA in 2022 (2.14) than he did in [...]
BY MARK SIMONIt doesn’t matter where you put Cardinals infielder Tommy Edman in the field. Wherever he goes, he’s going to make the play.Edman is the MLB leader in Defensive Runs Saved this season with 16. He’s also the Sports Info Solutions Defensive Player of the Month for June.Edman finished the month with 9 Defensive [...]
BY MARK SIMONThe Guardians are on a hot streak, with wins in 17 of 21 games entering Thursday’s matchup with the Twins.The Guardians were not expected to be a contender in the AL Central this season, but have proven themselves as a formidable team in the first half of the season. And one of the [...]
The Braves have won 14 consecutive games and the story of their winning streak is rooted in their aggressiveness.The Braves have been a hyperaggressive team at the plate. They rank first in swing percentage in June (swinging at 52% of pitches). They are both the No. 1 team in swinging at pitches in the strike [...]
By MARK SIMONDodgers right fielder Mookie Betts is having a fantastic offensive season. He entered Thursday ranked 3rd in the NL with a .950 OPS and shares the league lead with 16 home runs. He’s looking like a leading candidate to be NL MVP.Similarly, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, who have both played a good [...]