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John Dewan's Stat of the Week
Who allows fewer runs: a pitching staff that strikes out a lot or one that doesn't?
January 16, 2008 Chicago Cubs pitchers have led the National League in strikeouts for the last seven consecutive years. But they've never led the league in ERA during that strech. Striking out batters suggests more dominance on the part of pitchers, but it also leads to higher pitch counts because a strikeout simply requires more pitches. [...]
Which pitchers are the best at holding runners?
June 08, 2006 Carlos Zambrano had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning for the Cubs earlier this week. He also was the hitting star of the game with four RBI including a three-run homer. But paging through The Bill James Handbook 2006 looking for other Carlos Zambrano tidbits I ran across the fact that [...]
How effective is protecting the plate with two strikes?
July 06, 2007 A couple of weeks ago we looked at how often hitters protect the plate with two strikes, but we only touched on how effective they are. With Miguel Cabrera on the list of players who don't try to protect, it raised the question that maybe protecting the plate wasn't all that big a [...]
How low can the White Sox go?
June 27, 2007 This past weekend's series sweep by the North Side enemy Chicago Cubs over my beloved Chicago White Sox represents a new low for the Sox this season. They scored a total of two runs in the three games. As recently as last year, the White Sox offense was one of the best [...]
How well do hitters protect the plate with two strikes?
June 22, 2007 Doesn't it seem like hitters take that called third strike way too often? For heaven's sake, these are professionals. They should know how to protect the plate. It's the first thing that every ballplayer is taught. You've got two strikes: protect the plate. Don't take anything close to the strike zone. What [...]
Can Adam Everett lead MLB for the fifth straight season?
May 23, 2007 p> Adam Everett is the best shortstop on the planet. Period. But he's never won a Gold Glove Award. Everett has had the best plus/minus number at shortstop in each of the last four years. And as if to show that it's no fluke, he's leading Major League Baseball again this [...]
Going First to Third
January 19, 2010 The Angels in 2009 advanced from first to third on a single 128 times — twenty more than any other major league team. The only three major league players who have gone from first to third on a single more than 50% of the time in their careers (50 or more opportunities) are [...]
What is the difference between the cactus and grapefruit leagues?
April 04, 2007 A lot of studies have been done to determine which factors are better or worse for hitters and pitchers. The most significant factors are temperature, altitude, and ballpark dimensions. (Some argue humidity as well, but the Baseball Scoreboard 1993 found no such evidence.) Almost all Spring Training games are played in either Florida [...]
Do spring training numbers matter?
March 27, 2007 Time for one of our annual favorites. We all hear “spring training means nothing,” and yet teams make huge decisions based on spring training. Which is it? Research shows we can learn something from spring training. A hitter that has a great spring training often goes on to have a better-than-normal season. [...]
Which league hits better (if you exclude the number-nine slot?)
March 21, 2007 Answer: They're virtually identical. Here are the numbers for 2006: Lineup Slots 1 through 8 OPS (On-base Plus Slugging percentage) American League: .788 National League: .789 What it comes down to then is that the effect of the American [...]