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John Dewan's Stat of the Week
Do hitters foul off more pitches with two strikes?
September 13, 2007 First guess before looking at the data? Certainly. But how much more often? Is it more often with a full count? Stat-of-the-Week reader Andrew Karonis asks about what may be the ultimate "foul-ball situation": a full count with the bags loaded and two strikes. Earlier this year (How well do [...]
Do catchers call for more fastballs with a runner on first?
August 28, 2007 We've all heard it from everyone in baseball, announcers and field personnel alike: Players who are batting with a baserunning threat on first base will get more fastballs. It makes sense. A fastball gets to the plate quicker and gives the catcher more time to the throw out the would-be basestealer. [...]
Which batting slot gets the most fastballs?
August 17, 2007 The Cubs' Alfonso Soriano is not your classic leadoff hitter. He does have tremendous speed, and that is useful at the top of the order, but his low walk percentage is not. Moreover, he has the power of a middle-of-the-order hitter. Nevertheless, he wants to bat leadoff because he says he gets more [...]
Which division is the best in baseball?
July 13, 2007 It's got be the American League East, right? With the Yankees and Red Sox in that division, it seems like a straight-forward answer. However, it's not just two teams that make up a division. Let's look at the whole division, from top to bottom. We will do this by adding up [...]
Why are the White Sox dialing 9-1-1?
June 05, 2007 About a month ago (on May 6th) the White Sox' bullpen pitched four shutout innings, enabling them to come back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 against the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings. At that point the ChiSox' bullpen had a 3.29 ERA, third best in the American League. What [...]
How far back are the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals?
May 15, 2007 The standings say that the New York Yankees are 8.5 games out of first place while the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals are 8.0 games back. At first glance, the Yankees are technically farther out, but in reality it's the Cardinals who are further back. New York is in second place while [...]
How often do hitters pull grounders?
April 24, 2007 In last night’s game between the White Sox and Royals, Jim Thome came to the plate for the Sox with men on first and second in the ninth inning of a one-run game. As is usual with a handful of sluggers like Thome (e.g., Bonds, Ortiz, Howard), the shift was on. Three infielders [...]
How much is the temperature affecting scoring?
April 11, 2007 Anyone for hockey? With temperatures in the 30s and 40s for many games, and 10 inches of snow on the field postponing a whole weekend of baseball in Cleveland, it hardly feels like the baseball season. And now Cleveland’s home is Milwaukee -- isn’t that strange? Nevertheless, play we must and any kind [...]
Which starting pitchers were let down by their bullpens?
February 22, 2007 The approach we are taking to look at this question is straightforward. The starting pitcher leaves the game with the lead (after pitching at least five innings). If the bullpen loses the lead resulting in either a loss or a no-decision for the starting pitcher, he is considered to have been let down. [...]
Why is the Bears' magic number twelve?
January 30, 2007 Here in Chicago we've been getting a lot of publicity from our Super Bowl Predictor System. With everyone outside of Chicago picking the Colts and the point spread favoring Indy by seven, it's a breath of fresh air for Bears fans to see an objective method which favors the Monsters of the Midway. [...]