The escalating use of defensive shifts across baseball during the past few seasons has been well documented, and in 2013, the Houston Astros were among the leaders when it came to implementing radical defensive alignments. A year ago, the Astros ranked fifth in baseball in defensive shifts on balls in play with 496, while…
On Saturday, Mike Trout hit another milestone in his already outstanding baseball career, although his first four-strikeout game in the majors was a milestone he would have preferred to have taken longer to achieve. After the game, Trout said all the things one would expect him to say after a…
Part of Mike Trout’s appeal is his ability to do literally anything on a baseball field. Trout is a line-drive hitter with over-the-fence power. He can propel his prototypical linebacker body to a 6.5-second 60-yard dash and possesses a plus arm that he used to draw accolades on the mound…
Spring Training hasn’t been good to the Braves. Doctors determined that both Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy would need to undergo their second Tommy John surgeries. While acting quickly to bring Ervin Santana into the fold will soften the blow considerably, these injuries have exposed a severe lack of depth in…
Last season, A.J. Burnett pitched 191 stellar innings, leading Pittsburgh to its first postseason appearance since Sid Bream’s slide ended the 1992 NLDS. Burnett’s 3.30 ERA was backed up by even better peripherals, as his 2.80 Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) mark was fifth among qualified NL hurlers. While Burnett certainly…
Derek Jeter recently announced through Facebook that the 2014 season would be his last. Immediately upon his announcement, ticket prices for Jeter’s final home game at Yankee Stadium soared. Before the announcement, tickets for the September 25th game against the Baltimore Orioles were selling for less than $100 on StubHub; however,…
When the Diamondbacks, Angels, and White Sox agreed on a three-team deal that sent Mark Trumbo to the desert during this year’s Winter Meetings, the trade was widely panned from the Diamondbacks’ perspective. Many observers felt that the Snakes had given up too much young, controllable talent in a myopic…
Los Angeles Dodgers’ right fielder Yasiel Puig emerged as an instant sensation when he debuted June 3rd in a Dodgers’ victory. A defector from Cuba, Puig immediately contributed to the Dodgers turnaround midseason from division bottom feeder to pennant contender. Puig made many “web gems” on defense, from outstanding throws…
Baltimore Orioles shortstop, JJ Hardy, is one the top defensive shortstops in Major League Baseball. However, despite finishing 2013 statistically among the top five shortstops in Defensive Runs Saved (estimated number of runs saved by player for his team), he is widely considered on the second tier of shortstops in…
With the 2013 World Series underway on Wednesday between the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, it seems like a great time to take a look at how each team stacks up against one another defensively. Baseball Info Solutions estimates that the Red Sox saved 24 runs with their defense…
