tborg

Thanks Stu. I needed this.

Another aspect of this that hasn't been mentioned is that the Twins had guys like Jeff Hoffman and Trevor McGill in their system. Those guys have been very successful after the Twins initially signed them but let them go. What did the Phillies and Brewers do to harness what the Twins clearly recognized as potential?

Agreed. At least the Pohlads weren't blatant racists.

Thanks for this very well written summary of Les Straker's career. Not many people can answer the question "who was the third starter for the Twins in the 1987 playoffs after Viola and Blyleven?"

Two thumbs up for the Roger Angell love, and for connecting it to Polonco. Really good stuff.

This comment is a thing of beauty. The only thing missing was that, later in his career, instead of introducing him as "the very capable Kenny Jay", they introduced him using his well earned nickname Kenny "Sodbuster" Jay. May he rest in peace.

Umm... really? It should absolutely be glorified because it leads to better outcomes. If the last one on the list is hit at "only" 100 mph it results in either a double play or a single up the middle. Instead, because it was hit so hard it resulted in a game tying double. I also don't think the hard hit rate and the strikeout rate are necessarily related, because it doesn't look to me like the hitters are overswinging in any of these videos. It would be interesting to see if there is a statistical relation between the two.

What do you mean that they're located in a new city? I loved this series. Thanks for all the work that went into this. It was fun remembering some old names. It gives me hope that, even with all of the injuries to position players, someone like Jason Tyner wouldn't sniff this lineup.

I am answering my own question, at least partially. I looked up the OPS values vs. LHP for Kepler, Brandon Lowe, Matt Olson, and Juan Soto during their first two full years in the league. They all showed differences between RHP and LHP (though not as much in Soto's case). None of them had an OPS lower than .600 against LHP. Obviously, this group of 4 players is a small sample size, but it is concerning that Julien, Wallner and Kirilloff all have an OPS lower than .500 vs LHP.

Interesting that Wallner and Kirilloff also have very poor splits vs LHP. I am curious whether this was also true for other strong left handed hitters during their early careers. Does anyone have data for Kepler or other left handed bats during their first 1-2 years in the league?

For every Bert Blyleven there was an Eddie Bane, a Mark Fidrych, and numerous other more obscure pitchers who lost effectiveness due to overuse. There is a reason modern day FO manage their pitchers carefully. As this article points out, it remains a challenge to figure out the best way to do this for each pitcher and situation. The option of pulling a successful pitcher early in the game to limit innings is obviously not popular. I am surprised that the 6 man rotation never came to fruition, but there are reasons for that too (room for fewer relievers, pitchers preference for more regular work, etc.)

How could people being masked outside away from people be mocked based on science? Because they are too cautious? It frustrates me to no end when people compare people being overly cautious (which poses no risk to anyone else), to people who choose not to mask or vax (focusing on their personal rights, but adding some level of risk to those around them). "The science" never said that vaccination or masking would prevent infection. It minimizes risk. Period. I understand why people would choose not to minimize risk. We all do it, especially when it makes our lives easier somehow. Those people who do choose to minimize risk for themselves and others, especially when it is inconvenient for them, have my respect. I don't understand how you could possibly mock them.

Who does Pecota project as playing SS to give us 3.3 fWAR? Presumably most of that gets lost if we sign Story, so the gain isn't quite as big as you are making it out to be.

My pride and joy is a #23 Bobby Kielty. Do I get less credit because I bought it at Goodwill?

I actually have a Mike Lamb shirsey! The 24 is pretty faded...