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Decoding Spring Training Stats: More Than Just Grapefruit League Glory
Spring training. The sweet smell of freshly cut grass, the crack of the bat echoing through sun-drenched stadiums, and the hopeful optimism of a new baseball season. But beyond the picturesque scenery lies a trove of data – spring training statistics – often dismissed as inconsequential pre-season noise. This couldn't be further from the truth. While not a perfect predictor of regular season performance, understanding and interpreting spring training stats can offer valuable insights for fans, analysts, and even fantasy baseball enthusiasts. This article delves into the nuances of these often-overlooked metrics, exploring their limitations and showcasing their potential to unravel intriguing narratives about player performance and team strategies.
The Limitations of Spring Training Stats: A Necessary Caveat
Before diving into the potential benefits, it's crucial to acknowledge the inherent limitations of spring training stats. The primary factor is the context: players are not playing at full intensity. Pitchers are carefully managing their workload, hitters are working on specific aspects of their game, and lineups are constantly shuffled. The sample size is also significantly smaller than the regular season, making any conclusions inherently less reliable. Furthermore, weather conditions, the varying quality of opposition, and the fluctuating levels of player readiness all contribute to the volatility of spring training data. Therefore, relying solely on spring training performance to predict regular season success is a risky proposition.
What Spring Training Stats Can Tell Us:
Despite their limitations, spring training stats aren't entirely useless. They offer a glimpse into several key aspects of a player's development and readiness:
Identifying Potential Breakthroughs: A player showing significant improvement in a specific area – like a drastically improved batting average against left-handed pitching or a noticeable increase in strikeout rate – might indicate a successful offseason training program or a refinement of their approach at the plate or on the mound. This can alert fans and analysts to potentially exciting developments.
Tracking Injury Recovery: For players returning from injury, spring training stats can serve as a valuable barometer of their physical readiness. Consistent performance and a gradual increase in workload can signal a successful rehabilitation. Conversely, a noticeable dip in performance or recurring injury setbacks should raise concerns.
Assessing New Acquisitions: Spring training provides a crucial opportunity to assess the fit and performance of newly acquired players within their new team. It allows fans and analysts to gauge the player's chemistry with teammates and their adaptation to a new system.
Evaluating Spring Training Strategies: Teams often experiment with different lineups, pitching rotations, and strategic approaches during spring training. Analyzing the results of these experiments – even if imperfect – can provide insights into the team's likely regular season plans.
Case Study: Shohei Ohtani's Spring Training Performance
A prime example of utilizing spring training stats effectively, albeit cautiously, is Shohei Ohtani. Analyzing his spring training performance over the years provides some insight, though not a definitive prediction, of his regular-season potential. While his spring numbers might fluctuate, consistent power and velocity indicators offer a level of optimism for the upcoming season. Tracking his strikeout rate as a pitcher and his on-base percentage as a hitter provides a more nuanced view of his overall development and readiness. This doesn't predict the MVP-caliber season he might have, but it provides a benchmark against which to compare his early-season performance.
Spring Training Stats and Fantasy Baseball
For fantasy baseball enthusiasts, spring training stats can be a valuable – albeit supplementary – tool. They shouldn't be the sole basis for draft decisions, but they can help refine your strategy. For example, if a player you're considering drafting shows a dramatic improvement in their strikeout-to-walk ratio during spring training, it might indicate a positive trend worth considering. However, always weigh this against the player's historical performance and overall context.
Visualizing Spring Training Data: Charts and Tables
Presenting spring training data visually can enhance understanding and identification of trends. A simple table comparing a player's spring training stats across multiple years can reveal patterns of improvement or decline. A chart showing the correlation between spring training batting average and regular season batting average (which will likely show a weak correlation) would illustrate the limitations of relying solely on spring training performance.
(Example Table – Hypothetical Data for Player X):
| Year | Spring Training AVG | Regular Season AVG |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | .250 | .280 |
| 2022 | .280 | .265 |
| 2023 | .265 | .290 |
(Note: This is hypothetical data; actual data will vary significantly.)
Conclusion:
Spring training stats, while not predictive on their own, offer a nuanced layer to understanding player development, team strategies, and potential breakthroughs. By carefully considering the context, acknowledging the limitations, and integrating these metrics with other relevant information, fans, analysts, and fantasy baseball players can extract valuable insights. They should be viewed as supplementary data points, not definitive forecasts. The true test comes in the regular season, where the intensity, competition, and extended sample size provide a more accurate picture of a player's or team's capabilities.
FAQs:
1. Are spring training home run totals a reliable indicator of regular season power? No, home runs in spring training are often inflated due to less intense pitching and relaxed defensive play.
2. How much weight should I give spring training stats when making fantasy baseball decisions? Spring training stats should be a minor factor, supplementing historical data, scouting reports, and expert opinions.
3. Do spring training pitching stats hold any value? Spring training pitching stats are even more unreliable than hitting stats due to limited innings and workload management. Focus on health and velocity more than ERA or strikeout numbers.
4. Can spring training stats help identify potential injury risks? A noticeable decline in performance or repeated absences from games might suggest underlying injury concerns, though this should be confirmed by independent reports.
5. Are there specific metrics more valuable than others in spring training analysis? Qualitative observations like improved plate discipline, increased velocity, or better fielding techniques can be more informative than raw numbers.
| spring training stats: The Negro Leagues are Major Leagues Bob Kendrick, 2021-12-15 SABR and MLB recently concluded that the Negro Leagues were major leagues. This volume tells how the lost history and statistical record of the Negro Leagues were rebuilt and serves as an introduction to Negro League history as a whole. |
| spring training stats: The Hidden Game of Baseball John Thorn, Pete Palmer, 2015-03-20 The acclaimed classic on the statistical analysis of baseball records in order to evaluate players and win more games. Long before Moneyball became a sensation or Nate Silver turned the knowledge he’d honed on baseball into electoral gold, John Thorn and Pete Palmer were using statistics to shake the foundations of the game. First published in 1984, The Hidden Game of Baseball ushered in the sabermetric revolution by demonstrating that we were thinking about baseball stats—and thus the game itself—all wrong. Instead of praising sluggers for gaudy RBI totals or pitchers for wins, Thorn and Palmer argued in favor of more subtle measurements that correlated much more closely to the ultimate goal: winning baseball games. The new gospel promulgated by Thorn and Palmer opened the door for a flood of new questions, such as how a ballpark’s layout helps or hinders offense or whether a strikeout really is worse than another kind of out. Taking questions like these seriously—and backing up the answers with data—launched a new era, showing fans, journalists, scouts, executives, and even players themselves a new, better way to look at the game. This brand-new edition retains the body of the original, with its rich, accessible analysis rooted in a deep love of baseball, while adding a new introduction by the authors tracing the book’s influence over the years. A foreword by ESPN’s lead baseball analyst, Keith Law, details The Hidden Game’s central role in the transformation of baseball coverage and team management and shows how teams continue to reap the benefits of Thorn and Palmer’s insights today. Thirty years after its original publication, The Hidden Game is still bringing the high heat—a true classic of baseball literature. Praise for The Hidden Game “As grateful as I was for the publication of The Hidden Game of Baseball when it first showed up on my bookshelf, I’m even more grateful now. It’s as insightful today as it was then. And it’s a reminder that we haven’t applauded Thorn and Palmer nearly loudly enough for their incredible contributions to the use and understanding of the awesome numbers of baseball.” —Jayson Stark, senior baseball writer, ESPN.com “Just as one cannot know the great American novel without Twain and Hemingway, one cannot know modern baseball analysis without Thorn and Palmer.” —Rob Neyer, FOX Sports |
| spring training stats: 501 Baseball Books Fans Must Read Before They Die Ron Kaplan, 2018-08-01 Propounding his small ball theory of sports literature, George Plimpton proposed that the smaller the ball, the more formidable the literature. Of course he had the relatively small baseball in mind, because its literature is formidable--vast and varied, instructive, often wildly entertaining, and occasionally brilliant. From this bewildering array of baseball books, Ron Kaplan has chosen 501 of the best, making it easier for fans to find just the books to suit them (or to know what they're missing). From biography, history, fiction, and instruction to books about ballparks, business, and rules, anyone who loves to read about baseball will find in this book a companionable guide, far more fun than a reference work has any right to be. |
| spring training stats: CC Claus CC Sabathia, Ray Negron, 2014-10-21 For readers of all ages comes A sweet holiday story of how beloved New York Yankee star pitcher CC Sabathia, his son Carsten, and a few of baseball's most legendary players save Christmas! hile reading fan mail with his oldest son, Carsten, on Christmas Eve, CC Sabathia finds a letter addressed to Santa from a little girl whose family has lost everything in a flood. To help make the little girl's Christmas wishes come true, CC and Carsten head to the North Pole to deliver the letter to Santa. But Santa and his elves might be too overwhelmed to finish presents for another family this close to Christmas! Determined to help Santa make sure every child has a happy Christmas, CC calls his boss, Mr. Steinbrenner, who rallies a stellar lineup of helpers: Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and many more baseball legends. Together, CC, Mr. Steinbrenner, Carsten, and all the greats of baseball set to work making bats, gloves, train sets, dolls, and other toys. But even with their efforts, there may be no Christmas—Santa Claus is sick. To save the day, Carsten suggests that his dad, CC, become CC Claus. Donning a red-and-white Santa hat, CC and Carsten fire up the sleigh and take Santa's place, making children's special Christmas dreams come true. |
| spring training stats: The Book , 2007 Baseball by The Book. |
| spring training stats: The Book of Baseball Literacy David H. Martinez, 1996 For baseball's millions of fans, this ultimate reference to the national pastime features a listing of more than 800 memorable people, places, dates, events, terms, records, and statistics. From the game's origins in the 1840s to the present day, The Book of Baseball Literacy presents complete details on the great sport in one lively, fascinating treasury. |
| spring training stats: The Only Rule Is It Has to Work Ben Lindbergh, Sam Miller, 2016-05-03 The New York Times bestseller about what would happen if two statistics-minded outsiders were allowed to run a professional baseball team. It’s the ultimate in fantasy baseball: You get to pick the roster, set the lineup, and decide on strategies -- with real players, in a real ballpark, in a real playoff race. That’s what baseball analysts Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller got to do when an independent minor-league team in California, the Sonoma Stompers, offered them the chance to run its baseball operations according to the most advanced statistics. Their story in The Only Rule is it Has to Work is unlike any other baseball tale you've ever read. We tag along as Lindbergh and Miller apply their number-crunching insights to all aspects of assembling and running a team, following one cardinal rule for judging each innovation they try: it has to work. We meet colorful figures like general manager Theo Fightmaster and boundary-breakers like the first openly gay player in professional baseball. Even José Canseco makes a cameo appearance. Will their knowledge of numbers help Lindbergh and Miller bring the Stompers a championship, or will they fall on their faces? Will the team have a competitive advantage or is the sport’s folk wisdom true after all? Will the players attract the attention of big-league scouts, or are they on a fast track to oblivion? It’s a wild ride, by turns provocative and absurd, as Lindbergh and Miller tell a story that will speak to numbers geeks and traditionalists alike. And they prove that you don’t need a bat or a glove to make a genuine contribution to the game. |
| spring training stats: Out of the Ballpark Alex Rodriguez, 2010-12-07 Before he hit 400 home runs... Before he was named American League MVP... Before he was AROD to millions of fans... He was Alex. Just a kid who wanted to play baseball more than anything else in the world. Baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez has drawn on his own childhood experiences to create this exciting picture book. It's the story of a boy named Alex who knows what it's like to swing at a wild pitch or have a ball bounce right between his legs. Alex is determined not to let his mistakes set him back—even if it means getting up at the crack of dawn to work on his hitting and fielding before school each day! Full of the spirit of determination and joy in the game that put AROD in a league of his own, Out of the Ballpark is a gift from a great sports hero to every young player who dreams of becoming a star. |
| spring training stats: Big Data Baseball Travis Sawchik, 2015-05-19 Big Data Baseball provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the Pittsburgh Pirates used big data strategies to end the longest losing streak in North American pro sports history. New York Times Bestseller After twenty consecutive losing seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, team morale was low, the club’s payroll ranked near the bottom of the sport, game attendance was down, and the city was becoming increasingly disenchanted with its team. Big Data Baseball is the story of how the 2013 Pirates, mired in the longest losing streak in North American pro sports history, adopted drastic big-data strategies to end the drought, make the playoffs, and turn around the franchise’s fortunes. Big Data Baseball is Moneyball for a new generation. Award-winning journalist Travis Sawchik takes you behind the scenes to expertly weave together the stories of the key figures who changed the way the Pirates played the game, revealing how a culture of collaboration and creativity flourished as whiz-kid analysts worked alongside graybeard coaches to revolutionize the sport and uncover groundbreaking insights for how to win more games without spending a dime. From pitch framing to on-field shifts, this entertaining and enlightening underdog story closely examines baseball’s burgeoning big data movement and demonstrates how the millions of data points which aren’t immediately visible to players and spectators, are the bit of magic that led the Pirates to finish the 2013 season in second place and brought an end to a twenty-year losing streak. |
| spring training stats: Throwback Jason Kendall, Lee Judge, 2014-05-13 Structured to mirror the flow of a baseball game, THROWBACK covers everything that happens both in plain sight and behind the scenes (or sometime in whispered invective at the plate or in the bullpen), from the players' pre-game routines and the pitcher's warm-up tosses, to the hidden signs the catcher and pitcher use to communicate to outwit hitters; from infielders' often amusing conversations with men at first and third bases, to the specific positions outfielders often take based on the pitch they anticipate will next be thrown. Based on Kendall's15 years of professional MLB experience, THROWBACK weaves hilarious first-person anecdotes together with wonderfully illuminating Oh, that's why they do that! insights into professional baseball, how it's played, and the why behind everything you see happening on and off the field-- |
| spring training stats: Python for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Alex Kenan, 2021-01-01 The traditional computer science courses for engineering focus on the fundamentals of programming without demonstrating the wide array of practical applications for fields outside of computer science. Thus, the mindset of “Java/Python is for computer science people or programmers, and MATLAB is for engineering” develops. MATLAB tends to dominate the engineering space because it is viewed as a batteries-included software kit that is focused on functional programming. Everything in MATLAB is some sort of array, and it lends itself to engineering integration with its toolkits like Simulink and other add-ins. The downside of MATLAB is that it is proprietary software, the license is expensive to purchase, and it is more limited than Python for doing tasks besides calculating or data capturing. This book is about the Python programming language. Specifically, it is about Python in the context of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Did you know that Python can be used to model a satellite orbiting the Earth? You can find the completed programs and a very helpful 595 page NSA Python tutorial at the book’s GitHub page at https://www.github.com/alexkenan/pymae. Read more about the book, including a sample part of Chapter 5, at https://pymae.github.io |
| spring training stats: Sandlot Stats Stanley Rothman, 2012-11-01 Sandlot Stats uses the national pastime to help students who love baseball learn—and enjoy—statistics. As Derek Jeter strolls toward the plate, the announcer tosses out a smattering of statistics—from hitting streaks to batting averages. But what do the numbers mean? And how can America’s favorite pastime be a model for learning about statistics? Sandlot Stats is an innovative textbook that explains the mathematical underpinnings of baseball so that students can understand the world of statistics and probability. Carefully illustrated and filled with exercises and examples, this book teaches the fundamentals of probability and statistics through the feats of baseball legends such as Hank Aaron, Joe DiMaggio, and Ted Williams—and more recent players such as Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, and Alex Rodriguez. Exercises require only pen-and-paper or Microsoft Excel to perform the analyses. Sandlot Stats covers all the bases, including • descriptive and inferential statistics • linear regression and correlation • probability • sports betting • probability distribution functions • sampling distributions • hypothesis testing • confidence intervals • chi-square distribution Sandlot Stats offers information covered in most introductory statistics books, yet is peppered with interesting facts from the history of baseball to enhance the interest of the student and make learning fun. |
| spring training stats: Fantasy Expert Ron Shandler, 2024-02-20 An entertaining and incisive chronicle from one of the foremost authorities in fantasy baseball Ron Shandler is a self-described rotoholic. In the beginning, he hoarded newspaper box scores and pored over every number at his disposal. Then came the compulsion to create his own numbers. A monthly newsletter expanded into an annual Baseball Forecaster book, which spawned a media company, websites, tournaments, and more. Part memoir, part madcap history, Fantasy Expert is a fascinating and wide-ranging look at the modern growth and development of the game that went from cottage industry to national obsession. In chronicling his own escalating journey from rotisserie baseball hobbyist to professional authority, Shandler tells parallel tales of the rise of fantasy sports, the expanding baseball information industry, the increasingly sophisticated technology employed to gain an edge, and the fellow rotoholics who make it all possible. He also delves into the impact of fantasy baseball on the sport of baseball itself.Written with humor, honesty, and a deep passion for baseball, this is a must-read for anyone interested in the history, progression, and future of fantasy baseball. |
| spring training stats: Rotisserie League Baseball John Benson, 2006 |
| spring training stats: The Mental Keys to Hitting H.A. Dorfman, 2017-03-01 A must-have book by acclaimed author and expert H.A. Dorfman that highlights the crucial mental components involved in hitting a baseball and playing the game, components that are as important, if not more so, than the intense physical regimen of an athlete....helpful to hitters in little leagues or in the big leagues. The information is clear and to the point... -- Charles Johnson, former catcher, Florida Marlins |
| spring training stats: 2013 Baseball Forecaster Ron Shandler, Ray Murphy, Rod Truesdell, Brent Hershey, 2013-02-01 The industry's longest-running publication for baseball analysts and fantasy leaguers, the 2013 Baseball Forecaster, published annually since 1986, is the first book to approach prognostication by breaking performance down into its component parts. Rather than predicting batting average, for instance, this resource looks at the elements of skill that make up any given batter’s ability to distinguish between balls and strikes, his propensity to make contact with the ball, and what happens when he makes contact—reverse engineering those skills back into batting average. The result is an unparalleled forecast of baseball abilities and trends for the upcoming season and beyond. |
| spring training stats: Beyond Batting Average Lee Panas, 2010 Over the past few decades, a multitude of advanced hitting, pitching, fielding and base running measures have been introduced to the baseball world. This comprehensive sabermetrics primer will introduce you to these new statistics with easy to understand explanations and examples. It will illustrate the evolution of statistics from simple traditional measures to the more complex metrics of today. You will learn how all the statistics are connected to winning and losing games, how to interpret them, and how to apply them to performance on the field. By the end of this book, you will be able to evaluate players and teams through statistics more thoroughly and accurately than you could before. |
| spring training stats: Ty Cobb Charles Leerhsen, 2015-05-12 An biography of perhaps the most significant and controversial player in baseball history, Ty Cobb, drawing in part on newly discovered letters and documents-- |
| spring training stats: Here's the Catch Ron Swoboda, 2019-06-11 In time for the 50th anniversary of the Mets' miraculous 1969 World Series win, right fielder Ron Swoboda tells the story of that amazing season, the people he played with and against (sometimes at the same time), and what life was like as an Every Man ballplayer. Ron Swoboda wasn’t the greatest player the Mets ever had, but he made the greatest catch in Met history, saving a game in the 1969 World Series, and his RBI clinched the final game. By Met standards that makes him legend. The Mets even use a steel silhouette of the catch as a backing for the right field entrance sign at Citi Field. In this smart, funny, insightful memoir, which is as self-deprecating as a lifetime .249 hitter has to be, he tells the story of that magical year nearly game by game, revealing his struggles, his triumphs and what life was like for an every day, Every Man player, even when he was being platooned. He shows what it took to make one of the worst teams in baseball and what it was like to leave one of the best. And when he talks about the guys he played with and against, it’s like you’re sitting next to him on the team bus, drinking Rheingold. Here's the Catch is a book anyone who loves the game will love as much. |
| spring training stats: Wherever I Wind Up R.A. Dickey, 2013-03-26 The perfect gift for baseball fans, now with a new epilogue by author R.A. Dickey, winner of the 2012 Cy Young award. An astounding memoir—haunting and touching, courageous and wise.—Jeremy Schaap, bestselling author, Emmy award-winning journalist, ESPN In 1996, R.A. Dickey was the Texas Rangers’ much-heralded No. 1 draft choice. Then, a routine physical revealed that his right elbow was missing its ulnar collateral ligament, and his lifelong dream—along with his $810,000 signing bonus—was ripped away. Yet, despite twice being consigned to baseball’s scrap heap, Dickey battled back. Sustained by his Christian faith, the love of his wife and children, and a relentless quest for self-awareness, Dickey is now the starting pitcher for the Toronoto Blue Jays (he was previously a star pitcher for the New York Mets) and one of the National League’s premier players, as well as the winner of the 2012 Cy Young award. In Wherever I Wind Up, Dickey eloquently shares his quintessentially American tale of overcoming extraordinary odds to achieve a game, a career, and a life unlike any other. |
| spring training stats: Rotisserie League Baseball 1999 Diamond Library, Glen Waggoner, 1998-11 How does your league handle expansion? How do you value players when the National League has 16 teams? What will standard dollar values mean in 1999? The people who invented the game have the answers. The one and only Official Rule Book and Draft Day Guide answers these questions and many more. The 1999 edition continues the tradition that launched a whole new national pastime, with more tips from more experts than ever before: more strategies, more winning methods and tactics, sharper player comments, and the first 1999 dollar values using post-expansion league size, rosters, and salary caps. |
| spring training stats: Pitching, Defense, and Three-Run Homers Society for American Baseball Research (, 2012-05-01 Tells the story of the Baltimore Orioles of the 1960's and 1970s in contextualized biographies of the players, managers, and everyone else important to the team. |
| spring training stats: The Fielding Bible John Dewan, 2006-02 Previously available exclusively to Major League Baseball teams, John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions reveal their revolutionary approach to fielding analysis. In the process, they will completely change the entire perception of fielding statistics in Major League Baseball. |
| spring training stats: Cincinnati Red and Dodger Blue Tom Van Riper, 2017-04-13 Call it the forgotten rivalry. The Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers may not share geographical boundaries, and today they don’t even play in the same division, but for a period of time in the 1970s Dodgers vs. Reds was the best rivalry in Major League Baseball. They boasted the biggest names of the game—Johnny Bench, Steve Garvey, Pete Rose, Don Sutton, and Ron Cey, to name a few—and appeared in the World Series seven out of nine years. In Cincinnati Red and Dodger Blue: Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Rivalry, Tom Van Riper provides a fresh look at these two powerhouse teams and the circumstances that made them so pivotal. Van Riper delves into the players, managers, executives, and broadcasters from the rivalry whose impact on baseball continued beyond the 1970s—including the first recipient of Tommy John surgery (Tommy John himself), the all-time hit king turned gambling pariah (Pete Rose), and two young announcers who would soon go on to national prominence (Al Michaels and Vin Scully). In addition, Van Riper recounts in detail the 1973 season when both teams were at or near their peak form, particularly the extra-inning nail-biter between the Reds and Dodgers that took place on September 21 and effectively decided the divisional race. Cincinnati Red and Dodger Blue includes never-before-published interviews with former players from the rivalry, providing a personal and in-depth look at this decade in baseball full of upheaval and change. Baseball’s realignment in 1994 may have rendered this great rivalry nearly forgotten, but its story is one that will be enjoyed by baseball fans and historians of all generations. |
| spring training stats: MILKY WAY Muriel Jensen, 2015-10-19 WELCOME TO TYLER - TRY SOME CHEESECAKE Britt Hansen's started a new line of dairy products and it's selling like crazy! Pull up a chair and savor the triumphs—and tragedies—of America's favorite hometown. A YOUNG WIDOW STRUGGLES TO SAVE FAMILY FARM Britt is certain that her new venture will save her farm from bankruptcy—if she can convince the dairy, her biggest creditor, to give her the time she needs. WILL THE DAIRY REP STAND IN HER WAY? Jake Marshack's future at the dairy will be assured if he can persuade Britt to sell her farm. But he hadn't expected the mother of four to be so determined…or so attractive. Soon, he isn't sure if their battle is one he wants to win…. Previously Published |
| spring training stats: When Big Data Was Small Richard D. Cramer, 2019-05-01 Richard D. Cramer has been doing baseball analytics for just about as long as anyone alive, even before the term “sabermetrics” existed. He started analyzing baseball statistics as a hobby in the mid-1960s, not long after graduating from Harvard and MIT. He was a research scientist for SmithKline and in his spare time used his work computer to test his theories about baseball statistics. One of his earliest discoveries was that clutch hitting—then one of the most sacred pieces of received wisdom in the game—didn’t really exist. In When Big Data Was Small Cramer recounts his life and remarkable contributions to baseball knowledge. In 1971 Cramer learned about the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and began working with Pete Palmer, whose statistical work is credited with providing the foundation on which SABR is built. Cramer cofounded STATS Inc. and began working with the Houston Astros, Oakland A’s, Yankees, and White Sox, with the help of his new Apple II computer. Yet for Cramer baseball was always a side interest, even if a very intense one for most of the last forty years. His main occupation, which involved other “big data” activities, was that of a chemist who pioneered the use of specialized analytics, often known as computer-aided drug discovery, to help guide the development of pharmaceutical drugs. After a decade-long hiatus, Cramer returned to baseball analytics in 2004 and has done important work with Retrosheet since then. When Big Data Was Small is the story of the earliest days of baseball analytics and computer-aided drug discovery. |
| spring training stats: The Baseball Codes Jason Turbow, Michael Duca, 2011-03-22 An insider’s look at baseball’s unwritten rules, explained with examples from the game’s most fascinating characters and wildest historical moments. Everyone knows that baseball is a game of intricate regulations, but it turns out to be even more complicated than we realize. All aspects of baseball—hitting, pitching, and baserunning—are affected by the Code, a set of unwritten rules that governs the Major League game. Some of these rules are openly discussed (don’t steal a base with a big lead late in the game), while others are known only to a minority of players (don’t cross between the catcher and the pitcher on the way to the batter’s box). In The Baseball Codes, old-timers and all-time greats share their insights into the game’s most hallowed—and least known—traditions. For the learned and the casual baseball fan alike, the result is illuminating and thoroughly entertaining. At the heart of this book are incredible and often hilarious stories involving national heroes (like Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays) and notorious headhunters (like Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale) in a century-long series of confrontations over respect, honor, and the soul of the game. With The Baseball Codes, we see for the first time the game as it’s actually played, through the eyes of the players on the field. With rollicking stories from the past and new perspectives on baseball’s informal rulebook, The Baseball Codes is a must for every fan. |
| spring training stats: The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Mark Fidrych Doug Wilson, 2013-03-26 Lanky, mop-topped, and nicknamed for his resemblance to Big Bird on Sesame Street, Fidrych exploded onto the national stage during the Bicentennial summer as a rookie with the Detroit Tigers. He won over fans nationwide with his wildly endearing antics, but quickly emerged as one of the best pitchers in the game. Fidrych was named starting pitcher in the All-Star Game as a rookie and became the first athlete to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Wilson recounts Fidrych's meteoric rise, his heartbreaking fall after a torn knee ligament and then rotator cuff, and captures Fidrych's post-baseball life to his death in a freak accident in 2009. |
| spring training stats: Weaver on Strategy Earl Weaver, Terry Pluto, 1984 |
| spring training stats: Goodbye for Now Laurie Frankel, 2013-05-07 A 2013 Endeavour Award Finalist When Sam Elling creates an algorithm to pair people with their soul mates online, he meets Meredith, his own perfect match. But when Meredith’s grandmother Livvie dies unexpectedly, Sam puts his algorithm to even better use: it compiles Livvie’s old emails and video chats to create a computer simulation so that Meredith can say goodbye. It’s not supernatural; it’s computer science, and Meredith loves it—too much to keep to herself. Together, she and Sam open RePose to help others who have lost a loved one. Business takes off, but for every person who just wants to say goodbye, there’s someone else who can’t let go. This twenty-first-century love story asks what would happen if saying goodbye were just the beginning, and shows how love can take on a life of its own. |
| spring training stats: Minimize Injury, Maximize Performance Dr. Tommy John, Myatt Murphy, 2018-06-05 Dr. Tommy John's unique program: a diet, lifestyle, and movement plan (Rethink. Rebuild. Replenish. Recover) for injury- and performance-proofing young athletes in every sport Beginning as early as age 6 and continuing through the teenage years and on into their twenties, both male and female athletes are more at risk of serious injuries at younger ages than ever before. Dr. Tommy John, son of lefty pitcher Tommy John and also a sports performance and healing specialist, offers an invaluable diet, lifestyle, and movement plan (Rethink. Rebuild. Replenish. Recover) for injury- and performance-proofing young athletes in every sport. Dr. John explores the sudden rise of Tommy John surgeries being performed on young athletes today, as well as the many injuries--and the surgeries required to fix them--increasing at an alarming rate in baseball and all youth sports. Dr. John's book outlines the three top causes behind this injury epidemic: The American lifestyle, the business of youth sports (from coaches to corporations), and the decisions we believe as parents are truly benefiting our children. Minimize Injury, Maximize Performance focuses on prevention, and also offers tips on how to tailor the advice for athletes coming back from an injury, with over 120 black and white photographs. |
| spring training stats: Score with Baseball Math Stuart A. P. Murray, 2013-07-01 How do you figure out a player's batting average? Which stadium has the biggest outfield? This book uses a variety of techniques to solve a variety of baseball-related math questions. Readers also learn some baseball history and fun facts. |
| spring training stats: The Chicken Runs at Midnight Tom Friend, 2018-10-02 Discover the nearly unbelievable true story of how a goofy catchphrase spoken by a coach's dying daughter inspired the 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates in game seven of the National League Championship Series and later became a sign from heaven to a grieving family at the end of game seven of the 1997 World Series. As a Major League Baseball coach, Rich Donnelly was dedicated, hardworking, and successful. But as a husband and father, he was distant, absent, and a failure. He'd let baseball take over his life, and as a result, his family suffered--that is, until the day he received some harrowing news. Dad, I have a brain tumor, and I'm sorry. These words from his seventeen-year-old daughter, Amy, turned his world upside down. Now, more than ever, he was determined to put his family first. The time they spent together in the months before Amy's death were moments that Rich and his family will treasure forever, but they'll especially remember the inside joke that became a catchphrase for not only the Donnelly family but also the Pittsburgh Pirates as they played in the National League Championship Series that year: The chicken runs at midnight. This book shares the heartwarming story behind the odd catchphrase--and how it still lives on as a symbol for never giving up--and proves that God can work in any person's life, even despite their mistakes and failures. As you learn more about Amy's incredible story, you'll discover: The life-changing power of forgiveness How to find peace and joy in the midst of loss The gift of God's grace Weaving baseball history with personal memoir, this book is one that will make you thrill to victory, believe in hope, and stand up to cheer for what is good in people's lives. It reminds us that God can work in our lives even when we think it's too late to change--and sometimes he sends us signs from heaven, if we only have eyes to see. Praise for The Chicken Runs at Midnight: The Chicken Runs at Midnight is a beautiful story of baseball, family, and faith. Tom Friend does a wonderful job of weaving these three themes together and telling you a story that will give you the chills. You will cry; you will laugh; and you will tell the story over and over again--just as I have. --Craig Counsell, manager of the Milwaukee Brewers The Chicken Runs at Midnight is the kind of heartwarming story all of us need, not just baseball fans. In our loud, busy world, it's a poignant reminder of what is truly important. --Tom Verducci, bestselling author of The Yankee Years and The Cubs Way |
| spring training stats: One Line Drive Daniel Ponce de Leon, 2021-03-09 Daniel Ponce de Leon's hard-fought journey to Major League Baseball and recovery from a near-death injury, followed by his astonishing big league debut, will inspire readers to trust God in all circumstances. The path you take to achieving your dreams is not always easy. Daniel Ponce de Leon, an acclaimed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, overcame many challenges to get to the Major Leagues. Drafted four times, he spent a long four years climbing his way up through the minors before finally reaching AAA, only one step away from the Major Leagues. Then, Daniel's dream was almost shattered when he was struck in the head by a line drive. Spending weeks in the hospital and months recovering from a large epidural hematoma, skull fracture, brain swelling, and hemorrhaging, Daniel held on to his belief that he would one day realize his dream. Fourteen months later, and fully recovered, he made his first Major League start, becoming the fifth pitcher in modern Major League history to throw seven innings of no-hit ball in his first outing. MLB.com referred to it as one of the greatest debuts in Major League Baseball history. In One Line Drive, Daniel retells his remarkable journey, sharing how he never would have made it without his faith in God and the support of family and friends. Full of grit, determination, and faith, Daniel's story is an inspiring reminder to keep pressing on regardless of any setback or disappointment. |
| spring training stats: The World of Sports Statistics Arthur Friedman, 1978 |
| spring training stats: The Rookie Jim Morris, Joel Engel, 2008-11-15 The heart-wrenching, unbelievable true story of MLB pitcher Jim Morris's last-ditch attempt to join the major leagues. He Played A Boy's Game. He Lived A Man's Life. As a lonely child, Jim Morris took one thing with him wherever his family moved-his ability to hit and throw a baseball. For Jim, the passion of becoming a major-league ballplayer was his anchor and inspiration...until injuries and life got in the way. A decade after Jim walked away from the minors and began a life of fatherhood and mortgage payments, he made a promise to the hardscrabble high-school team he coached: If they could win their local championship, he would try out again for the big leagues. They did-and he did. Now, in this wondrous, heart-tugging book, Jim Morris tells the story of his remarkable life and his amazing journey to the Big Show at the age of thirty-five . . . and how he finally fulfilled his childhood dream. |
| spring training stats: Fenway Fever John Ritter, 2012-04-12 Happy 100th Birthday, Fenway Park! Stats Pagano may have been born with a heart defect, but he lives for three things: his family's hot dog stand right outside fabled Fenway Park, his beloved Red Sox, and any baseball statistic imaginable. When the family can no longer make ends meet with the hot dog stand, life becomes worrisome for Stats. Then the Sox go on a long losing streak and the team's ace pitcher--and Stats's idol--becomes convinced the famed Curse of the Bambino has returned. Stats just has to help . . . but how? As the Sox faithful sour on their team, Stats forms a plan that ultimately unifies an entire city and proves that true loyalty has a magic all its own. In honor of Fenway Park's 100th birthday, baseball novelist John H. Ritter delivers an inspiring tale for the sports fan in each of us, regardless of team allegiance. |
| spring training stats: Lefty O'Doul Dennis Snelling, 2017-05 From San Francisco to the Ginza in Tokyo, Lefty O'Doul relates the untold story of one of baseball's greatest hitters, most colorful characters, and the unofficial father of professional baseball in Japan. Lefty O'Doul (1897-1969) began his career on the sandlots of San Francisco and was drafted by the Yankees as a pitcher. Although an arm injury and his refusal to give up the mound clouded his first four years, he converted into an outfielder. After four Minor League seasons he returned to the Major Leagues to become one of the game's most prolific power hitters, retiring with the fourth-highest lifetime batting average in Major League history. A self-taught scientific hitter, O'Doul then became the game's preeminent hitting instructor, counting Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams among his top disciples. In 1931 O'Doul traveled to Japan with an All-Star team and later convinced Babe Ruth to headline a 1934 tour. By helping to establish the professional game in Japan, he paved the way for Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki, and Hideki Matsui to play in the American Major Leagues. O'Doul's finest moment came in 1949, when General Douglas MacArthur asked him to bring a baseball team to Japan, a tour that MacArthur later praised as one of the greatest diplomatic efforts in U.S. history. O'Doul became one the most successful managers in the Pacific Coast League and was instrumental in spreading baseball's growth and popularity in Japan. He is still beloved in Japan, where in 2002 he was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame. |
| spring training stats: The Yankee Years Joe Torre, Tom Verducci, 2010-03-09 The definitive story of one of the greatest dynasties in baseball history, Joe Torre's New York Yankees. When Joe Torre took over as manager of the Yankees in 1996, they had not won a World Series title in eighteen years. In that time seventeen others had tried to take the helm of America’s most famous baseball team. Each one was fired by George Steinbrenner. After twelve triumphant seasons—with twelve straight playoff appearances, six pennants, and four World Series titles—Torre left the Yankees as the most beloved manager in baseball. But dealing with players like Jason Giambi, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Roger Clemens, and Randy Johnson is what managing is all about. Here, for the first time, Joe Torre and Tom Verducci take readers inside the dugout, the clubhouse, and the front office, showing what it took to keep the Yankees on top of the baseball world. |
| spring training stats: Knuckleball Ned R. A. Dickey, 2014 Teased by the Foul Ball Gang, a young baseball learns that his differences make him unique and strong. |
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