Best Of Short Relief 2018: Dispatched From A Month Without 1. The crows complaining from the maple tree outside the window sound enough like that one row of fans in Philadelphia in 2006, Mike Lieberthal at the plate in the second game of the September 3 double-header against Atlanta, the one that isn’t the one…
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Best of BP 2018: The View From Behind The Backstop: Three Questions My van ticked over 200,000 miles as I drove up to New Hampshire last week. I meant to get it cleaned out and detailed before the baseball season started. The process feels reaffirming and readies me for another year of New England highway…
DetailsBest of BP 2018: Walking Away From The Shift Last week in this space, I discussed the infield shift and how it has a major flaw that may actually make it a net negative for the defense it’s supposed to be helping. The reason is that even though The Shift helps to prevent singles from…
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Best of BP 2018: Reimagining the #2 Hitter “Leadoff hitter” and “cleanup hitter” are labels that naturally bring to mind specific player types, skill sets, and statistics—and maybe even cause you to picture certain star players who fit those established molds particularly well. To a lesser extent the same is probably true of the “number-two…
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Best of BP 2018: Doug Ault And The Triumph Of Joy One of my favorite parts of being a baseball fan is the sheer breadth of the history that can be learned, the staggering number of huge immortal moments and small, glittering fun facts that come with being a fan of any team. Even a…
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Lo mejor de BP en español 2018: Replanteando al segundo bateador del orden Traducido por José M. Hernández Lagunes “Primer bat” y “bateador de limpieza” son etiquetas que naturalmente traen a la mente tipos específicos de jugadores, conjuntos de habilidades y estadísticas—e incluso pueden hacer que pienses en algunos jugadores estrella quienes se adaptan especialmente…
DetailsBaby Birdland Signing Off, A Bid Farewell and Many Thanks I have written hundreds of articles over the past two and a half years, but this one will surely be the hardest and last one. I have made the decision that on January 1, 2019, Baby Birdland will be closed. I did not come to…
Details10 historic performances from 2018 Much of the focus in baseball right now is on who will sign where, and what will happen next year. But as 2018 winds down, it’s worth taking one last look at the players who made history on the field last season. There were a lot of amazing performances, but…
DetailsRumors: A’s, Harper, Dodgers, Kimbrel, Machado It’s Hot Stove season, and MLB.com is keeping track of all the latest free agent and trade rumors right here. Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/c-297641124
Details5 stars who said goodbye this year Adrian Beltre, Victor Martinez, Joe Mauer, Chase Utley and David Wright combined for 28 All-Star selections, 17 Silver Slugger Awards and nearly 300 Baseball-Reference wins above replacement. At the end of 2018, each said goodbye and closed the book on an accomplished career. Source: https://www.mlb.com/news/c-302193148
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