RP13: Thursday, August 5, 3:00 – 3:25pm, Georgia 7,8,9

A product of its times, a Sunday pitcher started once a week during the team’s regularly scheduled Sunday doubleheader. Jaffe examines how this role began, who were the main Sunday pitchers, when this role reached its peak, and when it fell into disuse. To examine Sunday pitchers, he explores which hurlers threw more on Sundays than one would expect, and which ones threw more often in doubleheaders than expected. Using data from Retrosheet, Jaffe provides solid evidence on this practice, moving it from its current shadowy corner of baseball folklore into full illumination.

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Chris Jaffe (jaffechris@yahoo.com) is a contributor to The Hardball Times website. His first book, Evaluating Baseball's Managers, was published by McFarland earlier this year.