Firstman: On the fluidity of “All-Star Break” records
From SABR member Diane Firstman at Value Over Replacement Grit on July 6, 2013:
We’re in the last week prior to the 2013 All-Star Break, and with it will come the usual pronouncements of some player setting a record for most ____ by the Break. Now of course, the actual date of All-Star Break moves around quite a bit, but its generally the beginning of the second week of July. Here’s a breakdown of the actual dates of the All-Star Game, excluding 1981 (when it was held after the end of the strike) and the dates of the second of the two games played each year from 1959-1962:
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Take that and add in that fact that the teams all play a different number of games prior to the break, and it renders “Most ____ by the Break” statements kind of weak (at least without many caveats). Here is the percentage of each season’s games actually played prior to the Break from 1933-2012, excluding strike years.
Read the full article here: http://valueoverreplacementgrit.com/2013/07/06/who-moved-my-all-star-break/
Originally published: July 8, 2013. Last Updated: July 8, 2013.