Thorn: Is the sky falling? Where are the baserunners?
From SABR member John Thorn at Our Game on February 16, 2015:
Before going on MLB Network’s High Heat with Brian Kenny today I rummaged through a piece I wrote eight years ago that focused on the death of the triple. I noted the startling consistency of runs per game (measured by the totals of both teams) over more than a century–until 2014–and, similarly, the ratio of hits to runs, which also has undergone a tectonic-plate shift. I have, for your possible interest, updated my numbers to 2014. I also provide figures from the nadir of the deadball era (1908), the Year of the Hitter (1930), the Year of the Pitcher (1968), and the first year of Major League Baseball (1876). This table provides a handy guide, I believe, not only to how many runs were scored or how few, but how. The devil is in the detail.
Something is happening today that certainly bears watching, and may require action. I am reminded of the frog set in a pot of water which is then, unbothered, brought to a boil.
While run scoring is not yet as minimal as in 1908, we will not wish to test that rock. Let the numbers speak.
Read the full article here: http://ourgame.mlblogs.com/2015/02/16/is-the-sky-falling-where-are-the-baserunners/
Originally published: February 17, 2015. Last Updated: February 17, 2015.