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Like most businesses, major league baseball (MLB) owners strive for optimizing profits by expanding revenue and limiting costs. Clearly, recent revenues have significantly increased with larger attendance, pricier tickets, the sale of MLB merchandise, and most importantly the growing and sizable television contracts. With revenue rising, it has been easier to negotiate with the Major […]

A moment that marked a dramatic shift in the power structure between major league baseball players and owners occurred on December 23, 1975, when an arbitrator’s decision brought an end to the primary effects of the reserve clause. Prior to the decision,the pendulum of power had been firmly with the owners. The players had made […]

Major League Baseball (MLB) is awash in advanced metrics that more reliably describe key aspects of players’ offensive and defensive performance compared to “traditional” statistics. PITCHf/x and Statcast greatly contributed to this. The power of the original Statcast system came from its effective integration of high-definition video cameras and Doppler radar.1 Whereas cameras were useful […]

Lindsey Nelson and Bob Murphy are together on the wall in Cooperstown that honors all recipients of the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting greatness. Between Murphy and Nelson is Bob Wolff, who was considered for the inaugural Mets booth. (Courtesy of MetSilverman.com)   The New York Mets were born in sin, cleansed by pain, […]

1998 New York Yankees (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)   Baseball is unique in that its postseason has existed for over 110 years, enough time for teams to have many ups and many downs. This produces a vast trove of data with which to examine franchise success and failure. The history is deep enough […]

Perhaps no sport relies on the accuracy and consistency of its officials more than baseball, where the home plate umpire calls a ball or strike on every pitch not swung at by the batter. The relatively sedentary nature of the home plate umpire’s duties compared to officials in other major sports allows individuals to perform […]

As major league baseball grew throughout the late nineteenth century, a limited number of players earned national recognition for their on-the-field prowess. From that small group emerged an even smaller number who also had charisma and became the equivalent of today’s rock stars. Especially noteworthy was Paterson’s Mike “King” Kelly, considered by some to be […]

In the opener of this two-part series, published in Baseball Research Journal 53, Number 1, I described how fielding (infield and outfield shifting) and batting (emphasis on pulling and fly-ball hitting) contributed to the 25-point decrease in batting averages between 2007 and 2022, from .268 to .243. As batting average on balls in play dropped […]

It was a hot summer day in 1897 when hundreds of fans of the Federalsburg Club in Maryland gathered for a game. This small town of barely a thousand people was proud of their team. Little did they know that three of the young teenagers taking the field for them that day would soon be […]

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. One of the longest droughts in baseball history came to an end in 2004 when the Boston Red Sox won their first World Series since 1918. With that victory, a new age was dawning. One in which even the Chicago Cubs could start […]

Rafael Almeida and Armando Marsans, who played for the Cincinnati Reds 36 years before Jackie Robinson came along, should be credited with crashing the color barrier. — Felipe Alou1   On April 15, 1947, the story goes, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers became the first black American to play baseball in the major leagues.2 […]

I still think relief pitchers are slighted or faintly patronized in most fans’ and writers’ consideration. Ask somebody to pick an all-time or all-decade lineup for his favorite team or for one of the leagues and the chances are the list will not include a late inning fireman. — Roger Angell1 Much has changed since […]

1. Introduction Rule 9.02 of the official MLB rulebook states, “Any umpire’s decision which involves judgment, such as, but not limited to, whether a batted ball is fair or foul, whether a pitch is a strike or a ball, or whether a runner is safe or out, is final. No player, manager, coach, or substitute […]

Edgar Renteria started the Marlins’ walkoff “tradition” with the game-winner off Roberto Hernandez in the first game of the 1997 NLDS. (National Baseball Hall of Fame Library)   The Marlins won the World Series both times they qualified for the postseason in 1997 and 2003. This was not accomplished without a little drama: Five of […]

In George Vecsey’s modestly titled Joy In Mudville: Being a Complete Account of the Unparalleled History of the New York Mets from Their Most Perturbed Beginnings to ’Their Amazing Rise to Glory And Renown, a moment illustrating the time-flies transformation of the Mets franchise from bottom feeders to top dogs in eight short seasons is […]