One of the many contributions of Bill James to the field of sabermetrics was his Pythagorean Theorem for baseball. The theorem states that the ratio of a team’s wins to losses is equal to the square of the ratio of the team’s runs scored to the team’s runs allowed. The equation is (Wins / Losses) …
In teaching my Baseball and Statistics course at Quinnipiac University, besides using my bookSandlot Stats,I require my students to read the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis. The book describes how Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics general manager, navigated his team through the 2002 season. In that season, Oakland finished first in the American League West with a …
Part 3 of 3: When the Yankees open the 2013 season, there are oh so many questions about which 2012 Yankees will be on the opening day 2013 roster. The Yankees just picked up the 2013 options for Cano and Granderson for $15 million each. Swisher, Kuroda, and Soriano reject their 13.3 million qualifying offers. Twelve …
Part 2 of 3: The Yankees won a nail-biting 5-game (3-2) ALDS against the Orioles. In the ALCS, the Yankees pulled a Rip Van Wrinkle against the Tigers and were swept 4-0. This posting will revisit both series. The series against the Orioles had three games decided by one run and one game determined by two …
Part 1 of 3: Did the Yankees have a successful regular season in 2012? Their 95-67 record was the best in the American League. They either led the league or were tied for first place in their division from June 12 through the end of the season. They had a 10-game lead on July 18 …
To get up to speed on this posting please see my last posting. A brief summary is at a store in Naples, FL I met Ms. Root, whose father’s uncle was Charlie Root. He was the pitcher who in the 1932 WS pitched the ball that Babe Ruth supposedly pointed to the centerfield stands prior …
Recently my wife Tara and I took a short trip to visit our two granddaughters in Naples, FL. On the plane I was already thinking about my next post about the upcoming WS. As fate would have it my next post found me. On Thursday evening, we went to downtown Naples. We stopped at a …
We begin with the highlights. Miguel Cabrera accomplished the Triple Crown, the first since 1967. It was exciting because the home run title was in doubt until the last two games of the season. Seven no-hitters (last accomplished in 1991) The nameless Oakland Athletics came from 13 games behind on June 30 to win the …
I have a problem with the expansion of the roster in baseball from 25 to a maximum of 40 after September 1. This process is called the September Call-ups. In watching the Yankees against Tampa Bay on September 15, Tampa Bay was batting in the seventh inning. During that inning the Yankees used three pitchers while …
The embarrassment of the 2002 All-Star game which ended in a tie because both managers ran out of players led to controversial rule change making the All-Star game the deciding factor for awarding home advantage in the World Series. Before 2003 home-field advantage in the World Series was rotated between the two leagues. Starting in …