The idea for this posting came about after I stumbled upon the “Hall of 100” on the ESPN website. This list was published on December 4, 2012. ESPN summoned sports writers, and on-air personalities to compile a list of the top 100 baseball players of All-Time. They were given a list of more than 300 …
Martin Cobern is VP, R&D of APS Technology Inc., in Wallingford, CT. He has known Stan for over 30 years and was one of many who read and commented on his book. Sandlot Stats. He grew up as a Dodger fan in the Bronx, until the great Western betrayal left him without a team. When …
In the fall of 2012, I was scheduled to teach three courses which included 2 sections of biostatistics and 1 of Sandlot Stats: Learning Statistics with Baseball. You probably think the idea for my next baseball posting came from my baseball and statistics course. If you guessed that you would be wrong. The idea actually …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Baseball historians analyze the great baseball feats established by very special players. In my book “Sandlot Stats” I devote two entire chapters to two of these feats both accomplished in 1941. That year Ted Williams (.406) was the last player to bat over .400 for a season and Joe DiMaggio accomplished his 56-game hitting streak. …
Since 1900, the game of baseball had undergone many changes. In 1909, Ty Cobb led the American League by hitting nine home runs. In 2001, Barry Bonds set the record by hitting 73 home runs. Before 1920, pitchers were allowed to doctor the baseball. After 1920, many new and legal pitches have been developed to …