Here are some of the winning and losing teams with regard to new signings for 2015. Everything could change for any team that signs the biggest pitching fish still available, Max Scherzer. The talk is the team that signs him to a contract can expect to pay close to $30 million per year. Clearly, this …
For the fifth consecutive year, I attended the Joint Mathematical Meeting of the Mathematics Association of America (the MAA) and the American Mathematical Society (the AMS). This year the meeting was in San Diego from January 7 through January 10. This meeting is the most important meeting for both these organizations. At this joint meeting, …
Monday, May 15, 2017 marks the 76th anniversary of the beginning of Joe DiMaggio’s record 56-game hitting streak, which ran from May 15 to July 16, 1941. The streak ended On July 17 when he went 0-for-3 against the Indians, with third baseman Ken Keltner making two outstanding plays to stop the streak. In Chapter …
The book “Moneyball” chronicles how Billy Beane used certain batting statistics to build the low budget Oakland Athletics into a contender in the early 2000s. With the help of Paul Depodesta he showed that on-base percentage (OBP) was much more valuable for run production than batting average. Concentrating on a player’s OBP and ability to …
Read what my student Greg considers the biggest surprise in the MLB for 2017 is so far. Every year there are storylines between teams and players, and surprises that come out of the league. The biggest surprise so far in 2017 has been one in the name of Eric Thames. Thames is a 30-year-old left-handed …
The last Yankee dynasty which began in 1996 was triggered by the young players’ rookie Derek Jeter, second-year pitcher Andy Pettitte and second-year pitcher Mariano Rivera. Soon afterwards Jorge Posada joined the other three and the four became known as the “Core Four.” Beginning in 1996 and ending in 2007 the Yankees made the playoffs …
A-Rod’s statistics paint a picture of one of the greatest baseball players of all-time. The table below list some of his eye-popping career batting statistics. What about his honors? He was a 3-time MVP. He was one of only five Yankee greats— Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Berra and Maris — to win multiple MVP Awards. He …
The book, “Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports,” written by Kostya Kennedy takes you through a day by day account of Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak in 1941. Many baseball people believe this streak will never be duplicated. It should be noted that 1941 was also the last year a player ended …
Brian Cashman and Hal Steinbrenner have finally faced reality. The 2016 Yankees are not an awful team but are simply a .500 team. After a 25-year run which began with the Core Four, the Yankees realize that the future is not now. Let us Yankee fans never forget the 25-year run which began with the …
Theo Epstein, the President of the Cubs, and Brian Cashman, the GM of the Yankees, concluded a trade where the Yankees shipped Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs in exchange for Gleyber Torres, Adam Warren, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. Let’s look at this trade through the eyes of these two men. Theo Epstein was hired …