Mr. Stats Notes: All Rise for Tigers vs Yankees

By Elliott KalbJun 2, 2022, 11:54 AM EDT

On Sunday morning, the big ballyard in the Bronx will play host to a game between the Tigers and Yankees, which can be seen on Peacock at 11:35 am.

Very few franchises can match the Yankees when putting together an All-Time team. The Tigers actually can. How many teams can have an advantage over the Yanks in center field, where New York can boast both Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle? Well, the Detroit Tigers had Ty Cobb.

Tigers vs Yankees live on Peacock: How to watch, stream, start time, TV channel for MLB Sunday Leadoff game

How many teams can come close to matching the Yankees at first base, with New York having the Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig? Well, the Detroit Tigers had the Bronx-born Hank Greenberg. If Hank hadn’t lost four years of his prime, his numbers would look remarkably like Gehrig’s. As it is, Greenberg’s career OPS of 1.017 is higher than all but a small handful of players. When your OPS is higher than Mike Trout’s, Stan Musial’s, Mickey Mantle’s, and Joe DiMaggio’s, you don’t take a backseat to anyone. Including Gehrig (who tragically lost time at the back end of his career, but not his prime).

Please forgive me, Yankee fans, but I’m not so certain your Captain — Derek Jeter — is any/much better than Detroit’s Alan Trammell.

There, I said it. Look, almost everyone that follows baseball for any length of time would choose Jeter over Trammell. But it’s closer than you think.

Jeter played 20 years in the majors, all for the Yankees.

Trammell played 20 years in the majors, all for the Tigers.

Jeter never won an MVP, although he finished second in 2006 to Justin Morneau.

Trammell never won an MVP, although he finished second in 1987 to George Bell.

For proper context, Jeter should have won MVP in 2006. He had a much better year than Morneau (who had 34 HR, 130 RBI). And Trammell should have won the MVP in 1987. He had a much better year than George Bell (who had 47 HR, 134 RBI).

Jeter was the World Series MVP in 2000.

Trammell was the World Series MVP in 1984.

For proper context, Jeter batted .409/.480/.864 (9-22 AB) in the 2000 World Series.

Trammell batted .450/.500/.800 (9-20 AB) in the 1984 World Series.

Jeter’s bWAR was 71.3

Trammell’s bWAR was 70.7

A deeper look into Baseball Reference’s WAR for the two reveals the difference. Jeter was a better offensive player, Trammell a better defensive player.

If you look at their 7-year peak WAR, Trammell’s was 44.8. Jeter’s 7-year peak WAR was 42.4.

In his 1985 Baseball Abstract, Bill James wrote that Trammell had no weaknesses, and he had great range at shortstop. And he added that if Trammell had played his home games on artificial turf (as was predominant in 1985) he would have much, much better offensive numbers.

Over 20 years, Jeter’s OPS+ was 115, and Trammell’s was 110. Jete was a better hitter.

All I’ll say is this: Trammell is very under-appreciated. Jeter is very over-appreciated. Why was Trammell so ignored? He never got more than 41% of the vote in 15 election cycles for the Hall of Fame despite similar numbers to players like Barry Larkin and Jeter (Trammell eventually was enshrined by the Veterans Committee). Trammell wasn’t Cal Ripken, Jr.—a contemporary that used up much of the oxygen spent on American League shortstops in Trammell’s day.

At some positions, the Yankees don’t have anyone to compare with the all-time Tigers great. Detroit has Charlie Gehringer at second base. And they have Lou Whitaker. Case closed. Miguel Cabrera was Detroit’s third baseman in his prime seasons about a decade ago. I don’t recall any Yankee triple-crown winners at third base, do you?

Even if you only wanted to include players from the last half-century, Detroit could roll out Justin Verlander and Jack Morris on the bump; Bill Freehan behind the plate, Miggy Cabrera, Lou Whitaker, Alan Trammell on the infield. It might not beat a comparable Yankee squad, but they would more than hold their own.

And now, a look at the 2022 Yankees.

Are the Yankees almost a third of the way through a “special” season (like Detroit had in 1984, and the Yankees had in 1998)?

1984 Tigers: 104-58 Started 35- 5.

1998 Yanks: 114-48 Started 46-13

One thing I’ve learned watching baseball for more than a half-century: It’s hard to stop a barreling locomotive train. This 2022 Yankees train picked up speed as soon as soon as they left Detroit on Thursday, April 21.

On Thursday, April 21, the Tigers’ Michael Pineda and four relievers shut out the Yanks 3-0, dropping the Yanks to a record of 7-6.

Since leaving Detroit, the Yankees have a record of 27-9 entering Thursday’s split-doubleheader.

Since leaving Detroit, the Yankees Aaron Judge has turned into Babe Ruth, except maybe better.

Aaron Judge

First 13 games: .255/.340/.404 with 1 HR, 2 RBI

Last 34 games: .321/.383/.748 with 17 HR, 36 RBI

That’s 17 HR in 131 AB since leaving Detroit, or a HR every 7.7 AB.

Now you ask, what happened late in that last game in Detroit that could have had the Baseball Gods turn their attention on fast-tracking the 2022 Yankees into one of the all-time teams?

Oh yeah, with the Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera on the verge of 3,000 hits, Aaron Boone had his reliever Lucas Luetge issue Miggy an intentional walk.

Here was the situation: the Tigers were up 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth inning but had the bases loaded with nobody out. Boone inserted Luetge in the game. Lucas got Jeimer Canelario to ground into a double play.

That sent Cabrera up to the plate with runners at 2^nd and 3^rd with two out. Boone had Miggy walked. Austin Meadows then doubled in two runs. The Yankees lost that game, but at least Cabrera didn’t get his 3,000^th hit against New York.

And good karma has followed Boone and the Yankees ever since.

If you’re wondering how the Yankees are dominating, it is quite simple.

The Yankees have hit 69 home runs, second in MLB to the Brewers (70).

The Yankees have allowed only 38 home runs, fewest in MLB.

There’s a lot going right for the Yankees. We can talk about starting pitcher Nestor Cortest Jr. and his 1.70 ERA. We can talk about reliever Clay Holmes (why does his name bring up images of boxers?). But we have to start with Aaron Judge.

And now, some much needed words on Aaron Judge.

How many times does “99” go into “50”?

Aaron Judge, who wears jersey number 99, hit 52 HR as a 2017 rookie.

Judge, who swatted 18 home runs by the end of May, is almost certain to hit 50 or more this season (he’s on pace for 59). Plus, it’s not so easy anymore for anyone to hit 50. Last year, no one did it. Only Pete Alonso did it in 2019. And no one did it in 2018.

Take a quick guess on this one. How many players have hit 50+ home runs in a season at least twice for the Yankees?

Only two players, Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, had multiple 50+ home run seasons for the Yankees.

The only other players to even have one 50-homer season for the Yanks besides Judge, Ruth, and Mantle were Roger Maris and Alex Rodriguez.

Aaron Judge is slugging .657 entering Thursday’s doubleheader with the Angels. If he continues to slug that throughout the season, here are the only Yankee players to have a higher slugging percentage in a single season.

Babe Ruth

Lou Gehrig

Mickey Mantle

Joe DiMaggio

The Yankees have had some pretty great seasons — hey, in particular — from right fielders. Think Reggie Jackson and Dave Winfield. Think the non Hall-of-Famers like Roger Maris and Paul O’Neil. None of them come close to what Judge is producing.

And it’s not just this year.

Aaron Judge is averaging a HR every 12.76 AB for his career.

And Aaron Judge has been even better at home in the Bronx, at Yankee Stadium.

In his career, Aaron Judge has 1,097 AB at Yankee Stadium, and has hit 94 home runs. That is a HR every 11.6 at-bats.

Is that good?

Well, let’s put it like this. Aaron Judge has 2,668 Plate Appearances in his career. He’ll soon be at 3,000.

Career Leaders, At Bats per Home Run (min. 3,000 Plate Appearances)

Mark McGwire – 10.61
Babe Ruth – 11.76
Barry Bonds – 12.92

Right now, if we played with Minimums, and had the leaderboard for the category with a minimum of 2,600 Plate Appearances, we would have Judge nestled between Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds.

Who are we to Judge (judge)?

A long time ago, the Tigers had a great right fielder who played his whole career in Detroit. Al Kaline was known for the rest of his life as “Mr. Tiger.” If Aaron Judge remains in New York his entire career, he could be known as “Mr. Yankee.”

On Sunday morning, we could “All Rise” to see the Judge on Peacock.

How to Watch Tigers vs Yankees on Peacock

Aaron Judge and the first-place New York Yankees host Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers from Yankee Stadium on MLB Sunday Leadoff live this Sunday, June 5 at 11:30 a.m. ET on Peacock. This week’s MLB Sunday Leadoff coverage begins with the pregame show at 11 a.m. ET on Peacock. NBC Sports’

CC Sabathia, the 2007 Cy Young Award-winner and 19-year MLB veteran, including 11 seasons with the Yankees, will join Ahmed Fareed as an analyst on the MLB Sunday Leadoff pre- and postgame shows. Sabathia, who won the 2009 World Series with the Yankees, was a six-time All-Star, earned 251 career wins, and is one of three left-handed pitchers in Major League history with at least 3,000 strikeouts (Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson). Sabathia currently co-hosts the R2C2 podcast.

How to Watch:

Date	Show	Time (ET)	Platform
Sun., June 5	MLB Sunday Leadoff Pregame	11 a.m.	Peacock
Sun., June 5	Tigers vs. Yankees	11:30 a.m.	Peacock

A Cubs vs Marlins matchup should evoke memories beyond Bartman

By Elliott KalbApr 27, 2023, 12:41 PM EDT

On Sunday morning, at 12:05 pm eastern, the Cubs will play the Marlins in a game that can be streamed on Peacock. The Marlins won only 69 games last year, and the Cubs won only 74. Neither the Fish nor the Cubbies have finished with a winning record since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Both teams have gotten off to better starts in 2023 led by their new middle infielders: Miami’s new second baseman Luis Arraez and the Cubs’ new shortstop Dansby Swanson.

There was a time — 20 years ago — that these franchises met in the 2003 National League Championship Series. When we look back on that series, we’re reminded that one very good thing about Arraez and Swanson is that their names are different. In the 2003 NLCS, the Cubs shortstop was Alex Gonzalez. The Marlins shortstop was also named Alex Gonzalez. One of them had a 16-year career, the other one had a 13-year career. The one that batted .125 (3-24 AB) in the NLCS wasn’t the goat. The one that batted .286/.333/.679 with 3 HR, 7 RBI and a 1.012 OPS in the series was the goat.

The one name that people remember in the Cubs’ collapse in Game 6 of that NLCS didn’t play any seasons in the majors. The one name everyone remembers was Steve Bartman. But for both teams, the path to get there and the games played in the Series itself involved so much more than Bartman.

Chicago was a charter member of the National League in 1876, when Ulysses S. Grant was the President of the United States. The Cubs hadn’t won a World Series since 1908, when Teddy Roosevelt was the President. The Cubs hadn’t even been in a World Series since 1945.

The Marlins were an expansion franchise in 1993, when the United States had a 47-year-old President named Bill Clinton. They won the World Series in 1997, the first Wild Card team to win the World Series.

In 2002, the Cubs lost 95 games and finished 30 games out of first place. It was the third time in four seasons Chicago had lost at least 95 games. Midway through the 2002 season, the team fired manager Don Baylor. Following the 2002 season, the Cubs hired one of Baylor’s close friends, Dusty Baker. Baker had just led the San Francisco Giants to the World Series. A poor relationship with the team’s managing partner, Peter Magowan, however, led to Baker’s departure. Dusty wasn’t out of work long – not even two weeks – before accepting the Chicago position.

Baker’s Giants were so close to winning the 2002 World Series. The Giants led 3-2 in games and led Game 6 by a 5-0 score entering the bottom of the seventh. Scott Spiezio hit a 3-run homer in the seventh. The Giants — five outs away in the bottom of the eighth — couldn’t hold their lead and lost Game 6 and then Game 7 as well. Baker didn’t know it at the time, but that would be just the start of several heartbreaking finishes.

Dusty went from managing Barry Bonds to managing Sammy Sosa.

Baker took advantage of Sosa’s offense, combined with three outstanding arms (Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Carlos Zambrano) to win 88 games, enough to take the N.L. Central.

The Marlins started the 2003 season with Jeff Torborg as manager, but when the team got off to a slow start, he was replaced by 72-years old Jack McKeon.

The Florida Marlins got a kickstart from their new manager, the old McKeon, but they also were spurred by 21-years old Dontrelle Willis, who was called up May 9. The Marlins were 10-games under .500 on May 22 (19-29) but Willis became unstoppable. He was 9-1 after his win on July 13. He would start 27 games, and the Fish won 19 of them.

RELATED: 2023 MLB on Peacock Schedule

The Marlins were 75-49 under McKeon. The five starters — Carl Pavano, Brad Penny, Mark Redman, Josh Beckett, and Willis — started 143 games and combined for more than 890 innings. And the team had a catcher that made the entire pitching staff better.

Prior to the 2003 season, the Florida Marlins were one of the few teams to show interest in free-agent catcher Ivan Rodriguez. He was coming off 12 seasons as a workhorse catcher in Texas, and yet at 31 was only able to command a one-year, $10 million dollar contract with the Marlins, due to his herniated disks in his lower back and his balky knees. Was it worth it? Rodriguez made the most of his one season with the Marlins (including the postseason, he caught in 155 games and had 655 Plate Appearances).

And he was involved in nearly every big play or rally during the postseason. The Marlins were heavy underdogs against the San Francisco Giants in the Division Series. In the Marlins’ crucial 11-inning come-from-behind win over the Giants in Game 3, it was Ivan that drove in the winning run. In Game 4, I-Rod scored the tying run on a collision at the plate, then withstood a collision to tag J.T. Snow for the final out in the game (and series) after a perfect throw from Jeff Conine and an amazing catch from I-Rod.

And that set the scene for what happened in the NLCS between the lovable loser Cubs, and the out-of-nowhere Marlins.

Game 1: The Cubs were down 8-6 in the bottom of the ninth, when Sammy Sosa tied the game with a dramatic home run. But in the top of the 11^th, Mike Lowell hit a go-ahead homer and the Fish held on to win 9-8.

The Cubs won the next three games, 12-3, 5-4 (11 innings), and 8-3. All they needed was one win in the next three games to win their first pennant since 1945.

Game 5: Josh Beckett threw a shutout in the 4-0 victory. He went nine innings, giving up two hits, 1 BB, 11 K, and needing 115 pitches. He was brilliant after getting rocked in the series opener.

Game 6: Chicago held a 3-0 lead in the 8^th inning of Game 6 before the Fish plated eight runs, behind two unusual circumstances. The first being the Steve Bartman play; and the other, often overshadowed, was the error on a potential double-play ball by the slick fielding Alex Gonzalez.

In that fateful top of the 8^th, the Cubs had a 95% probability of winning Game 6 and advancing to the Series. But the Curse of the Billy Goat was strong that night.

Mark Prior (now the pitching coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers) was on the hill for the Cubs and had retired eight Marlins in a row after getting the leadoff man in the 8^th. But then Juan Pierre doubled, sending Luis Castillo to the plate. Castillo hit a foul ball that Cubs outfielder Moises Alou attempted to catch near the wall, but fan Steve Bartman deflected it. There was no fan interference called. If Alou had caught the ball, it would have been the second out of the inning.

Instead, there was a meltdown of epic proportions.

Prior threw a wild pitch to walk Castillo and send Pierre to third. Ivan Rodriguez singled in a run, to cut the Chicago lead to 3-1. And then Miguel Cabrera reached on an error by Alex Gonzalez. Derrek Lee doubled in two runs to tie the game and send Prior to the showers. The Marlins would eventually score 8 runs in the inning on just 5 hits.

Dusty, in hindsight, should have replaced Prior after the Pierre double, and almost certainly after the 9-pitch walk to Castillo. Would it have mattered? Who knows?

The Marlins won Game 6 by a score of 8-3.

And in Game 7: The Cubs led 5-3 after 4 innings. But in the top of the fifth, Cubs ace Kerry Wood faced Ivan Rodriguez with 1-out and 2-on. Rodriguez doubled in a run. He would later score the go-ahead run in the inning on Derrek Lee’s base hit.

Josh Beckett came in the game in the bottom of the fifth, just two days after his 115-pitch shutout. He pitched four scoreless innings, giving up just one run and one hit (a homer off the bat of Troy O’Leary). The Marlins added runs in the 6^th and 7^th; and won the game 9-6 to advance to the World Series.

People should remember Ivan Rodriguez and Beckett and Derrek Lee and Miguel Cabrera when they think about that series. Instead, they are reminded of Bartman, the symbol of the “bad news Bears (Cubs)”.

The fates were (eventually) kind to the Cubs and their fanbase in 2016; and to Dusty Baker in 2022.

As for the Marlins, they should be celebrating the 20^th anniversary of their World Series title.

But it’s almost a whisper. Maybe it’s because the two genuine Hall of Famers on that squad (Ivan Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera) barely played for the Marlins. Ivan played 20 of his 21 seasons elsewhere; and Miggy played the last 16 of his 21 seasons in Detroit.

Even in 2003, the fans in South Florida were not that into this team. The attendance was 1.3 million, 15^th most among the 16 NL teams that season.

The Marlins and Cubs will always be connected to that October series in 2003. You can blame a fan — or a Curse — or give credit to a gutty team, the Florida Marlins.

How to watch Cubs vs Marlins on Peacock

Date	Show	Time (ET)	Platform
Sun., Apr. 30	MLB Sunday Leadoff Pregame	11:30 a.m.	Peacock
Sun., Apr. 30	Cubs vs. Marlins	12:05 p.m.	Peacock

Playing Fast Ball in 2023: Breaking Down New Rules Ahead of MLB Season

By Elliott KalbMar 30, 2023, 9:00 AM EDT

Baseball has always occupied most of my brain cells from April through October. In 2022, the last four games of the World Series were played in November — including a no-hitter in Game 4 and one of the most compelling Fall Classic games you could ever hope to see in the Astros’ 3-2 victory in Game 5. And just 139 days later, on March 21, the World Baseball Classic final produced Team Japan’s 3-2 victory in a legendary matchup that culminated with Mike Trout striking out against Shohei Ohtani.

In Game 5 of the World Series, the Astros held on because of defensive plays made by first baseman Trey Mancini (smothering a lined shot off the bat of Kyle Schwarber that stranded the game-tying run at third base and preserving Houston’s one run lead) and outfielder Chas McCormick (who robbed J.T. Realmuto with a sensational leaping catch at the wall in right center).

Those two defensive plays were baseball at its best and show how exciting the game can be when the ball is put into play.

And that’s why I’m so excited about the 2023 season. Baseball has new rules that will put more action (great defensive plays, stolen bases, doubles, triples) in the games. And it will create a crisper game that takes all the dead moments out.

Overview of new rules for 2023 MLB season

The three new rules involve:

The use of a pitch timer (pitchers have 15 seconds with bases empty, 20 with men on base…before the Timer reaches zero, the pitcher must begin the natural movement associated with the delivery of the ball to the batter)
Shift restrictions (two infielders must be positioned on each side of second base; and all four infielders must have both feet within the outer boundary of the infield), and…
Bigger bases (it’s a safety issue, but also decreases the distance between bases, hopefully igniting more stolen bases).

Let me explain why the rules are necessary by using the Astros’ combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the World Series. In that nine-inning game, there were 18 half-innings. In 17 of those half-innings, there was no score and barely any action. Batters were .089 (5-56 AB) in the game, save for the top of the fifth, when the Astros went 5-7 AB with a sacrifice fly and scored five runs.

Four Astros pitchers needed 141 pitches to complete their combined no-hitter and the game took 3:25. It’s remarkable: the Phillies’ batters faced 141 pitches, and put exactly 13 in play (four groundouts, nine flyouts). For comparison, let’s examine the only other no-hitter in World Series history. Don Larsen needed only 97 pitches to throw his perfect game, and only went to three balls on a hitter just once. The time of that game was 2:06.

Houston starter Cristian Javier also threw exactly 97 pitches—but he only worked the first six innings. Javier faced 20 batters, and struck out nine of them, while walking two. He was masterful, but the nation watched a game of “pitch and catch.”

Impact of the pitch clock in 2023

The average time of a major league game in 2022 was 3:07, down slightly from the year before. Baseball’s new rules should bring that down about 25 minutes, which is significant. Call me crazy, but you shouldn’t be able to hard boil an egg in less time than seeing “batted ball events” in a major league game. The pitch timer will fix things and bring a better pace to the game. The pitch timer worked in the minor leagues. The pitch timer has worked in Spring Training.

Will the new tempo speed up some of the slowest workers last year? You bet. According to StatCast Baseball Savant 2022 Leaderboards, relievers Jonathan Loaisiga, and Giovanny Gallego each had a Pitch Tempo of 25.8 seconds with the bases empty, with Kenley Jansen right behind at 25.6 seconds. That measures the median time between pitches. The MLB average with bases empty was 18.1 seconds. For added context, StatCast labeled any pitch thrown after longer than 30 seconds to be “Slow.” Jansen was “Slow” on 22.3% of his pitches last year with no one on base. Loaisiga was “Slow” on 21.2% of pitches with bases empty. And Gallego was “Slow” on 20.6%. With runners on-base, Gallegos was “Slow” on 58.2% of his pitches, Jansen 57.4%. Now, this is not measuring the same timing as the MLB pitch timer. But it’s an example of needing pitchers to pick up the pace.

Keith Hernandez in his 2018 Memoir, I’m Keith Hernandez, writes on Page 131:

“Three hours for an average game is not good for baseball…The game was meant to be played at a faster clip, and if it is allowed to slow down further, I fear baseball will become a bore: a tedious exercise of managers and general managers trying to micromanage every second of the game. Why do they do it? Because the game, like everything else, has gotten so hyper-analyzed that those in charge…mitigate risk at the expense of the game’s pace….

While baseball was never meant to be played at a frenetic pace, there is, again, a rhythm to it, and with all the stopping and starting—from the batters stepping out of the box for days on end; to pitchers, particularly relievers, who take an eternity between pitches; to 3-2 counts ad nauseam…that rhythm is under siege.”

And the pitch timer will not only cut time but increase action. Will there be some controversial violations? Yes! Will a batter be called for a third strike to end a game merely because he wasn’t in the plate quick enough? Yes! Will a pitcher be charged with a ball that walks in a run to end a game, because of a pitch timer violation? Yes! I hope so. It will create chaos and controversy and it will become part of the game.

Don’t NFL teams get charged with penalties for not being ready in time? Yes, sometimes in crucial junctures of postseason games.

The number of violations per game has gone down with each week. Baseball saw that happen last year in the minors. Baseball saw it this spring, when there were more than 2 violations per game the first week, and gradually the average has been cut in half.

And no one in MLB is trying to play “gotcha” with anyone. MLB sent what is expected to be the final series of clarifications on the new rules before the season starts. There are seven points to the memo, mostly involving the pitch timer. Basically, the clock will no longer be immediately reset when a batter is brushed back or swings so hard he loses his footing and/or helmet. When PitchCom malfunctions, teams should now be able to address that without an automatic ball being called or having to use a formal mound visit. If a pitcher dashes to cover first base and needs additional time, he’ll have it.

You know, common sense will dictate.

These new rules (pitch timer, shift restrictions, bigger bases) represent the biggest changes to the rules since 1973 and the beginning of the designated hitter in the American League (In 1972, A.L. pitchers batted .145 with .366 OPS and hit 22 HR all year. In 1973, DHs hit 20 HR in April alone, and batted .238 with .657 OPS).

Baseball was always loathe to change rules, but in the last few years they have incorporated changes that have improved the game. In 2022, they made a rule to benefit Shohei Ohtani, tweaking the designated hitter rule. That tweak stated that if a team has its starting pitcher in its lineup as the DH and pulls him from the game, the player can remain in the batting order even after he leaves the mound.

Shohei had 666 Plate Appearances last year, thanks in part to the new rule.

It sounds simple to adjust rules that allow the sport to showcase its stars and their athleticism. I give MLB all the credit in the world for making it happen.

Because of deep analytic departments that have grown exponentially, defenses have learned how to defend where the ball is likely to be hit. Shifts have increased every year against left-handed batters. Last season, MLB teams positioned their infielders in an overshift (more than two fielders on one side of second base) on 55% of plate appearances against left-handed batters.

Left-Handed Batters OPS

2022:   .697
2021:   .653
2020:   .723
2019:   .764
2018:   .736
2017:   .760

Some players that will likely see their slash line improve greatly with new rules:

Trent Grisham, Padres
Joey Gallo, Twins
Anthony Rizzo, Yankees

Trent Grisham should benefit from a host of things this year. He took forever to get into the batter’s box and should be more locked in this season. The shift restrictions should help him, as he batted only .184/.284/.341 a year ago with a .231 BABIP. And less divisional games in pitcher’s parks in LA and SF should also help Grisham.

Like Grisham, Gallo can’t help but improve upon woeful numbers. He batted .160 last year. And Anthony Rizzo is coming off a terrific season, but his .216 BABIP is indicative that defenses knew how to play him. Rizzo batted .292 in 2016 and .293 in 2019. He batted .224 in 2022. Watch that batting average skyrocket.

Some players that will likely see their stolen bases improve greatly with new rules:

Tommy Edman, Cardinals
Trea Turner, Phillies
Myles Straw, Guardians

The bigger bases mean there is slightly less distance to cover, and I fully expect that stolen base percentage in the majors (75% a year ago) will go up (especially since pitchers will be limited in pickoff throw attempts). The three players I think will benefit were pretty damn efficient with the old bases, leading the majors in w/SB (Weighted stolen bases by Fangraphs). Edman was 32-35 in steals a year ago. Turner was 27-30. And Straw was 21-22. And now, they’ll have a bit of an advantage. Trea Turner has had seasons where he stole 43 and 46 bases; and with the prolonged absence of Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins, the Phillies will not hit nearly as many home runs and may need Turner to steal additional bases.

One more bold prediction for 2023

Despite the fact that only one player last year stole more than 40 bases (Miami’s Jon Berti, 41), it is my feeling that we will see a new member of the 40/40 club (a player hitting 40+HR and stealing 40+ bases) this year. The exclusive club has only four members. Jose Canseco in 1988, Barry Bonds in 1996, Alex Rodriguez in 1998, and Alfonso Soriano in 2006.

This year, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. (41 HR, 37 SB in 2019) does it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Phillies’ Trea Turner (after his performance in the World Baseball Classic, the $300 million dollars the Phillies agreed to pay him may turn out to be a bargain) gets to 40/40. And if Shohei Ohtani wanted to join the 40/40 club, I’m sure it would be attainable.

There are so many great storylines that will emerge in 2023. So many depend in part on which teams are best prepared to adjust and take advantage of the new rules.

The very core of baseball is time and rhythm. It should be a beautiful rhythm. Baseball is back, for the start of the 148^th season since 1876. For the first time, baseball is on the clock.

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Be sure to check out NBC’s Circling the Bases Fantasy Baseball podcast for the latest baseball analysis, injury news, and storylines surrounding the 2023 MLB season!