In 1929, 80% of all qualified hitters had higher walk rates. Pitches from outside the strike zone that were put in play had a .292 wOBA. Updated: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:51 PM ET, Park Factors
Walter Johnson set the Major League record for most consecutive seasons (1912 through 1919) leading any league in strikeouts, but Randy Johnson deserves a plug for stringing four consecutive seasons in the American League (1992 through 1995) then four more in the National League (1999 through 2002) four years after he did it in the junior circuit. And I no more summarily dismissed his case than youve summarily endorsed it. Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. If he gets 8.1 rWAR in those 3 years, hes at 40 from age 27 on (& assuming hes done at the end of this contract). He is only 7 hits away from reaching 2,000 career KBO hits, and is 38 home runs behind Seung-yeop Lee in all-time KBO home runs. One is his pure stuff, which includes a devastating fastball-slider combination. Abreu also doesnt really stack up even just comparing him to other players after age 27. 12 UCLA past Sacramento State, 3-2, on Saturday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium as part of the 2023 Southern California College Baseball Classic. Perhaps he should have taken the guaranteed cash when it was still on the table. He rarely makes poor swing decisions (23.1% chase rate), and when he does unleash, Rutschman makes a In 2021, Gurriel gave fans hope that he could buck the aging curve. This year, the Pirates will team up with the Pitt Community College and Clemson baseball programs to help fight and strikeout ALS with a goal of raising $10,000. Abel is the wildcard on this list. Jesus Christ, say what you will, your lack of intelligence or wit has not affected your confidence! Gurriel really did have a 20 wRC+ on fly balls last season. Pujols had over 45 WAR through his age 26 season. Alexei Ramirez low-900s age 22-24 in Cuba, .792 first year, .700 overall in MLB. WebCaden McKinion College Leagues Statistics including batting, fielding, prospect rankings and more on Baseball-Reference.com , 2021, 2022 MLB Pitching, 2022 MLB Batting , 2022 MLB Pitching, Career WAR Leaders, Single-Season Home Run Leaders, Active Strikeout Leaders, Upcoming Player Milestones, MLB Scores. Batting Average. Its easy to point to Gurriels 2021 season and identify the 38-year-old as a prime bounce-back candidate. Like, youre Leos character in Shutter Island-level deluded. Abreu is 39th in post-1947 1B in fWAR between ages 27-35 behind guys like Youkilis and Adrian Gonzalez. Across the diamond at third base will be another KBO veteran, and one of the most accomplished KBO hitters in history, in Jeong Choi. WebWalter Johnson set the Major League record for most consecutive seasons (1912 through 1919) leading any league in strikeouts, but Randy Johnson deserves a plug for stringing four consecutive seasons in the American League (1992 through 1995) then four more in the National League (1999 through 2002) four years after he did it in the junior circuit. Like his Big Ten counterpart Hajjar, Burke missed 2019 due to injury and burst onto the scene with authority in 2020, striking out 35 hitters in 22.2 innings to lead all freshman pitchers. And I personally dont believe large assumptions should be made in this type of case. Using a similar methodology to my TTO article a few weeks back, I plotted the percent of qualified hitters in each season with BB% greater than their K% (white bars above). All reasonably close to that .200 to .250 range. WebCurrently viewing seasons between 2021 and 2021. Thats partially a function of the starting year, but also reflects the hitters in that era (Boggs, Gwynn, etc.) He led the AL with a 0.87 walk-to-strikeout ratio, and his .383 OBP was second only to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.s. Turns out, its exceedingly rare. Pitches in the strike zone that were put in play last season had a .379 wOBA. LOS ANGELES Sophomore second baseman Duce Gourson went 3-4 with a homer and a pair of RBIs to lead No. He has been in the top three in the KBO in strikeouts in each of the last three seasons. McCullers stepped into the role of staff ace for Houston in 2021, going 13-5 with a 3.16 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and 185 strikeouts over a career-high 162.1 innings. You know who does? Not just that, but his batting style wouldve been very fun to watch against the 3 true outcome type of hitting that was prevalent in MLB at the time. Bowling Green Hot Rods (Rays A+) 82-36, .695 2. But theres no shortage of pitchers capable of taking their place. Arms like Bachman dont take the mound every day in the Mid-American Conference, and that should only help Bachman pile up strikeouts. Only 21 went for extra bases. We break down the top 25 candidates. All Rights Reserved by Baseball Almanac, Inc.Hosted by Hosting 4 Less. copyright=new Date(); The righthander might have had the best abbreviated season of anyone in 2020, as he put up a 0.32 ERA and .128 opponent batting average with 47 strikeouts and only three walks in 28 innings. CARSON -- Centerfielder Eric Smelko enjoyed a 5-for-5 performance at the plate with five runs scored and three RBI as Cal State Dominguez Hills' offense exploded I expect this is going to be something Jay Jaffe will be working on about 8 year from now. Give him 4-5 more years from age 21-26 & yeah, I can see it..IF he had played in MLB. Did you know that eight of the top ten single season strikeout records all occurred during the nineteen century? Another step forward could put him among the countrys top arms in terms of strikeouts. Thrust into the rotation right away as a freshman, he responded by striking out 35 in 21 innings. Ichiro. Accordingly, he walked more than twice as often as he did in the first five years of his career. Lee will be hoping to use the WBC as a chance to showcase his hitting skills against elite pitchers, as he is expected to be posted by Kiwoom after the 2023 season. Im sorry that online and presumably in real life people tend to just walk away from conversations with you; maybe you should look inward? He struck out 114 in 99.2 innings as a freshman, including 19 in a no-hitter against Duke in the super regionals. SO/BB. Or because juicing Matsuis NPB stats to match the delta that Abreu saw moving from the CNS would still leave his 19-28 numbers drastically worse than Abreus? But we're still waiting for the workaholic right-hander in the Yankees pinstripes to have his first genuinely dominant season. Click here to get started. Many thanks to him. This proved to be a wise business move, as the New York Yankees later signed him to a six-year, $162 million contract. Baseball vs Stony Brook February 24, 2023 2 p.m. baseball Final Feb 25 Stony Brook 11 Troy 15 Baseball vs Stony Brook February 25, 2023 3 p.m. While watching the Mets pound on the Cubs yesterday, I noticed that David Wright still has a walk rate (BB%) higher than his strikeout rate (K%). Today's pitch is Carlos Rodn's four-seam fastball, a pitch that according to Statcast's Run-Value was tied for the 2nd best fastball in the entire sport. Byung-ho Park is one of the few names you might know. Maybe so, but hes been remarkably consistent after a clear peak as a rookie at 27. And of course McGriff had his top 3 seasons by WAR in 88-90 (in MLB) and also had more WAR post-35 than Abreu is likely to achieve. [8] Farm system [ edit] [9] Notes [ edit] ^ Hank Sauer at Baseball-Reference ^ Manny Mota at Baseball-Reference ^ Hoyt Wilhelm at Baseball-Reference ^ Bill Sarni at Baseball-Reference ^ John Orsino at Baseball-Reference ^ Ray Katt at Baseball-Reference To sum it all up, Gurriels biggest weakness his lack of power became an even bigger problem last season. Youre so smart, so special, so, so braveand the genuinely odd preoccupations of your ad hominem jabs DEFINITELY trick everyone here into believing youve touched a breast since you stopped nursing in the 10th grade. Pujols and Miggy are the only ones with more than Freemans 21.5 WAR (the 4th is Frank Thomas at 20.4 WAR, but hed have 30 if 1990-91 were included). document.write(update); Fair enough, I was just thinking about it in terms of his total WAR over the period relative to the historical comps. Copyright 2023 Baseball America Enterprises. The question kind of becomes why Abreu never got close to his 2014 production (outside of 2020) again. I guess hes a Kluborg now. 12 UCLA past Sacramento State, 3-2, on BA Newsletter: Get Analysis, Rankings Delivered To Your Inbox! Context for Lesters opinion should include the fact that he kicks puppies and his own mother thinks he is a crushing disappointment. As most of Pirate Nation is aware, the baseball program has been greatly affected by ALS as former head coach and ECU Hall of Fame member Keith LeClair was diagnosed with the His performance on grounders was down relative to his career numbers but was still comfortably above average. All Win Expectancy, Leverage Index, Run Expectancy, and Fans Scouting Report data licenced from TangoTiger.com. At 362 career home runs, he is only 12 behind Dae-ho Lee for third all-time. He took a lot of criticism for how he reacted to Koreas disappointing fourth- place finish in the Tokyo Olympics, though he did hit .308 with a double and 4 RBI over the tournament. With strikeouts becoming soprevalent and walk rates essentially fluctuating between 8-10% each year, its very hard for a player (particularly a good one who typically displays quite a bit of power) to end the season with more walks than strikeouts. Hes one of the very best players in modern history from age 27 onward. 6. Olthoff has plenty of stuff, including a fastball that sits in the low 90s, but command and control are his calling card. His bat was mediocre, his power was lacking, his baserunning was poor, and his defense was lousy in other words, his toolbox was empty. Just off the pace was Louisvilles Reid Detmers, who was drafted 10th overall by the Angels. Throws: Unknown, School: Cedarville University (Cedarville, OH), More Caden McKinion Pages at Baseball Reference, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Saturday, March 4, 12:52AM. In seven years with the Houston Astros, he won a Gold Glove, four American League pennants, and two World Series championships. You really are shook that there is one person here that will stand up to your juvenile bullying and Gish Gallup style arguments. Its no wonder he posted such excellent offensive numbers, including the highest wRC+ of his career. The only HOFer I saw that was behind him was Orlando Cepeda. His first chance to test himself will be against Team Japan in pool play, with Japan having one of the deepest pitching staffs in the tournament. Hamilton took to Division I baseball well in 2020 after transferring from the junior college ranks, striking out 33 batters in 19.1 innings for a resurgent Wichita State team. It's an excellent strikeout pitch and batters hit just .213 against it. Spring training is now well underway, and Gurriels options are dwindling. March 1, 2023. It will also help his chances to top the strikeout leaderboard that he plays conference games in the Patriot League, where hell overmatch hitters, much like Noah Song two years ago. Z. Wheeler 32 14 10 .583 3 2 20 213.1. The Fish eventually nixed the deal, although the Heralds report suggests they could still invite Gurriel to camp as a non-roster invitee. Alongside, Park will likely line up at first base for Team Korea, with fellow KT Wiz teammate, Across the diamond at third base will be another KBO veteran, and one of the most accomplished KBO hitters in history, in, Team Korea will also rely on a veteran behind the plate, with 14-year veteran catcher, Since we started awarding the KBO Fielding Bible Awards in 2020, the center field award has been won by either, KBO (Alumnus) Scouting Report: Aaron Brooks. If the Marlins are still calling, hed be wise to pick up the phone. His case wouldnt be about being a trailblazer.. To a neutral observer, Barco might appear to be third in a potential Florida rotation that would include veteran righthanders Tommy Mace and Jack Leftwich, but his stuff makes him the most likely of the three to pile up massive strikeout numbers. Could see him getting the McGriff treatment, WAR be damned. It would be about whether its fair to completely discount his insane run from 20-25 (and especially 22-24) solely because his birthplace denied him the opportunity to compete in the majors. His bat to ball skills and discipline are paired with modest game power, though his raw power suggests more room for growth. This year, the Pirates will team up with the Pitt Community College and Clemson baseball programs to help fight and strikeout ALS with a goal of raising $10,000. All rights reserved. Savino threw just 10.2 innings as a freshman last season, and while he showed flashes of greatness in those innings, his place here is less about what hes proven at the college level already and more about his potential, which has also made him the top college arm in the 2022 draft class. & thats without doing something subjective like assuming his peak was ages 21-26. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. To see the league-average strikeout and walk rate for every year from 1901 to the present, check the FanGraphs leaderboards. Park was a notable prospect for his power, which he did show in his brief MLB look, hitting 12 home runs in 62 games. The fact is he came to the US and performed as a thoroughly average player, with stints of being above and well below average in between. 20. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. I honestly dont know that anyone, anyone at all, has ever posted so many times without garnering even a small amount of support for any of the posts. ), without the adjustment period from the Cuban leagues. Bats: Unknown I agree that theres no HoF case here, but I think there may well have been had he played in MLB from an early age (with access to the requisite training etc. 1. Who will be 2021s strikeout king? Some high school data is courtesy David McWater. It makes sense when a batter hits bad pitches, hes more likely to make bad contact. The highest-ranked freshman on the BA 500 to make it to campus, Montgomery has a fastball that has been as high as 96 mph and a slider that was one of the best in the 2020 prep class. The fact is hes looked like a very ordinary player next to major leaguers. Park will likely line up at first base for Team Korea, with fellow KT Wiz teammate Baek-ho Kang will likely be the DH. Kang is very much a bat-first player who has adjusted his approach during his time in the KBO. Kumar Rocker, RHP, Vanderbilt. Find out more. And hes not alone. Na attracted some interest from MLB teams after the 2020 season, but was unable to find a contract to his liking and returned to the KBO. Ohtani's greatest accomplishments for the Angels in 2022 came on the mound, a year after he hit 46 home runs. The other is that he was making strides as the 2020 season came to an end, with his best start being his last. This would all be easier if we had any idea how Cuban numbers translate. Web2021 Major League Baseball Pitching Leaders | Baseball-Reference.com via Sports Logos.net About logos 2021 Major League Baseball Pitching Leaders Previous Season The big takeaway is that finishing the season with a higher walk rate is incredibly rare in the current environment. There actually is a lot of precedent for letting people in, even though their numbers werent up to the standard, because they were barred from joining in one way or another. Along with Torra, Boone gave UC Santa Barbara quite the left-handed duo in 2020. Lee is the best pure hitter in the KBO, with a career batting average of .342 and more career walks than strikeouts. Most teams with room for a veteran first base bat have already found their guy: the Reds nabbed Wil Myers, the Cubs picked Eric Hosmer, and the Athletics took a chance on Jess Aguilar. Kendrys Morales 1.009 in Cuba ages 18-20, spent time in minors, .780 overall in MLB. If it is just that he got to the states just as his peak was ending, then we are talking about a likely 1st ballot kind of guy. At 25 years old, Ji-hoon Choi is 7 years younger than Park, though he is a very similar player as a left-handed hitting speedster with modest power. I just dont think being a 111 wRC+ guy in his 30s means he would have been a 150 guy in his 20s. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Its possible; different careers have different arcs. Is it like 90s Coors Field or the PCL? Second, as with the rise of TTO players, strikeout rates seem to be the driving force. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Chois formula for success is quite simple, as he hits the ball hard and in the air. 1. Roster. Among post 1947 1B with 3,000+ PA from age 33 on, he is 21st of 33 qualifiers in fWAR. Team Korea has two young left-handed hitters who will line up in the middle of the order for the WBC. Who will be 2021s strikeout king? Yet the problem was more localized than that. In other words, he was making more contact on less hittable pitches. Erla has been a durable arm for Michigan State for several years now, but he appeared to take a massive step forward in 2020, when he struck out 42 in 26 innings on the way to putting up a 1.04 ERA. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. Last season Lee did his best Tony Gwynn impression, posting a tiny 5% strikeout rate with an 11% walk rate. Honestly, this is good for you. by Handedness, The Outlook Isnt So Good for Yuli Gurriel, Glasnow, Musgrove Go Down With Early Injuries in Blow to Playoff Contenders, Prospect Report: Diamondbacks 2023 Imminent Big Leaguers. Last season, he struck out 39 and allowed just one earned run in 25.1 innings. Thats an incredible drop. His peak would have had to have been one of the best of all time to get him to even 50 WAR. He is not a threat on the bases, and he has lost range in the outfield. We genuinely cant know how the embargo impacted Abreus careerbut Im certainly more inclined to use the Davenport numbers as a proxy than to throw a hissyfit at the suggestion that this hypothetical prime might have exceeded the performance of historically notable late bloomer at the same age. In 2022, he was still good at the things he did well, but he was worse than ever at what he already did poorly. He has not done anything to suggest that we actually did miss one of the great hitters of all time because he was stuck in Cuba. Combining that with his good raw power (hes in the top 25 in average exit velocity and hard hit rate) allows him to maximize his power output. Along with Jeff Zimmerman, he won the 2013 SABR Analytics Research Award for Contemporary Analysis. Dan Szymborski does a nice job assessing both Gurriels and Abreus HOF cases in this article. South Korea is typically a strong nation in international baseball competitions, and this years World Baseball Classic team is a favorite to advance out of their pool. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports. College baseballs strikeout race is always a star-studded affair, with the top contenders in the mix as first-round draft picks and, typically, fronting the rotation for a team with College World Series aspirations. Yuli Gurriel has played professional baseball around the world, suiting up in Cuba and Japan before making his way to MLB. Even if you mark him down for 20 bWAR in those lost years, hed be sitting on 52 bWAR now. Thats exactly what happened to Gurriel, who had a .317 wOBA on balls put in play from inside the zone and a .250 wOBA on balls put in play from outside the strike zone. In the wake of those deals, fans have started to wonder which starting pitcher will own the 2023 season. Black struck out 29 batters in 22 innings in 2020, but if what he did over the summer is any indication, hell pile up many more in 2021. First, we see the drastic decline of hitters that walk more than they strikeout. Both players are on Team Korea for the WBC, and could either start in center field (moving Jung-hoo Lee to a corner) or more likely come off the bench to upgrade the corner outfield defense in the late innings. 2.78. Coming off a .319 batting average, Fletcher doesnt seem so bold, but ATC is only projecting a .283 mark this year, and they are SF. Because of an injury in 2019 and the season cancellation in 2020, Hill has thrown just 21.2 innings over two seasons at LSU, but he has struck out 28 in those innings. WebWillie Stargell is number five on the all time career strikeout list, but he never broke into the top eighty (80) on the single season leaders for strikeouts; by comparison, Jose Hernandez already appears two (2) times in the top twenty and is well on his way to becoming one of the big leaders (#69 all-time already [up from #82 in 2004]). Batting Average David Fletcher. Likely wouldnt have kept up the pace over 162, 350 BABIP (.327 career) and 32.8 HR/FB% (18.7% career). In his free time, he writes for The Hardball Times, speaks about baseball research and analytics, has consulted for a Major League Baseball team, and has appeared on MLB Network's Clubhouse Confidential as well as several MLB-produced documentaries. I also wouldnt limit the comparisons solely to first basemen. Yes, home run rates have certainly increased. On the infield, Hye-seong Kim of Kiwoom has won two KBO Fielding Bible Awards at second base (2020 and 2022), as well as the 2020 multi-position Fielding Bible Award. Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. ), because youre obviously incapable of anything else. Who will be 2021s strikeout king? At the plate, Rutschmans batting eye is extremely sharp, as evidenced by his 13.8% walk rate and 18.3% strikeout rate. Large caveats obviously apply, but there is at least a reason to think he had a good HOF case. Once heralded as a five-tool player, Gurriel was a shell of his former self. On groundballs and line drives, his average EV and HardHit% were both close to his career averages. Web2021 Major League Baseball Batting Leaders | Baseball-Reference.com. Ohtani would have won the AL MVP Award for a second straight year if it weren't for Aaron Judge's historic season, which was his best season as a pitcher. as well as the sharp increase in strikeout rates starting around the 1992 season. He likely would have battled Hye-seong Kim for a starting role on Team Korea had Tommy Edman not joined the team for the WBC. Its really remarkable that you seem to think youve made any real point while being the stupidest person to ever post here. Many contend that some major names are missing from the list. Baseball San Diego Stats Baseball vs San Diego March 10, 2023 6:30 p.m. But I do think we should appreciate that theres only one big difference between Abreus 21-25 seasons and Josh Gibsons: So did I. I find the argument about Abreus HOF chances to be interesting though. Despite his strong performances in the KBO, there are some storylines worth following with Kang in the WBC. Web[8] Active pitchers with 1,700 strikeouts (stats updated through 2022): Gerrit Cole (1,930) - 257 in 2022 Johnny Cueto (1,812) - 102 in 2022 Yu Darvish (1,788) - 197 in 2022 Anbal Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? (I swear I didnt read Dans piece before writing this, haha). Astros GM Dana Brown has professed a tad bit of interest in re-signing Gurriel, although that supposed interest may have been a gesture of respect rather than a genuine expression of desire. Ralph Kiner is a good exemplar of the type over 24 bWAR through age 26. With a fastball that can reach the high 90s, a plus changeup and slider, and a cutter with potential, theres an argument to be made that hill has the best raw stuff in college baseball. Also since 1992, Abreu ranks 21st in WAR among first baseman for ages 27-35, just behind Fred McGriff. Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. His work has also been featured at Baseball Prospectus, Pitcher List, and SB Nation. When hes been healthy, hes been inconsistent in his career, but hes always been able to dominate hitters when hes on. So lets preview some of their key players from the KBO, a league that we watch intently here at Sports Info Solutions: Team Korea has two young left-handed hitters who will line up in the middle of the order for the WBC. Do you have a blog? Others would support their assertions by pointing out that Shohei Ohtani has been seeded relatively low in the standings. I assume the next taek will be Why does anyone think he would have been better than Aaron Judge from 21-24, when he was way worse from 27-30???????. Last season Lee did his best Tony Gwynn impression, posting a tiny 5% strikeout rate with an 11% walk rate. SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. The Shippensburg University baseball team opened a non-conference doubleheader with a win against Slippery Rock on Sunday, 3-2, before dropping Game 2, 6-4, at Fairchild Field. That would conceivably increase his counting stats to probably 400-450+ HR, 1500+ RBI, 2500+ hits, etc. Hoglund came into college baseball with a reputation as an elite strike thrower, but after an up-and-down freshman season, he really came into his own in terms of missing bats last season, when he struck out 37 in 23.1 innings. Like we did last week with the home run race, here were taking stock of some of the top contenders to lead the nation in strikeouts in 2021. As it stands now, no way, but, the dicussion is interesting. Was it because MLB pitchers got a better scouting report on him and were able to better exploit his weaknesses and turn him from a great hitter to merely a very good hitter, or was it because his peak was over by age 28 and the rest of his career was his decline phase? Id love for the completely unknowable downvoter to explain why they disagree with Dan Szymborkski, and instead think that because answering a question is difficult, we shouldnt try to answer it at all. His advanced metrics show how much the injuries limited his game. LAFAYETTE, LA. He was better at the plate after taking a full year off than Freddie Freeman has ever been in a full season. So, conservatively, he would be Freddie Freeman, except for the whole thing where Freeman has been much better from age 27 onward. In 1929, 80% of all qualified hitters had higher walk rates. Lets not forget that as a DH playing for the White Sox, he only needs to reach 38.8 WAR to get into the Hall. Past that, if youre a person who DOES want to just play the conversion game straight up and then treat his pre-age-27 accomplishments as equivalent for HOF purposes, I believe a statement that him earning 20 WAR would be a conservative estimate is belied by how few first baseman have done that. The first is, Joining Lee in the heart of the lineup will be KT Wiz first baseman, Despite his strong performances in the KBO, there are some storylines worth following with Kang in the WBC. Play-by-play data prior to 2002 was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted
He eclipsed 200 innings for the first time in his career. March 1, 2023. If it was the league adjusting to him, then if he had been in the big leagues at 21, he presumably would have had that monster first season then spent the rest of his career as basically the guy weve seen (who to be clear is still a great player and likely would have been a borderline HOFer). I assume the next thing you say will be incredibly stupid (such as pretending Cuba and Japan are the same, I mean, seriously? Minnesotas Max Meyer and Texas A&Ms Asa Lacy both finished in the top five in the nation in strikeouts and then were also selected in the top five picks. The bats came alive and the pitching was stout on another clear and sunny day in the Kansas City area, as the Northwestern College baseball team (2-6, 0-0 GPAC) swept the day to conclude the 2023 Rube Foster Classic with two wins over Kansas Christian and Park (Mo.). He rarely makes poor swing decisions (23.1% chase rate), and when he does unleash, Rutschman makes a Much of the play-by-play, game results, and transaction information both shown and used to create certain data sets was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Do some soul searching on why you continue to be so insufferable? For the 2010-11 season: ZIPS: .306/.433/.629; Davenport: .358/.468/.754. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. In your world 31.2 is more than double 21.9. Matchup History. 2.9. I wish there were a member benefit that let you ignore morons like you. Look, perhaps a player in Cuba is a sadder story than a player in Japan, but we dont put guys in the hall of fame just because they were amazing in Japan and then above average in the U.S. How can Abreu get some special treatment when Hideki Matsui, who absolutely crushed much better completion in Japan before coming over and being an above average player even though at 29 he was likely past his prime. by Handedness, The Disappearance of Hitters Who Walk More Than They Strike Out, Bauer and Cashner: An Object Lesson in Hype. Because you got me looking at it, if you order their seasons by wRC+ over 130 (ignoring their 2020 MVP years) between Abreu and Freeman it goes. For more context, since 2006, he ranks 50th in WAR for ages 32-38. Despite increasing his average launch angle in 2022, he set a new career low with only 6 home runs and a .371 SLG over 62 games. The MLB offseason saw some magnanimous signings throughout the league. GAME 1: Northwestern 10,