***2024 MLB Regular Season Thread***

What is with the horrendously poor hitting? Guys in the starting lineup in MLB games hitting less than .200, that is crazy? I have been following baseball again after a couple decades only watching the World Series. It does seem homers are up, but I haven't looked at the year by year stats on that issue. I also notice the long closer has gone away.

Originally posted by BobS:
What is with the horrendously poor hitting? Guys in the starting lineup in MLB games hitting less than .200, that is crazy? I have been following baseball again after a couple decades only watching the World Series. It does seem homers are up, but I haven't looked at the year by year stats on that issue. I also notice the long closer has gone away.

It's strike out or hit a HR. Baseballs been ruined now

Statcast era
Instant knowledge of hitters traits

The art of pitching has increased
More sinkers and sweepers over just fastballs

Originally posted by SoCold:
Statcast era
Instant knowledge of hitters traits

The art of pitching has increased
More sinkers and sweepers over just fastballs

I started paying attention again because I decided to try betting the game, at one time or another I have bet NFL football, NBA, and horse racing. I was a huge baseball fan as a kid but my fandom wavered into adulthood. I agree we have instant knowledge of all things sports these days, some of those baseball stats on places like FanGraphs I had to look up because I never heard of the acronyms before. I suppose I erroneously thought all those stats were available to pitchers and coaches decades ago, it just took more time, effort and staff to compile them.

Pre internet I had some really good seasons betting the NBA, my edge was spending 30 hours a week compiling point spread analysis and how some teams performed in back to back road games and the like. I rode my motorcycle the 150 mile round trip to Tijuana to bet up to 5 times a week.

The internet gets popular and within a couple years what took me 30 hours a week to do anyone could get that information in minutes with a few mouse clicks, goodbye edge. I just figured MLB teams back in the day had the same info as today, just there were a lot of guys spending 60 hour weeks watching game film, instead of subscribing to a scouting service.

It's pitching. Pitchers are more valuable when they strikeout more batters. On the other hand, hitters aren't necessarily worse when they strikeout more - IF they can hit for power. So the optimal strategy for pitchers is to try to strikeout every batter. And in response, the optimal hitting strategy is to hit for more power.

It has made baseball less fun.

Originally posted by TheNaitch:
It's pitching. Pitchers are more valuable when they strikeout more batters. On the other hand, hitters aren't necessarily worse when they strikeout more - IF they can hit for power. So the optimal strategy for pitchers is to try to strikeout every batter. And in response, the optimal hitting strategy is to hit for more power.

It has made baseball less fun.

Funny
Last night during the Tigers game they showed a quote from a news paper from the late 1800s saying just about the same thing you just did.

Originally posted by TheNaitch:
It's pitching. Pitchers are more valuable when they strikeout more batters. On the other hand, hitters aren't necessarily worse when they strikeout more - IF they can hit for power. So the optimal strategy for pitchers is to try to strikeout every batter. And in response, the optimal hitting strategy is to hit for more power.

It has made baseball less fun.

What I find baffling is in extra innings with a free man on 2nd, a rule I don't like, often the team leading off the inning does not sacrifice that runner to third more than half the time. I rarely see teams playing small ball to get a run.

Originally posted by BobS:

Originally posted by TheNaitch:
It's pitching. Pitchers are more valuable when they strikeout more batters. On the other hand, hitters aren't necessarily worse when they strikeout more - IF they can hit for power. So the optimal strategy for pitchers is to try to strikeout every batter. And in response, the optimal hitting strategy is to hit for more power.

It has made baseball less fun.

What I find baffling is in extra innings with a free man on 2nd, a rule I don't like, often the team leading off the inning does not sacrifice that runner to third more than half the time. I rarely see teams playing small ball to get a run.

That's because managers are playing the new numbers.
If you are the away team and leading off the 10th the #s say if you score more than 1 run the chance of winning goes up by X%

If you only score 1 run then then home team can still win it with one swing.

It's science.

This White Sox team is amazingly terrible. 31-108, .233 win %, and on another 10+ game losing streak. They need to go 12-11 in their last 23 games to avoid matching the 1962 Mets for the modern record of 120 losses, which seems impossible. The worst winning % in modern baseball (1901-present) belongs to the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, who went 36-117 for a .235 win %. That's also the fewest wins in a modern baseball season, but to avoid matching that low win total Chicago would need to go 6-17, which is a .261 win % over the last 23 games. They have to get to 39 wins to get above that .235 win % of that 1916 Athletics team - you know, go 8-15 in their last 23 games. Yeah right. That's how putrid this team is - they're equaling a deadball era team who two years prior went from first to worst by jettisoning their best players, and one of the original expansion teams.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Ben Joyce just unleashed a 105.5 mph Heater

105.5 MPH @StoolBaseball
pic.twitter.com/fVCF9lhZBe

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) September 4, 2024

Going to the Dodgers next season

Ted Williams 1955 and Parker Meadows last night are the only two guys in mlb history to come to the plate in the 9th on the road with two outs and 1 strike away from a shutout then drop a grand slam.

How do the stat nerds even find that lol

Originally posted by JustinMT:

John Schriffen has a question after White Sox manager Grady Sizemore and LF Andrew Benintendi are ejected by Hunter Wendelstedt on consecutive pitches.

"Where are these automatic umps?" pic.twitter.com/Ha5IWe2YlT

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 4, 2024

Pathetic

Originally posted by GoreGoreGore:

Originally posted by BobS:
What is with the horrendously poor hitting? Guys in the starting lineup in MLB games hitting less than .200, that is crazy? I have been following baseball again after a couple decades only watching the World Series. It does seem homers are up, but I haven't looked at the year by year stats on that issue. I also notice the long closer has gone away.

It's strike out or hit a HR. Baseballs been ruined now

Arizona is doing well playing small ball with killer speed on the bases.