Rollie Fingers. Goose Gossage. Bruce Sutter. All three of these Hall of Fame closers are generally considered to be the pioneers of their position. They each recorded 300 saves, began their rise in the mid-1970s, and today, symbolize the gold standard of saving games. They also accomplished feats, though, that […]
ERA
fERA: A New Way To Evaluate Closers
In 1959, the now-infamous Chicago Sun-Times sportswriter Jerome Holtzman examined the 18-1 record of Pittsburgh Pirates relief pitcher Roy Face, and declared, emphatically, that it was misleading (Posnanski “Save Rule Evolves From Stat to Game-Changer”). Holtzman’s passion for the issue did not stop there, however. In time, he would create […]
Despite Innings Limitation, Hendricks Deserves Cy Young Award
Following the now irrelevant 2015 season in which the Chicago Cubs fell to the New York Mets, questions surrounded Kyle Hendricks and his ability to be an effective starting pitcher. Even though he compiled an excellent rookie season, his so-called “sophomore slump” took a toll on his overall statistics, as […]
Hitting Trends in Baseball Have Diminished
I was recently flipping through a Major League Baseball statistic book and I discovered that in the years prior to 2010, baseball seemed to be in an all-offensive stage. More and more players were seeing their batting averages top out at .300 or better and there was better offensive production […]