The Recent History of Free-Agent Pricing

But first this piece will explain how I actually calculate average value — the reference point for whether players are undervalued or overvalued. It is also the appropriate reference point when considering the opportunity cost of any other number of baseball moves. For example, when a team is considering the value of acquiring a young player who will produce a large volume of team-controlled WAR, the reference point for valuing him is the cost of acquiring that amount of WAR on the free-agent ...

ALL-STAR CHATTER, for June 11, 2017

How five players on the awful 1999 Marlins made the team unforgettable

That ’99 team, despite its record, will be tough to ignore. You won’t just see members of the club in Marlins Park, you’ll see them plastered all over your TV. Five players from the team: Ryan Dempster, Cliff Floyd, Mike Lowell, Kevin Millar and Preston Wilson reunited, and work together as broadcasters with MLB Network today.

The 1999 Marlins may have failed on the field, but something memorable was happening in the clubhouse. Every day, a group of some of the loudest, wackiest and most ...

Juiced baseballs? Rob Manfred says he’s ‘certain’ balls are within specified limits

Manfred replied: “I know with absolute certainty” that the baseballs are within specified limits.

This is a non-answer. As noted in comprehensive articles (and podcasts) by both Ben Lindbergh (and Mitchel Lichtman) for The Ringer, and Rob Arthur for FiveThirtyEight, the range of acceptable liveliness of a baseball (in technical terms, its coefficient of restitution, or COR), varies wildly, from levels that could threaten a new Dead Ball Era to what we have this season, when we’re on pace to ...

Leitch: The All-Star Game Should Be Fun

I don’t agree with every one of his suggestions but I like the premise.  The All-Star game exists first and foremost for fun.  It doesn’t need gimmicks like deciding home-field advantage to make it matter.

Former Cubs catcher David Ross will return to field for Kansas Stars

Retired catcher and former Cub David Ross is returning to the field with the Kansas Stars, an independent team of former major-leaguers that debuted in the National Baseball Congress last year. Former White Sox player Adam LaRoche and Nate Robertson organized the team.

Here's your final Kansas Stars roster. pic.twitter.com/vWl0Op46Nd

— Jeffrey Lutz (@JLutzMedia) July 11, 2017

Astros player hops into DMs to lambast fan who tweeted about trading him | WFAA.com

It looks like the Astros front office might want to explain to Bregman why this wasn’t a good decision.

MLB commissioner mentions Charlotte’s name on the telly! | Field of Schemes

It’s tough to extort taxpayers without viable alternatives. Of course, if your team is in Cobb County, extortion isn’t even needed.

This isn’t actually the first time that Manfred has mentioned Charlotte as an expansion possibility — he did so back in 2015 as well, along with Portland — but in baseball Kremlinology, it’s de rigueur to interpret the hell out of every word out of the guy’s mouth, so let’s give it a shot. Maybe Charlotte has jumped to the head of the list in the last 14 ...

Olney: Baseball’s lost All-Star opportunity - Buster Olney Blog- ESPN

Another meaningless exhibition.

Statcast Lab: Where do great fielders showoff more than the rest of the field?

Here’s an interesting look at some Statcast data.

How many MLB parks have you visited? - Washington Post

The number of current parks I’ve visited is shrinking.

Report: Cubs offered Kyle Schwarber for Tigers’ Michael Fulmer - CBSSports.com

via GIPHY

Aaron Judge’s legendary Home Run Derby performance introduced the world to baseball’s newest star

Fitting in a Game of Thrones reference was quite the stretch.

Though three months does not make a star, Judge’s power, his pinstripes, his age, his marketability and his unfailing likeability do make him the finest crossover candidate to play baseball since Ken Griffey Jr. twisted his cap backward and inspired a generation now in its 30s and 40s. Baseball constantly crowns the next big thing. After too many Joffrey Baratheons, Judge may be Daenerys Stormborn, his dragon a bat.

“He’s an ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 7-11-2017

Washington Times, July 11, 1917:

There are two reasons why [Washington lost to Detroit yesterday].

One is that just before the game Mr. Jennings fired Alexander Rivers, a high-priced, dark-skinned mascot, who recently was imported from New Orleans, at much expense, and who has specialized in bringing bad luck, instead of good. The other was the introduction of Doc Ayers in the seventh inning.

No runs were scored off the Doctor. Very few ever are made off him by Detroit…There’s something ...

MetsBlog: Mets have the worst infield defense in baseball

Free Amed Rosario!

The Mets have the worst infield defense in baseball, as measured by Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), tweeted Mark Simon of ESPN.

The Mets’ -32 DRS are far worse than the second-worst team on the list (the Padres), who have -22 DRS.

Using the Defensive Runs Saved metric, the Cubs—with 46 DRS—have the best infield defense in baseball.

The Mets have primarily been using Lucas Duda at first base, Asdrubal Cabrera at second base, Jose Reyes at shortstop, and Wilmer Flores at third ...

The All-Time Leaders In Undeserved All-Star Appearances | FiveThirtyEight

Oh, Steve Garvey!

Baseball Prospectus | Prospectus Feature: Measuring Pitcher Similarity

Some interesting work on pitch similarity.

Jeter’s group closing in on $1.2B Marlins deal | New York Post

But wait…

They Stole Home in 1927. – Our Game

Let learned not to pitch from the wind-up with a man on third.

Top 100 Prospects Chat | BaseballAmerica.com

Great Q/A at Baseball America.

Aaron Judge wins 2017 Home Run Derby | MLB.com

An entertaining Home Run Derby. Who knew it was possible?

Marlins Sold (and not a Jeter in sight)

After a long saga, Forbes reports that the Miami Marlins will finally have a new owner.

According to the outlet, Jorge Mas, the co-founder of MasTech, has bought the team from Jeffrey Loria for $1.17 billion.

the sale was JUST to Jeter’s left

How are the Angels succeeding without Mike Trout?

Quite a few players excelled in Trout’s absence. After struggling up until Trout’s injury, Kole Calhoun has hit .292/.356/.456 with 7 HR. To have some fun with arbitrary endpoints, he had a great month of June, hitting .324/.388/.505. Yunel Escobar came off a hamstring injury on June 1st and started firing on all cylinders, hitting .319/.388/.440. Andrelton Simmons — who is in the midst of his best offensive season and is already worth 4 bWAR — is getting in on the action, too. He has ...

MLB’s All-Surprise Team

First Base: Justin Smoak, Blue Jays
First base has the fiercest competition for the “most surprising” honor, but Smoak, who carried a below-average bat for nearly 3,000 plate appearances before this year, has the slightest edge over his peers. The switch-hitting Blue Jay has already set a career high in homers (23). He’s chopped his strikeout rate almost in half from last season. He’s increased his career WAR from 0.2 to 2.4. He’s navigated the common career path from top prospect to ...

Now the Marlins Are Suing a Fan to Seize His $725,000 Building

I’m starting to think Jeffrey Loria might be a bad dude.

So how could Loria further embarrass Major League Baseball before the All-Star Game tomorrow? Well, here’s a hell of a good way: by taking a fan to court to try to seize his property.

That’s exactly what the Miami Marlins owner is doing, according to court records obtained by New Times. Loria’s team is suing a fan named Kenneth Sack in Broward County to take a $725,000 building he owns in Oakland Park — all as part of the same ugly ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 7-10-2017

Tacoma Times, July 10, 1917:

Despite the valiant efforts of Russ Hall, manager of the [Tacoma] Tigers, J.L. Davis, Butte Director, and Pete Jensen, Great Falls director, to keep the Northwestern league afloat, the old circuit last evening gave a final gasp, and sank sputtering beneath the waves of defeat.

The league has “flivvered.” Not because the directors all wanted to. But because D.E. Dugdale, Seattle magnate, was losing money thru his personal unpopularity with Seattle fans, and decided ...

Elderly woman flashes bra on big screen at Dodgers game | Daily Mail Online

Please don’t make Rally Grandma a thing. Please.

Futures Game players on fast track to MLB | MLB.com

1. Yoan Moncada, 2B, White Sox: It has to be a matter of when, not if, right? Moncada didn’t follow up his 2016 Futures Game MVP performance this year, but his tools (11 homers, 16 SB) have to be an upgrade over what the White Sox have at second base currently, no?

2. Amed Rosario, SS, Mets: See above. Mets fans have been clamoring for Rosario to get called up and he’s making it tough to stay patient as he continues to hit while Jose Reyes is batting .215 in New York.

Acuna, Fisher, Kopech star in Futures Game | MLB.com

And he was only signed for $100,000.

Entering the day hitting .325/.374/.507 since being promoted to Double-A, Acuna cracked the hardest-batted ball of the game, 112.3 mph with a 13-degree launch angle, in the seventh inning off of Royals prospect Foster Griffin. That combination falls for a hit 78 percent of the time, and it was actually the only Barrel of the day—a ball that qualifies as the near-perfect combination of exit velocity and launch angle. Unfortunately for Acuna, center fielder ...

Top Rays prospect Brent Honeywell showed off his nasty screwball in the 2017 Futures Game | MLB.com

It was curious the announcers didn’t point out the pitch during the game.