Commissioner Rob Manfred patient with A’s stadium search - San Francisco Chronicle

“Given the change in the control situation,” Manfred said, “I think it’s prudent and sufficient for Mr. Fisher to take a year and make a decision on what site he thinks is the best.

“That decision is a uniquely local decision. I really don’t believe that it’s my job to have a preference for those sites. They know their market better. They’ve kept me briefed. They’ve spent a heck of a lot more time analyzing the sites. They’re far more familiar with the political issues that ...

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

A Who’s Who of MLB Network analysts.

This Time It’s Fun Again: The MLB All-Star Game of old is back

It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye.

Marlins’ Marcell Ozuna blossoms into All-Star starter under continued mentorship of Barry Bonds - Sun Sentinel

“He was my project when I went there,” Bonds said Saturday in San Francisco. “[Loria] said, ‘He’s yours.’ I said, ‘I guarantee you he won’t get worse.’”

Bonds made good on that promise last year with his work with Ozuna, who made the 2016 All-Star team as a reserve. And Bonds has continued that mentorship from a distance this year, speaking regularly with the Marlins’ left fielder, who will start for the National League in the All-Star Game Tuesday night at Marlins Park.

MLB All-Star Game gets silly with little on the line

MLB All Star Game is now a celebrity softball game.

Robinson Cano’s home run in extras powers AL | MLB.com

AL wins meaningless exhibition.

Take a look at some of the highlights from the 2017 All-Star Red Carpet Show

On “Weaver on Strategy” – The Hardball Times

There was no BaseballReference.com or Retrosheet.com in 1982. Stats, Inc. was founded in 1981. Weavers numbers were kept on index cards.

The anchor of his case is how Boog Powell fared against Mickey Lolich. In separate chapters of the book, Weaver said Powell went 1-for-61 and 2-for-61 against Lolich, a minor and forgivable slip. “That is something that never changed, and it never was going to change,” he said. That was why you gave your big first baseman a day off when Lolich got the ...

The Origin of the All-Star Game

By 1933, the Great Depression had ensnared all aspects of American society, reducing life for many to a scramble to acquire the most basic necessities. Unemployment rose to 25 percent, and roughly 33 million people were left without a source of income. After the bank collapse earlier that year, millions lost their savings, leaving them homeless and forcing families to part ways with their children. Cities and the countryside alike were ravaged, decimating both the middle and working classes, ...

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?