Archive for March 2015

Recently, we had a request to reprint Sean Smith’s piece from The Hardball Times Annual 2011, entitled, “Do Catchers Have an ERA?” While the research pieces presented in the Annual over the years have been helpful to the sabermetric community, one thing that isn’t helpful is that they’re not shareable online. Now, Sean’s piece is. […]

The good folks at the Society of American Baseball Research have chosen the finalists for their 2015 Analytic Conference Research Awards. The Hardball Times is flattered to have the most pieces nominated, but also be the only blog with nominees in each category. It speaks to the great writers we have here at THT, and […]

On Sunday, Jan. 25, Robert D. Manfred Jr. will officially become baseball’s 10th commissioner. We thought it would be nice to commemorate his taking the mantle of baseball’s most public figurehead with some advice. So, for the next 10 (business) days here at The Hardball Times, we’re going to be running a series of posts. […]

The end of every year is thick with best of lists, awards, and the like. In certain cases, a work of art will get nominated for an award even if no one has even seen it/consumed it yet. In other cases, a work of art that debuted so long ago that you might have forgotten […]

You’ve been reading it all year. Now, with the post that just went live a few minutes ago, we’ve published the final chapter of Jason Linden’s When the Sparrow Sings. It’s been an incredible ride for Zack Hiatt and his team. But, since it’s admittedly hard to wrap your arms around 11 different internet posts, […]

It’s The Hardball Times Annual 2015!

If anyone was lurking on my interactive spray chart tool, they might have seen a new tab: Spray and Strike Zone Plot. This is a brand new feature officially rolling out today. It takes a spray chart for a given player and places it side-by-side with a plot of the strike zone so that you can […]

La Liga Mexicana de Béisbol cuenta con varios trucos.

Bill James’ explanation was straight and to the point during his NPR interview on September 26, 2011.  “Bunting is usually a waste of time…The home team applauds because they get an out, and the other team applauds because they get a base. So what does that tell you?”  The pages of FanGraphs and The Hardball […]

It hasn’t been a well-played game, but it has been fun to watch. The lead has gone back and forth, but now in the bottom of the ninth your boys are down by a couple of runs. In keeping with the theme of this contest, they have managed to load the bases with two out. […]