Today marks a memorable anniversary in the history of baseball stadiums. Exactly a half-century ago today, the Los Angeles Dodgers played their first game in Dodger Stadium at Chavez Ravine. It was a breakthrough—the first of the modern stadiums. Dodger Stadium was the first place to try to get rid of obstructed seats. Up to […]

Today marks the 20th anniversary in one of the biggest turning points in the history of major league baseball stadiums. On April 6, 1992, the doors opened for the first major league game at the new Orioles Park: Camden Yards. It was, simply put, a sensation, as many writers and fans hailed it as an […]

40 years ago, baseball witnessed one of more memorable trades. It’s a trade that involved several notable players and arguably wasn’t a very good move for either team. On April 5, 1972, the Mets went all-out to land the man they wanted, Montreal’s Rusty Staub. He was clearly the best player in Montreal. He was […]

Rich Dauer was the American League’s version of Glenn Hubbard. He didn’t hit all that well, had little power, and couldn’t run. But he could play the fundamentals out of second base. Dauer had vacuum-suction hands, a strong arm, and that rock-solid ability to turn a double play without being dropped to the ground. In […]

Someone interrupted my presentation at the SABR Analytic Conference to tell me that he literally “knew” that the Cardinals were going to win the seventh game of the World Series last year after they broke Texas’ heart in Game Six. Someone else (at least, I think it was someone else) commented on my recent critical […]

A quarter-century ago, two teams engaged in what seemed like a fairly routine and scarcely notable transaction, but turned into one of the biggest steals of the 1980s. On April 3, 1987, the Oakland A’s sent three minor leagues to the Chicago Cubs for Dan Rohn and Dennis Eckersley. At the time it looked like […]

Ten years ago today, one of baseball’s can’t-miss prospects made the big leagues. He was the sort of player that had all the scouts and analysts raving about him and seemingly had everything lined up to start a magnificent major league career. There was just one problem. This can’t-miss did miss, and miss badly. His […]

The real key to forecasting performance in any year is getting a player’s playing time right. Sure, averages and percentages rise and fall, but they remain outside our best efforts to make them more predictable. Playing time is tough to predict too, but something can be done here. This is where you come in. People […]

Thirty years ago today was one of the biggest crosstown trades in Chicago history. In involved two MVPs—one who had previously won one and one who in the future would win one. On March 30, 1992, the Cubs sent left fielder George Bell&mdashwho’d won the 1987 AL MVP while a member of the Blue Jays—to […]

When the new Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed and announced most people were concerned with the new budgets for spending in the amateur draft and international free agency, and rightfully so. These new regulations will make it harder for teams to get a lot of young, quality talent, but, advocates hope, even things out a […]