Foolish Baseball patreon

Patreon Q&A September 2022 - collecting your questions!

🕑 Added 2022-09-01 23:24:07 +0000 UTC

Comments

Jason Timmerman

I agree with your analysis and I also understand that being a proponent of first base defensive value as a real factor in a HOF case is probably a losing proposition. First base is the least valuable defensive position. It typically does not take exceptional athleticism, a strong and accurate arm, or even a very sure glove. Most of the time you need to shuffle about 15 feet to your left and catch a ball. But Keith played the position differently than anyone in baseball history. He's not simply the best defensive 1B of all time from the sense of he did all the standard things better than anyone else. He also did things defensively that no one else has ever done. How many 3-5-1 double plays do you see? How many first basemen call the infield's defensive shifts? His OPS+ is strong but not HOF-level elite. But, during the time he was in the league, only Eddie Murray had a higher OPS+ amongst first basemen. That has to count for something also. Keith played during a time when first base offense was not particularly high. And he was one of the best offensively and clearly the best defensively. He also excelled at aspects of the game that were not as highly valued then, such as getting on base, as they are today. His HOF candidacy, if re-evaluated under modern lens, looks differently than it did during his time on the ballot. He's very similar, compared to his contemporaries, as Joey Votto on the offensive side of the ball. And again, clearly the best defender ever. Andruw Jones also has a very strong case and hopefully still finds his way in on the standard ballot. He's definitely deserving. But I think Keith is a HOFer. He has the hardware and he has the value. He wasn't slugger, but that isn't to say he couldn't have been. He was a product of his era.

Foolish Baseball

Dude, I just BIFFED it BIG TIME. I recorded my video response to your question, but I kinda skimmed over the stats and I genuinely thought you were talking about Andruw Jones, but obviously looking closer it's Keith Hernandez. So I'm gonna update my response here. I think the biggest thing is that even though Hernandez grades out as the best defensive player of his position, first base is not considered a premium position. Some sabermetric perspectives would argue that a merely average 2nd baseman would offer more defensive value than the best 1st baseman ever. Also, 128 OPS+ at 1B not making the HOF isn't unheard of. John Olerud had a 129 OPS+ and was a great defender as well, but never got any love. Voters wanna see a slugger. The fact that neither Hernandez, Olerud, or even Mattingly didn't make it at least shows some ideological consistency.

Josh Duncan

From watching Shohei Ohtani this year I have noticed that he seems to throw two different types of slider. (One High 80s which sweeps more horizontally and one lower in speed which seems to have more vertical drop). He also throws two curveballs Kind of. (One really slow 69-74 as a get me over pitch and one in low 80s as a swing and miss pitch) add these to his now two fastballs, cutter and splitter, do you think it is accurate to say he has a 8 pitch mix rather than 6? Also do you think he may shy away from the four seamer in favour of his sinker? In a similar vein to your Corbin Burnes video and his cutter. I apologise for the incoherent mess of the first question, it was quite difficult to phrase.

Logan Raymond

Should draft pick trading be allowed in MLB?

Mattematik

Hello i'm a recent watcher of MLB. I'm passionate of NBA in particular the statistics and tactical sides. Some NBA friend recommand to watch your videos. I'm some basics questions for you i think : Whats is the most accurates advanced stats to evaluate hitters ? pitchers and fielders ? Thanks :)

Jack Main

lmao never forget when you said Cedric Mullins wasn't an elite hitter

Will Kaplan

Been thinking about the "Albert Pujols is Too Slow for Baseball" video from a while back. It is an outlier compared to other episodes in the sense that it's more negative than than positive/neutral. Do you think about making things more positive? Or did I miss the point of the video?

Troy Lahrman

What do you make of Yasmani Grandal this season? Last year he was, by a decent margin, the best offensive catcher when healthy. This year on a few rehab stints in the upper levels of the minors he has torn it up. However in the Majors this season he has an OPS+ of 69 and a negative bWAR. Any insight on what’s going on? Is he just done?

Bradley Wilkerson

If you had to give out a Tungsten Arm O'doyle award every year who takes it this year. Judge or Ohtani or someone else?

Dan Russell

In your opinion, what's the most disappointing free agent signing this season?

Chris Waind

Do you have any favourite songs related to baseball, at least tangentially? I love ‘Talkin’ Baseball/Softball’ (because of The Simpsons) and Ode to the Mets by the Strokes which isn’t about the Mets per se but about being continually let down by something you love, and was written after the 2016 Wild Card game. Also, Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball Bits when?

Max Greineder

Whos going to win MVP in each league? Also, are the Mariners legit this year?

Bo Brown

If you had the Angels this offseason on in OOTP what would you do?

Josh Getto

If MLB were to change the rules and reverse when foul balls counted as strikes (not a strike on zero or one strike counts, but strike on two strike counts), do you think the total number of strikeouts per year would increase or decrease? What about walks?

ad23

Who has the better future outlook, George Kirby or Logan Gilbert? (or Emerson Hancock, if you want)

Eli Presberg

Would you rather have completely silent but awful smelling farts, or extremely loud but olfactorily harmless ones?

James Nagengast

If there was one player not in MLB who you could see live who would it be? Personally I would say Munetaka Murakami.

Nolan Murphy

Are you a fan of musicals and if so do you have a favorite?

gene

How often do you watch/stream baseball games? Do you consistently watch the Braves or is it more based on what seems good on a given night?

Evan A

Where do the Tigers go from here?

Eve H

Who would win in a game between a team of all position players and a team of all pitchers?

Tyler Maranzatto

Camden Yards made the big change this off-season by pushing back that left field to reduce home runs and to their credit it has worked, last year they lead the league with 277and this year theyre well below average with 116. Mr.Baseball i’m curious if you had to make one change to a ball park what would it be and why?

Oliver Sughrue

In the basketball analytics community, there is a lot of talk about players who would've looked better in the modern spaced-out game. Are there players whose games jump out as candidates for faring better in a different era?

David Pulido

Dodgers have a recent history of dominating the regular season but are struggling to put it all together in the post-season. What do you think they're missing to put together a dynasty like the 1998 - 2001 Yankees?

Jason Timmerman

If a player is unquestionably the best defensive player at his position of all time and also accumulated the second highest WAR and had the second highest OPS+ at his position during his career, what is the case for not putting that player in the hall of fame? 11 consecutive gold gloves, 128 career OPS+, 60.4 WAR, MVP, 2X world champ (1x captain).

Noah Dorroh

Where do you see Hunter Brown fitting in with the Astros, will likely be coming out the pen in the playoffs, but long term, do you think he’ll be more of a top of the rotation or middle of the rotation kinda guy?

Leo Thomas

As an Angels fan I have dream that we could field a rotation of four two-way players: Ohtani, Lorenzen, Walsh and Trout. Lorenzen was almost league average at the plate since 2018, Walsh has 5 MLB innings at a 1.80 ERA, and Trout once pitched a no-hitter in high school. If the Angels did this in 2022 how many wins do you think they’d realistically end a full 162-game season with?

Brandon Perez

Offensively, who are the Dodger Big 3 comparable to? Is there statistical backing for this being one of the best trios of all time?

Keegan Tatum

Why do you think 3B has been historically weak?

Max

As a german baseball fan I would like to know what you think is necessary to grow the sports popularity in countries which don't have a mainstream baseball culture.

Asaf Cohen

What do you think is the craziest player stat achievement of all time. A season/game/career stat that you think is just unrepeatable or insane that it ever happened at all. Love u Bailey ❤️

bobby witt jr truther

most exciting up-and-coming team to watch that has been bad this season? Orioles don’t count

Liam

Let’s say you had a hitter where every time he got a hit is was a home run. The rest of his PAs are normal outs that can be productive. How low of a batting average could this hitter have before you wouldn’t want him on your team anymore? (How much would it change if he did strike out every time he didn’t homer?)

Paul

Jhoan Duran recently threw a 100.8 mph “splinker” which is said to be the hardest off-speed pitch recorded in the pitch tracking era. Do you think that it is possible for an off-speed pitch to be thrown that hard? Are terms like off-speed even useful in today’s game where we see such crazy stuff on the mound?

G

Do you think Team USA for the 2023 WBC is too right-hand heavy? Only Cedric Mullins and Bryce Harper are left-handed hitters at this point. Or, is it completely irrelevant with all the high caliber talent in a short tournament?

Andrew Pippin

Imagine you're building a baseball team. You can only pick 2 positions to focus on, and pick absolute legends to fill them. What position are you picking, and why? If you pick any pitching related position, everyone in that position is fantastic. Personal pick would be Starting pitcher and Second base.

Chris Collum

Spencer Strider??!?

Jared Natsis

Would you restructure the current MLB divisions if you got the chance, or would you leave it the way it is?

Stephen

What's the best way to quantify the value Shohei adds by saving his team a roster spot? Just add 2 to his WAR?

Leeroy Jenkins

Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy?

Ryan McGovern

You are constructing an all-time team, but in this league you must play by Ohtani rules where one of your pitchers in the rotation must be the starting DH in at least 75% of games he's not on the bump. Your only options for the Ohtani slot are 2001 Mike Hampton, 2004 Randy Wolf, or 2007 Micah Owings. Which one do you pick?

scoreless.thru.23

here's a hypothetical for you: 0. we live in an alternate universe 1. in this alternate universe, you are the grand emperor of baseball 2. you must choose any 30-second baseball clip (any moment, any era, including moments that have not, in our timeline, been filmed) to go viral on twitter (like the Edwin Díaz entrance, for example) 3. in this alternate universe, Edwin Díaz does not exist what baseball clip are you choosing? why?

nick podd

Hello Bailey, You do a lot of comparing players across different eras in your videos. I was wondering how much weight you put in the stats of the early days of baseball, particularly when the rules were still being set. To me, before pitchers pitched overhand (1884) and the mound was 60' 6" (1893) the game is too different to do any real comparison to the modern game. And Tim Keef had a 20 WAR year in 1883! Thanks for the content as always.

rinn

what do u think about ha-seong kim and the improvements he's made this season? how much more do u think he can continue to get better and do you think we will ever see the power numbers he put up in the KBO?

ajnrules

Even with his most recent calf injury, Justin Verlander’s return from Tommy John surgery has been far more successful than anybody had anticipated. Do you feel that improves his chances at reaching 300 wins at all?

C.J. Keene

1) Creative process: I often struggle getting my ideas off the ground or over the finish line. How do you know when an idea is worth investing time in/needs to be trashed? 2) Baseball: What do you (realistically) think a small-market team should be doing if it’s serious about being competitive?

Wolf Haley

If you could combine the traits of any two non-all star caliber players all time, who would you choose and why?

Jordan Kot

Is Shane Bieber still an ace or a high-end number 2?

Carl Mizell

What impossible-to-know record do you wish you could actually determine? For example, I would love to know which pitcher broke the most bats in his career.

Eric Wu

hello how do you feel about the current view on BABIP? it feels like people know that 0.300 is about the average and that hitters will eventually regress to that and is mostly luck. i am of the opinion that BABIP is significantly more skill-dependent than people think because most hitters can maintain similar values across seasons. curious how you see it rn

alursai

Favorite lil ugly mane song

Brad Hofvander

What reliever do you feel had the most dominating season? I think Carlos Marmol in 2008 with his 325 ERA+ and 12.5 K/9 had one of the most dominant I’ve seen. No one could touch his slider that season.