For all the thrills and accomplishments of the 2020 season, there were a number of former All-Stars, MVPs and World Series winners who had down years. As we wait for the free-agent market to heat up and, eventually, spring training and opening day, let’s look at 10 players in need of bounce-back 2021 campaigns. Gleyber […]
Clint Frazier vowed that he would permit his on-field performance to speak for itself this past season. The Yankees outfielder believed that mindset produced success, especially with his selection as a finalist for the American League Gold Glove Award in right field. Frazier didn’t win the award, which was issued to the Rangers’ Joey Gallo […]
This is how it works around here. Every year, as Opening Day nears, I dust off my crystal ball and try to predict the future, with a little column we call “The Numbers That Define Baseball.” It’s fun. It’s eye-opening. And it reminds us, every darned year, that this sport is changing so rapidly that […]
Throughout 2020, it feels like everything we know about the world has been flipped on its head. The MLB season only loosely resembled a normal campaign, U.S. politics have gone haywire, and daily life in America has been altered in unprecedented ways. Also, murder hornets. It’s been a weird year. Amid the added stress of […]
Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Joey Gallo made defensive switches this season and took home Gold Gloves on Tuesday to show for it. Here’s a question: Could Kiner-Falefa do the same thing, including another position switch, all over again in 2021? A year ago at this time, Kiner-Falefa was coming out of a failed experiment to add […]
Manuel Margot‘s falling-over-the-fence catch may be the video highlight that sums up Game 2 of the ALCS between the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros. But Margot’s phenomenal play wasn’t the lone defensive highlight of the game. In fact, you can make a good argument the Rays’ pitching just looks even better because of the […]
The abbreviated 2020 Major League Baseball season will feature many statistical anomalies. That factored into our recent ranking of the best offensive performers, and it’ll hold true with this look at the top defenders at each position this year. We used FanGraphs’ defensive metrics as a guide but included the eye test and recent award […]
Whether it’s relationships, government or even baseball roster moves, actions tell you much more than words. Sometimes, too, actions can leave you perplexed, confused, chasing different signals in different directions. Take this for example: Tuesday night against the Royals, the Tigers started this infield: 1B Jeimer Candelario, 2B Niko Goodrum, SS Willi Castro, 3B Isaac […]
The Oakland A’s were in town over the weekend. So was the AL’s best defensive third baseman. For a change, the two events were mutually exclusive. While the A’s were in town, two-time reigning Gold Glover Matt Chapman was in Vail, Colo., getting a second opinion on what was eventually announced Saturday as a season-ending […]