2021 MLB Non-Phillies News/Notes

[bkox]

Another no hitter:

Detroit's Spencer Turnbull just no-hit Seattle.

Fifth nine-inning no-hitter in MLB this year. The record in the Modern Era is seven in one season.

Second time the Mariners have been no-hit this season. It's May 18, and they are hitting .199 as a team. That is a real statistic.

— Jeff Passan ( @JeffPassan ) May 19, 2021

ANd yet they are only one game under .500

[andyb]

Only 6 teams above .250 this year.

2021 Major League Baseball Standard Batting | Baseball-Reference.com

Major League Baseball Batting Year-by-Year Averages | Baseball-Reference.com

We are beating 1968 now (.236 vs .237 in '68) though OBP is still higher because walks and HBPs are up. Low average certainly means more no-hitters. Power down a bit too this year, but one could argue that is a good thing, though I imagine if all the batting averages are down and strikeouts are up, fewer home runs doesn't mean the revised, supposedly deadened ball has changed much.

It is interesting that the two teams that have scored the most runs (Houston and the White Sox) do not hit that many home runs. Maybe there is something to be learned from a different approach that puts the ball in play more. The Nick Madrigal vs Alec Bohm argument is being won by Madrigal at the moment even when Madrigal has a pedestrian .699 OPS.

[BostonRoss]

1968 resulted in changes to the mound height and strike zone. Will be interesting to see how MLB reacts to 2021.

[bkox]

1968 resulted in changes to the mound height and strike zone. Will be interesting to see how MLB reacts to 2021.

We need a new commish. I have no confidence in Manfred. When he came in he said he wanted more offense. (was after a big pitching year then too_ Then MLB buys Rawlings and suddenly home runs are flying at an absurd pace.

They claim no changes to the ball.. but then change the ball (supposedly slightly) to curb home runs and now suddenly no one can hit.

I cant think of any other sport that changes so much year over year.

But honestly.. im not sure what the changes are that can be mad. Seems everyone throws 100 now. Pitches move in directions that seem to defy physics. Shifts take away many would be singles.

Moving the mound back has been discussed.. but how does that not make every pitcher re-learn how to pitch? And would the distance to first base be further or just a different angle? That might allow more stolen bases again.

[BostonRoss]

Some other tidbits comparing 2021 to 1968:

• Runs per game: 3.4 in 1968, 4.4 in 2021
• Home runs up 87% in 2021 compared to 1968
• Stolen bases are exactly at the same rate in both years (76 per team per 162 games). But 2021 caught stealing rate is half of 1968's.
• 2021 HBP rate is nearly double 1968's. The 2021 leader, Chris Bassitt, has 7 HBP in 53.1 IP. The 1968 leaders, Joe Horlen and George Culver (who no-hit the Phillies that season), had 14 in 223.2 and 226 IP respectively. (I was wondering and checked Drysdale; he had 12 HBP in 1968).
• 2021 walk rate is only 20% higher than in 1968
• Strikeout rate is 55% higher in 2021
• GIDP rate is about the same in both years. The leader in 1968 had 22. Bohm is on a pace for 40.
• The intentional walk rate was 2 1/2 times higher in 1968
• The percentage of times a runner was advanced from 2B to 3B with no outs is about 50% in both years.
• There were two no-hitters through May 19 in 1968. There were five by season's end.

Remember, there was no DH in 1968, which of course inflates the 2021 stats

[andyb]

The intentional walk rate was 2 1/2 times higher in 1968

Many fewer pitchers to get to in the lineup these days. DH in one league and starters rarely get more than 2 AB where they might have gotten 3 or 4 in the 1960s. I suspect the intentional walk of the 8th place hitter was much more prevalent. Plus, with fewer home runs the extra baserunner was just less dangerous then.

MLB has a problem in general though. The changes we discussed in the offseason are now worse with even fewer balls in play. It might take a bunch of things to fix this. Move the mound back a foot to help the hitters. Deaden the ball to help the pitchers. Changes in approach to defeat the shift. No one solution unfortunately.

[BostonRoss]

I know they’re experimenting with moving the mound back in some league, but I can’t see how guys who have been pitching from the same distance for 10 or 20 years will all be able to instantly adjust. How would you like to be paying Trevor Bauer if he can’t adjust quickly and easily?

Besides, it must be harder to throw strikes from farther away. We don’t need even more walks.

[andyb]

Besides, it must be harder to throw strikes from farther away. We don’t need even more walks.

We really don't know the effect moving the mound back a foot will have on breaking pitches where pitchers clearly practice to have the ball break at a certain point. I do think the adjustment will be fairly easy though unless we are talking about a 2-foot difference. And the adjustment is the same for Trevor Bauer as anybody else.

I do think they still need to deaden the ball though no matter what. The ball travels further than it used to for a variety of reasons. It does not matter why though. MLB has the technology to change the liveliness of the ball. One of the reasons that we see more walks is pitchers are scared to throw strikes. Deadening the ball will decrease the number of walks because more strikes will be thrown.

They should test all of this of course. They should not be hesitant to make changes though. The game is worse than it was a decade ago. That is a problem. When the NFL sees a problem they fix it. Baseball doesn't and often lets problems become worse by not controlling things (letting parks get smaller, bats denser, etc.).

[BostonRoss]

I’m not sure the adjustment would be the same for everyone. Some may find it difficult while for others it might be seamless. I have no reason to think Bauer will be one of the ones who struggle, but if he were, the Dodgers wouldn’t be too happy paying that kind of money to a pitcher who is relearning.

[andyb]

The adjustment is the same for everyone. The question is whether they can make the adjustment individually. This does not bother me. Certain pitchers become less valuable with a livelier ball that flys out of the park more. Cole Irvin is more valuable in Oakland than in Philly because of the big park. While changing the mound might have unintended consequences, I don't think we care as long as the resulting game is better.

[bkox]

Corey Kluber no-hits his former Rangers team, 2-0. 6th no-hitter of the season, 1st for the 2-tine Cy Young winner.

— Jon Heyman ( @JonHeyman ) May 20, 2021

There have been 6 no-hitters this year: 2 each against Cleveland, Seattle and Texas.

— Jon Heyman ( @JonHeyman ) May 20, 2021

-

There have been no-hitters on back-to-back days for the first time since April 30 and May 1, 1969.

— Stats By STATS ( @StatsBySTATS ) May 20, 2021

[zambonir]

won't even lead Sportscenter again this year.

[bkox]

in a shocking development. There were 0 no-hitters thrown today.

[zambonir]

LA and Scott were going on about it all night. LA also threw some shade at Nick Pivetta.

[bkox]

With Mike Trout now out with a calf injury, MLB’s 30 teams have already used the injured list 402 times, costing a total of 9,575 days, $187 million of dead salary, and counting https://t.co/Zku9XQlTRA

— Sportico ( @Sportico ) May 21, 2021

[Patchmk88]

Is there any push/research to combat injuries in Baseball? It seems to have one of the highest injury rates of all sports (maybe outside of football). No data on this just a guess based off of the eye test.

[Philsmania]

Is there any push/research to combat injuries in Baseball? It seems to have one of the highest injury rates of all sports (maybe outside of football). No data on this just a guess based off of the eye test.

It seems as though nowadays in general, athletes in all sports sit out more due to injury. See also how the Sixers are always managing the workload of Embiid, for example. I attribute it to the fact that we know more about medicine and human physiology (particularly with regard to head injuries) and the long-term health and/or orthopedic risks of "playing hurt" than we used to. Not to mention, a team physician doesn't want to be sued for malpractice or lose his/her license over clearing a guy to play when he really shouldn't be playing. Oh, and back in the day, players were able and allowed to "medicate" more than they can now (pain-killers & amphetamins which they didn't get at the drug store and, in some cases, herion which they weren't tested for).

[bkeich]

Is there any push/research to combat injuries in Baseball? It seems to have one of the highest injury rates of all sports (maybe outside of football). No data on this just a guess based off of the eye test.

I also think there may be a little "roster manipulation" going on. Dont need a 5th starter for turn... oops, he has a boo-boo, see you in 10 days. Need to stash your extra utility guy somewhere until someone gets hurt.... splinter in his pinky.

[zambonir]

Injuries are obviously up in baseball this year because of last year. That was the case in hockey too for opposite reasons (in baseball, too much time off and not enough conditioning, in hockey not enough time off and not enough conditioning).

[andyb]

Injuries are obviously up in baseball this year because of last year.

I am not sure that is all clear. It is probably a minor factor, but I would bet a half dozen things are larger factors. Traditional early season muscle injuries. More hit batsmen. More awareness of how to use the 10-day IL to manipulate a roster. But the big things I would point to are analytics-based training. The goal of training is short term performance. Highest spin rate. Hardest exit velocity. That means muscles and repetitive activities at a high effort. Training someone to throw 99 has its consequences. Training any hitter that exit velocity is important probably means more oblique and wrist injuries.

The longer season (remember they had the traditional layoff) injuries will probably be more prevalent in the second half of the season and not early.

Maybe they need to train players to play every day and pitch longer outings. That means the players need to be flexible and emphasize power less. Baseball should be a reaction game, not necessarily a strength game. Pitching should be as much about craft (changing speeds, hitting locations) as velocity. It is a hidden reason around all these change the game discussions. The older game was simply safer for players than today's game.