The game of baseball is a game of statistics. In a long season there are usually enough samples to be able to infer particular patterns in players, to make educated decisions based on those inferences, and in the end, barring unforeseen injuries, you typically get close to what you projected.
Books have been written about this, movies made based on those books, and thus I don’t need to try and explain something which is already common knowledge.
But did you know the game of baseball is also about relationships? Sure, we’ve covered how the EFL is about relationships, and I imagine a lot of the hiring practices in MLB are also based on relationships, but did you know there is increasing evidence that relationships on the field is something that is possibly contributing to an enhanced product, especially for pitchers?
Allow me to step back for a moment. I have watched a lot more baseball this year than in years past, mainly due to the fact that I am not watching any of my children’s baseball games – not because I don’t want to support them, but because those games are not happening in the midst of the pandemic. So I fill the time with other things, including sometimes making dinner (during which I can watch baseball), cleaning up around the house (during which I can watch baseball), sitting on the couch (during which I can watch baseball)….you get the picture.
One thing I have noticed in all of my watching is how much wider the strike zone is this year that in past years. This observation, I tell myself, could just be because I am watching more games, thus seeing more pitches than ever before, which could lead me to believe more pitches outside of the strike zone are being called as strikes when in actuality there are not.
But then Baseball Prospectus posted an article looking at a new phenomenon in this shortened season – catchers are working with the same umpires at a much higher rate this season than in previous seasons. In a normal year, MLB limits the amount of times an umpiring crew works for a particular team. But this year that has not been something they have been able to do, and it is creating a measurable difference in the number of pitches called strikes that are outside of the zone. (As a side not, it is nice to have one’s observations confirmed with actual statistics – a confirmation that in this particular instance I am not crazy).
The author, Robert Arthur, found that, “controlling for a host of other factors (pitch location being the most important), umpires tend to call more strikes the more pitches they take with a given catcher.”
You can read more about the importance of working with the same umpire in terms of called strikes, but this article helped me to realize an important piece of baseball (which is actually an important piece of life) that is rarely talked about – relationships are important in baseball.
I love watching catchers during a game. The ways they make small talk with the umpire in between batters, how they will check in with the umpire in a very caring way if a foul ball ricochets off the umpire’s facemask or body armor, and how when they are at bat they rarely say anything to the umpire about called strikes – which is a marked difference from almost every other player on the field who will frequently argue with the umpire, even in the middle of an at bat. But the catcher? He says nothing, because he knows that what he says matters – not just for him but also for his catcher.
And it turns out that these things matter, and there is emerging data that seemingly supports the idea that if an umpire and a catcher get along and get to spend enough time together, the umpire will start to give the catcher (and by proxy, the pitcher) the benefit of the doubt when a pitch is close to the zone but not in the zone. What a wonderful thing! In a game that is so often black and white – calculated to the most minute detail like spin rates and zone ratings – there is still an element of relationships that influences the on-field product.
I’m willing to live with some questionable calls if it means that relationships continue to be a part of the game. As soon as baseball becomes something that even a computer can produce we are going to lose an aspect of the game that inherently draws people to it, despite not knowing or caring about numbers. That aspect is relationships, and if this pandemic has taught us anything, it is that people need relationships in order to live healthy, fully-flourishing lives. And we can find those, for now, even in this game we love so much.
And I hope that never changes.
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EFL Standings for 2020
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Kaline Drive | 18 | 10 | .648 | — | 143.3 | 104.8 |
| Haviland Dragons | 16 | 12 | .564 | 2.3 | 161.3 | 141.1 |
| D.C. Balk | 12 | 15 | .459 | 5.2 | 132.2 | 143.7 |
| Cottage Cheese | 11 | 15 | .438 | 5.8 | 119.1 | 135.3 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 12 | 16 | .430 | 6.1 | 139.9 | 167.4 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 12 | 16 | .422 | 6.3 | 135.0 | 170.5 |
| Peshastin Pears | 12 | 17 | .419 | 6.5 | 132.0 | 155.3 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 10 | 17 | .389 | 7.2 | 125.9 | 159.1 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 11 | 18 | .391 | 7.3 | 164.2 | 204.9 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 10 | 18 | .374 | 7.7 | 125.7 | 161.7 |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 7 | 21 | .259 | 10.9 | 104.1 | 174.5 |
Kaline: W, 5-3 (44PA; 3.3IP)
| AVG: 0.308 | OBP: 0.341 | SLG: 0.385 | OPS: 0.726 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.303 |
The Drive showed yesterday they can win a game with small ball, just as they have so often proven they can win a game with the long ball. Their small ball game consisted of 12 total hits, with 9 of them being singles and the other 3 being doubles. More importantly, the only struck out 5 times in 44 PAs, and walked 3 times, meaning they got on base 3 times as much as they struck out. That is a good recipe for a win. I’ll admit that Kyle Lewis’ season is surprising to me, in the fact that he continues to hit as well as he is hitting. Usually pitchers and teams adjust to rookies who have hot starts. But if they are, he is adjusting better than they are – he went 3 for 3 yesterday and is now batting .373 on the year (however, I just noticed his BABIP is an insane .464). I’m glad for the Ms and for the Drive that they get to enjoy his good work for a long time.
Haviland: W, 7-5 (38PA; no pitching)
| AVG: 0.265 | OBP: 0.342 | SLG: 0.559 | OPS: 0.901 |
I caught wind of a Dragon trade yesterday, so you know they are taking this shortened season seriously. I don’t know the particulars, but the Dragons are not frequent traders, so it must be good. Yesterday the Dragon ratio of hits and walks to Ks was just over 2, which is very good. They punctuated that healthy ratio with 3 HRs – one each from Miguel Sano, Jedd Gyorko (he’s still around?) and Harrison Bader (his first of the year, and only his 5th hit all season).
DC: “L,” 5-5 (43PA; 5IP)
| AVG: 0.237 | OBP: 0.326 | SLG: 0.421 | OPS: 0.747 |
| ERA: 3.60 | WHIP: 1.400 |
The Balk continued to hold onto 3rd place after getting just enough from their batters and pitchers. Tim Anderson got two more hits on the day, and is now batting .368 on the season, just a few points under Kyle Lewis for 4th in all of MLB. Their H+BB/K ratio was 1.4 on the day, which was not nearly as good as the two teams above them, which could have meant the difference between a W and a L.
Cottage: L, 4-8 (42PA; 4.7IP)
| AVG: 0.225 | OBP: 0.262 | SLG: 0.425 | OPS: 0.687 |
| ERA: 9.57 | WHIP: 1.489 |
The Cheese H+BB/K ratio was .92 yesterday, which was not enough to overcome lackluster pitching. Heralded rookie Brady Singer gave up 4 runs in 4IP, and the usually reliable Scott Alexander gave up another run in less than an inning. Luis Robert did hit another HR (is he really this good?) and finds himself in the Top 10 in the AL for WAR this season. So, yes, I think he is this good.
Flint Hill: W1, L2 16-21 (42PA; 4.3IP)
| AVG: 0.250 | OBP: 0.357 | SLG: 0.389 | OPS: 0.746 |
| ERA: 2.09 | WHIP: 0.698 |
The flip-flopping Rays/Yankees AL East battle is doing the Tornadoes no favors. Neither is the lack of pitching. Neither is the lack of hitting. We are just a mess after showing so much promise for the first 25 games of the season. Our H+BB/K ratio was 1.4, which is better than usual, was enough for one win but not good enough to keep us from 2 more losses. This team needs a shot of adrenaline, and I think I have one coming…or maybe two or three. We shall soon see!
Bellingham: W, 6-4 (17PA; 5.7IP)
| AVG: 0.222 | OBP: 0.588 | SLG: 0.222 | OPS: 0.810 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 1.228 |
The Cascades are maximizing their PAs, getting only 17 of them yesterday but using those to score 6 runs. Their H+BB/K ratio was 9 (!!!) which is amazing. Their 4 batters walked 7 times on the day, proving that patience can win ball games (take that, all you long ball fans!). Three pitchers combined to give up 0 ER, and the Cascades jumped over the Pears and almost over the Tornadoes in the standings.
Peshastin: L, 0-0 (35PA; 11IP)
| AVG: 0.129 | OBP: 0.200 | SLG: 0.226 | OPS: 0.426 |
| ERA: 1.64 | WHIP: 1.000 |
This was not a very exciting game, unless you like 0-0 ties. Pear hitters added little excitement on the day, producing a H+BB/K ratio of .78. But two of their young hurlers, Dustin May and Justus Sheffield, combined to go almost 12 IP and gave up only 1 ER apiece. That should give the Pears hope for years to come, even if they have raised the white flag on this year.
Canberra: L, 3-7 (38PA; 1IP)
| AVG: 0.167 | OBP: 0.342 | SLG: 0.167 | OPS: 0.509 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.000 |
The Roos tried to mimic the Cascades’ approach to offense yesterday, earning 7 BBs but they needed twice as many PAs to do so, and so it wasn’t quite enough. Their H+BB/K ration was a solid 3, but that just means they hit the ball into a lot of outs. Austin Nola did his best to keep up with his teammate Kyle Lewis, going 3 for 5 on the day. Looks like some good things might be brewing in Seattle for years to come!
Portland: L, 7-8 (50PA; no pitching)
| AVG: 0.318 | OBP: 0.367 | SLG: 0.591 | OPS: 0.958 |
More excellent Rosebud hitting, led by Jake Cronenworth (who contributed the 5th Padres Grand Slam this week – 5 in one week!), and Nick Solak who had a pair of hits. Their H+BB/K ratio was 1.6 and 11 of their 12 batters got at least one hit. Too bad nobody showed up to pitch!
Pittsburgh: L, 4-5 (41PA; 6.3IP)
| AVG: 0.229 | OBP: 0.289 | SLG: 0.286 | OPS: 0.575 |
| ERA: 1.43 | WHIP: 1.429 |
The Alleghenys produced a H+BB/K ratio of 1 (11 to 11) which led to a decent amount of runs scored, but not enough to produce a win. Jose Altuve contributed 3 hits, and Christian Vazquez and Dansby Swanson each chipped in 2 hits of their own. Starter Derek Holland went 5IP and gave up 1 ER in their losing effort.
Old Detroit: W0, L3 12-25 (55PA; .3IP)
| AVG: 0.224 | OBP: 0.309 | SLG: 0.429 | OPS: 0.738 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 6.667 |
The Wolverines produced a H+BB/K ratio of 1.5 on the day, led by Trea Turner (2 for 5 with 2 BBs) and Eloy Jimenez (2 for 5 with 2 2Bs). But like the Tornadoes, they Wolverines didn’t have enough of everything to cover an additional 2 games added onto their record.