Baseball Graphs is dedicated to the better use and communication of baseball statistics. Below, you'll find excerpts from, and links to, some of the best baseball writers on the Internet. Follow the links above to read my own intermittent attempts at wisdom (the Baseball Graphs blog), and the heart of this site, historical graphs of every season dating back to 1900.
There are also two special sections you might want to check out. One is the graphical review of the 2003 season, which informed our work at The Hardball Times. The other is the Batted Balls Library, which includes a unique look at batters and pitchers from 2002 through 2005.
Over at a Minnesota Twins’ blog called Three Up, Three Down , there is an article using Win Shares to assess the Twins’ offseason developments. This is a relatively simple exercise, and it shows the potential power of Win Shares. However, it’s worth pointing out a few things:
- Looking at contract dollars, the Twins have probably increased their potential Net Win Shares Value next year.
- Relievers’ Win Shares are a function of how they’ve been used by their managers. So it’s easy to see that Joe Nathan’s, or someone’s, Win Shares will increase next year and fill in the bullpen gap somewhat.
- It’s better to use Expected Win Shares for this sort of analysis. Dustin Mohr had -4.1 WSAA, Denny Hocking had -1.5, Kenny Rogers had -0.6. These guys are easily replaceable except for, perhaps, Rogers.
- Joe Mauer’s potential Win Shares are not included in next year’s projections.
If the Twins had signed Guardado or Hawkins, their offseason would look pretty good. I’d worry about their starting rotation, too—Santana was their only above-average starter last year.