The Seattle Times’ Post

It had been 635 days since I last saw the St. Louis Cardinals in North America. And it was great to be back! The new product Major League Baseball (MLB) is putting out there is fantastic. They wanted more action and quicker games, and they got it. The old MLB: - 3+ hour games - Minimal base stealing - Way too many hard hit balls becoming outs The new MLB: - 2 hour and 30 minute games - 40% increase in base stealing attempts - More hits resulting in more base runners So how did an organization that has been around for well over 100 years make such remarkable improvements in less than 2 years? They were willing to make changes to decades old traditions and ways of playing baseball. The MLB: - Instituted a pitch clock. - Limited the number of disengagements by pitchers and batters. - Made the bases 2 inches bigger. - Banned the shift. None of these changes alone were extremely drastic but together they made a massive impact on the product the MLB produced. It’s never too late to make improvements. CTA - What are your thoughts on the changes the MLB made? What are some future changes they should make? #baseball #change #family P.S. While the result wasn’t what we were hoping for, it was nice to be back before 10 pm. That would have never happened with the old MLB.

It’s looking to be another tough year for Cardinals baseball. After seeing our catcher (and one of our more reliable offensive players) taken out after being hit on the arm by a bat, Cardinals fans face a discouraging outlook. What’s interesting is how this injury has caused waves outside of St. Louis baseball circles as the sport talks about the trend of catchers moving closer to the batter to frame up the pitch. By moving up in the batter’s box, a catcher can catch a pitch so it looks better to the umpire who ultimately decides whether it is a ball or strike. This is potentially a good strategy, but only if it can be executed safely, and statistics by way of increased catcher interference calls and injuries like Contreras’ are showing that maybe it can’t be. When a team, organization, or business is implementing a new strategy, one of the most important aspects to consider is if this can be put into practice in a way that delivers value versus causing unintended challenges. It’s important to have a clear vision of what the new strategy looks like, determine the process for integration, calculate the ROI and perform testing to identify roadblocks ahead of implementation to help ensure success. This is the core of Belden’s approach to the development of comprehensive network and data solutions. #Belden #STLCardinals #Strategy #Safety

Craig Breslow, Chief Baseball Officer of the Red Sox has this to say about the upcoming MLB trade deadline: "We’ve put ourselves in this position where we’re going to look to improve the team. That’s where we would want to be." It's not just MLB teams looking to add players who can make an immediate impact on their performance. Several IT teams around this time of year need to add temporary employees with specialized skills to tackle urgent projects or fill knowledge gaps - to end the year strong and achieve their goals. Both scenarios involve strategic decision-making under time constraints, weighing immediate needs against long-term objectives, and managing the integration of new team members into existing structures. Reach out to hear more on how ATG can help your team make that playoff push. https://lnkd.in/gKbmXbEs

The Cam Booser story. Here is the sparknotes. Brief summary, the sports career of Cam Booser sports was riddled with adversity, injury after injury. He was able to get signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Twins in 2013. He never made it above high A. He then walked away from baseball for 2.5 days years. Then by coaching youth baseball he realized he could still hit 90 mph. He got in with a Indy ball team, the Chicago Dogs. After proving himself in Indy ball, the Boston Red Sox in 2023 signed him to a minor league deal. April 19th, he made his MLB debut at 31 closing out a Red Sox win. Two things had to happen for this feel good story to be all over the sports world. 1. Preparation 2. Opportunity Preparation + Opportunity = Success I am of course biased because the Red Sox organization raised me. I could never and still can’t hit a 98 mph fastball, but the Red Sox developed me for life. This story does not happen without an organization like the Red Sox. The Red Sox system does more than just field minor league teams to develop their high draft picks, they find players from places no one else would look. This is my point. In the business world, the same formula the Red Sox used to develop a pitcher can be used to develop “big league” talent for your organization. Find PREPARED talent, then develop and refine those talents. #baseball #sportsbusiness #talentdevelopment #buildingchampions https://lnkd.in/e-JW5i8H

My first post on Substack is about the Futility of an organization in Major League Baseball, The Seattle Mariners.

1/ Why you should sign Joe Barlow Joe Barlow's 90th percentile velo was 95.8 mph from 2021-2022. In that span, he posted a 2.81 ERA, 4.20 FIP, and locked down 24 saves for the Rangers—pitching high-leverage innings in the big leagues. ⚾️ 2/ His slider is unique—it gains ~4 inches of sweep relative to spin-induced movement. That’s rare for a breaking ball that’s not a true sweeper. With 500+ MLB samples, we know breaking ball performance in this range has serious signal & often outpaces projected run values. 3/ On the flip side, Barlow’s fastball is a true weapon: 19 inches of carry from a standard release height. But fastballs need ~5,000 pitches before their actual performance reliably outpaces pitch model expectations. There’s untapped upside here. 4/ For context, Barlow dominated the minors without a slider until 2019. He got to AAA by riding his fastball, then developed the slider, which has since become his primary offering. That slider provides a solid floor—but the heater might hold hidden value. 🚀 5/ One adjustment point: Barlow has been cautious using his fastball for outcomes in MLB action. But with his health on display here, sitting 94-95 mph again, he’s a tremendous depth piece for any MLB organization. 6/ Add to this his story: overcoming unique injuries, reidentifying himself as a pitcher, and balancing the ups and downs of his career. Barlow’s empathy and work ethic make him not just a talented arm but a great teammate—someone who doesn’t take opportunities for granted.

For years, we heard about how baseball viewership was falling and fans were turning away from America’s pastime. So, baseball did something about it. Two years ago, they implemented new rules to speed up the game. Not by a lot but enough to keep most games from dragging. And it worked. This worked so well in fact that overall Major League Baseball games saw a second consecutive year of increases in fan attendance. The lesson here is don’t be afraid to change. Baseball is notoriously opposed to change, and could have easily just ignored the problem. Instead, the powers that be got together and found small changes that would improve the watchability of the game to casual fans without alienating the diehard fanbase. At Belden, we’ve been changing a bit ourselves. We’ve started bringing our different departments, products and ideas together to create full solutions for customers when they need them. But we’ve also kept true to our ideals and passion for connections. Finding the balance between continuous improvement and continuing to do what works is art and science. Baseball has shown us that. #Belden #Baseball #ContinuousImprovement

Scully’s Spikes of the Day Why Are the Texas Rangers Struggling? It has been no secret that the reigning champs have not gotten the start to the 2024 MLB season as they would have liked. We are over a third of the way through the season, and the Rangers are sitting at 29-31, 4.5 games back from the nearest wildcard spot. So, what exactly is the problem for the champs, and what do they need to improve on to make a playoff push? The Rangers’ offense hasn’t necessarily been bad, but it hasn’t lived up to the output they were putting up last season. So far this season, the Rangers rank: 13th in BA (.243) 15th in SLG (.384) 14th in OPS (.697) 13th in HR (63) 13th in BB% (8.5%) For the most part, the same applies to their pitching. So far this season, the Rangers rank: 14th in ERA (3.91) 21st in FIP (4.19) 17th in WHIP (1.28) 14th in K% (22.7%) However, the main thing that is hurting the Rangers the most is their bullpen. When we sample data for just relief pitching in the MLB, this is where we see the Rangers fall off. So far this season, Rangers’ relief pitchers rank: 28th in ERA (4.58) 25th in FIP (4.41) 24th in WHIP (1.37) 28th in BB% (11.6%) It is evident that if the Rangers want to make a run, they need to acquire a reliever or two to strengthen their bullpen at the deadline. A staff that consistently ranks in the lower part of the league, especially in relief pitching in today’s game, will continue to hold you back. It will be interesting to see whether the reigning champs will be buyers or sellers at the deadline, and if they can figure things out to make another immaculate postseason run. via TruMedia #sports #mlb #mlbnews #rangers

Thanks to Joe Lemire for including me in his featured article in this week's Sports Business Journal re: marketing MLB's players. Major League Baseball (MLB) has made lots of strides in terms of marketing their players over the years and have tremendous upside potential here! #marketing #sportsbusiness #management