Wicket’s Post

Check out our MLB power rankings for Week 9 to see the best and worst teams right now.

In today's post, I determine the most important factors for evaluating an outfielder's abilities and use those factors to find the best defensive outfielders in the MLB today. Major League Baseball (MLB) #baseballAnalytics #ParaballNotes https://lnkd.in/et4fa-Ez

Ticket Sales Tip of the Week and the Stars Week #47 (Baseball doesn't help itself by starting in April)   April baseball dates are competing against 32 playoff NBA and NHL teams, 2 NCAA Basketball championship and the Masters during the worst weather in 90% of the markets. The negative impact is apparent by the lack of fan interest highlighted by low attendance and secondary ticket listings that are often well below the season ticket holder cost.   Major League Stars- John Santana SD Ticket Sales Toronto Blue Jays The Jays stuff the April calendar with the years best giveaway promotions to add value to ticket commitments already made by Season ticket holders. Minor League Stars- Matt Guay Assist GM Indianapolis Indians The Indians Opening Day policy that if the weather dips below 60 Degrees at anytime in the game, fans are comped a ticket for any other April date. Interesting stats to start the '24 baseball season. 3 MLB Playoff teams from '23 have hosted April gates below 12k. MiLB: Rochester had to re-schedule their home opener 4x's due to April weather and the temp for Reno vs Sacramento April 4th was 37Degrees. To learn more about who and how the best teams are selling tickets, email me your question or concern to info@withinscope.ca

Why do lefty batters hit into fewer double plays? Of the 6.2 million pitches thrown in the last 9+ seasons, 41.56% have been thrown to lefty batters and 58.44% have been thrown to righty batters. But of the 30,678 GIDPs (grounded into double plays), only 33.55% have been grounded into by lefties and 66.45% have being grounded into by righties. Therefore, lefties ground into an extremely significant 8.01% fewer double plays than one might expect based on the ratio of pitches faced. Why is this? And what does it mean for in-game strategy? #baseball #mlb Major League Baseball (MLB) https://lnkd.in/eRHZBHwc

⚾ BetMGM Expands Baseball Playoff Presence with League-wide Bullpen Advertisements ⚾ BetMGM will serve as the official bullpen sponsor and backdrop for some of the most electrifying moments of the 2024 MLB playoffs. Through the partnership, BetMGM signage will be visible in every stadium’s bullpen throughout the postseason. To celebrate, BetMGM is launching the $50,000 Bullpen Jackpot for the MLB playoffs. When a player hits a home run into the bullpen, all BetMGM customers who placed a qualifying wager on that player to hit a home run that day will win a share of $50,000 in bonus bets (contest not available in Nevada or Puerto Rico; bonus bets are non-withdrawable and expire in seven days). “Sponsoring the bullpen is an incredible opportunity for BetMGM to expand our brand by being front and center during key playoff action. We already established ourselves as the home of the regular season home run, and the BetMGM Bullpen Jackpot allows us to build upon that momentum by giving customers a stake in every swing throughout the postseason.” - Matt Prevost, Chief Revenue Officer, BetMGM Read more: https://lnkd.in/gsvfFXkS

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

NEW POST ALERT 🚨 With summer in full swing, why not discuss a summer baseball term? Have you ever heard of an MLB team experiencing a "Summer Swoon"? In my newest blog, I breakdown the term and give current/past examples for a clearer understanding. You can check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eg-UehNF

MLB’s biggest rookie phenom is headed to the All-Star Game, and is perhaps helping change how the entire sport thinks about its young talent in the process. Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was named to the NL squad Sunday, less than two months after being called up to the major leagues. The 22-year-old Skenes is also the first player in league history to be selected No. 1 in the MLB draft in one year and be named an All-Star in the next. Such a rapid ascent is almost unheard of in baseball, a sport in which even the biggest prospects typically require multiple years of development in the minor leagues—creating a heightened challenge for the league to market its up-and-coming stars. But at every level of competition, Skenes has proved himself even bigger than the hype that precedes him. Since joining the Pirates, Skenes has amassed a 5–0 record with 78 strikeouts in 59⅓ innings—the eighth-highest total ever for an MLB pitcher since 1901 in their first 10 starts. Since the July 16 All-Star Game at Globe Life Field lines up with Skenes’s normal pitching schedule, there is also rising chatter that he could even start the event for the NL. Such a designation would provide an entirely new level of national attention to Skenes, as the Pirates are still toiling with a losing record and in one of MLB’s smallest markets. https://lnkd.in/e5DPU5xj #paulskenes #pittsburghpirates

Modern defensive metrics in baseball vary significantly in their approach to evaluating fielders. For instance, Fangraphs’ dWAR (fdWAR) is a good measure of athleticism, whereas Baseball Reference’s dWAR (bdWAR) better measures overall defensive performance, including positioning. In today's post, I will use bdWAR and fdWAR to determine which teams had the smartest, most athletic, and overall best defenses in 2023. #baseballAnalytics #ParaballNotes Major League Baseball (MLB) https://lnkd.in/eCEMd3rs

Check out our latest MLB power rankings to see which teams are struggling the most this season.