Bill James

Remembering Stan Musial

It's a truism that American men are first conscious of their own mortality when their fathers die, but I would argue that such consciousness is a process for the average American male that usually begins earlier, the men pictured on his baseball cards start dying. When I was a kid in 1963, Stan Mus ... More >>

What to Make of Cooperstown and The Hall of Fame No-Vote

A friend writes: "Did you see Tyler Kepner's proposed reform for the HOF voting process in the NY Times today? I largely agree with him, with one big exception: he wants to keep all the voting secret. Sorry, we're not electing a president or a pope here. I say voters should not only have to make th ... More >>

A-Rod's Not The Yankees' Only Playoff Goat

I've always resisted the idea that clutch hitting exists, I guess because I don't like the notion that baseball is something more than a game - that it brings out something heroic in an athlete. I pretty much agree with Bill James's early assessment on the topic, which was that what a batter hits ... More >>

Dickey V. Gonzalez In Battle For Cy Young Love

Tonight's matchup of the Mets and Washington Nationals gets about as anticipated as a game can get with no postseason at stake. The Mets, after all, have had just two Cy Young winners in their 50 year history -- Tom Seaver (1969, 1973 and 1975) and Dwight Gooden (1985). I don't know whether R.A. Di ... More >>

Michael Pineda: Let's Hold The Worry

What a difference four miles per hour can make. Actually, three. If Michael Pineda's fastball down in Tampa was slamming into catcher Russell Martin's mitt at just 95 mph -- and I say "just" because it was known last year to hit 96 and sometimes 97 -- Pineda would not be on the verge of pushing Ma ... More >>

Bowling for Chumps

How insiders use the college bowl system to loot American universities

The Formulas Work in Moneyball

Field of statistically knowable dreams

The Day The Yankees Tried to Trade Mariano Rivera

Yankee savior RiveraHere's a story from the November 17, 1997, Seattle Times that's making the rounds: Not even the New York Yankees' offer of reliever Mariano Rivera, rated one of the American League's top closers, could entice the Mariners to give up Randy Johnson. ...

C.C. Sabathia: Just How Big a Problem?

Sabathia: Weighty issue.​Everything about C.C. Sabathia is big, so I guess it's natural that his flaws are also big. After Saturday's disastrous outing with a 10-4 loss to the Red Sox at Fenway, Yankees fans must be worrying that C.C.'s big flaw could be fatal. You may have thought that Sunda ... More >>

Mariano Rivera: Even the Outsiders Pitch In On His Greatness

Rivera deliversMariano Rivera's 1000th appearance in a Yankees uniform has triggered a slew of analytical articles examining various aspects of his greatness. Oddly enough, the most interesting ones didn't come from the mainstream New York press. One of the best was by David Pinto, formerly of Bas ... More >>

Willie Mays Turns 80, and He's STILL Not the Greatest Player Ever

​Willie Mays turned 80 on Friday, and, as happens every few years, there was another shower of praise for Willie and testimonials to his having been the greatest player in baseball history. With every year Willie's stature grows, partly because he was fabulous and very well could have been th ... More >>

Roger Maris for the Hall? No, It's Still Not a Good Idea

​Every few years, like a bad idea whose time has come, the argument for Roger Maris and the Hall of Fame springs up again. There have been several lately, no doubt spurred by the 50th anniversary of the Maris-Mantle home run chase in 1961 when both Yankee sluggers went after Babe Ruth's single ... More >>

Duke Snider, 1926-2011

​If you have ties to Brooklyn and follow baseball, you probably feel a little older today. Edwin "Duke" Snider wasn't the best ballplayer of the 1950s - he wasn't even the second best centerfielder in New York - but he was good enough to drive in more runs than any other player during the dec ... More >>

Pazz & Jop Voter Comments: Rick Ross Lies, the Rolling Stones Plunder, and Taylor Swift Triumphs

Stephen Strasburg's Debut: Not As Great As You Think

"Cy Young Award To Be Renamed After Stephen Strasburg," writes Frank Coffey on eTrueSports.com. Not quite yet. The Washington Nationals' Steve Strasburg's major league debut last night against the Pittsburgh Pirates was pretty darned good, but by one measure it wasn't even one of the 10 best debuts ... More >>

Dwight Gooden? Have These Guys Never Heard Of a Guy Named Seaver?

​The Lineup lost its last shred of credibility this week -- I think I used this lead a few weeks ago but I'm going to use it again -- with their selection for New York baseball's greatest all-time pitcher. Not with the selection of Mariano Rivera as best closer -- thankfully no one embarrassed ... More >>

Come On, Get Marvin Miller into the Hall Already

​Marvin Miller established the Major League Ballplayers Association, made it the most effective union in the country, and in the process became what former Dodgers broadcaster Red Barber called, "along with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, one of the three most important men in baseball history. ... More >>

Jockbeat: The Real MVP of Baseball, Going by Stats

Who's the most complete player in baseball?  According to baseball writer Dave Fleming, he's the only guy of the 2008 season who batted above .275, hit for power, drew at least 60-70 walks a year, stole more than 20 bases (and was successful at least 75 percent of the time), was a good fielder ... More >>

Jockbeat: Another Dumb Hall of Fame Choice

How is it, in an era when more and more information and analysis is readily available, do Hall of Fame voters keep making dumber and dumber selections.  Of course, Rickey Henderson, the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history, is a smart choice, but former Red Sox outfielder Jim Rice, right ... More >>

Rookies of the Year

Tyshawn Sorey's provocations lead a pack of notable 2007 debuts

Hall of Shame

Once again, one of baseball's greatest is overlooked for his place in Cooperstown

A-Rod U-Turn?

Torre's gone, but the slugger may return

Farm Aid for the Bronx?

Minor league neglect and a baffling innumeracy have doomed the Yankees

Doing Pennants

Steinbrenner can't pay too much for what he really wants

Bring Me the Head of Joe Torre

Hey, it was nice while it lasted. And so was the Yankee skipper. Probably too nice for a last-place team.

Fractious Grammar

More fun with freshly revived old masters and wily young students

Atlas Slugged

Alex Rodriguez is one of the greatest Yankees ever. And the whole world is on his back?

MLB Whiffs Once Again

Was There a Rose Agreement? Don’t Bet Against It.

Sports

Yanks Don't Quite Add Up

Subtraction and Division Problems

Sports

Say Hey! The Results of Our Quiz

The Winners? Brian Calandra and Willie Mays.

The First Annual Cryogenic Baseball Quiz

Figure Out These Freeze Frames of History and Win a Prize or Two

Sports

Gorillas in Our Midst

They're All Going to Cooperstown. Which Ones Will Have to Pay Admission?

The Stat-Head Revolution

Geeks Infiltrate Baseball's Front Offices; Conventional Wisdom Flees

Sports

The Numbers Game

New-School Baseball Stats From A to Z

The Books of Summer

Sports

Baseball Literary Supplement

Baseball Abstract

An Artist Plots the Perfect Game

Yanks: Three-peat or De-feat?

Baseball in the Big Apple: Two Teams, One Ticket-Tape Parade

Sports

Madison Queer Garden

Soccer Sociology

Open Season

Luck Be a Yankee Tonight

Rocket Science

The FAQs about the Yankees' big deal

Wait Till Next Year!

Will The Yankee Juggernaut Crash In '99?

Swinging Sixties

An Analysis of an Exclusive Baseball Club