Here’s some stuff I read this week that you might enjoy:
- Contact Quality: Excessive Ground-Ball Pullers, 2014 NL (FanGraphs) – This one from Tony Blengino is a little old, but Matt Kemp shows up on the list, which probably helps explain why Kemp, Yangervis Solarte, and Cory Spangenberg all have nearly identical batting lines. Speaking of Blengino, he recently discussed the “most authoritative hitters” of all-time. One such hitter, not surprisingly, is San Diego’s own Ted Williams.
- The Ironic Jersey Omnibus Lives (Hardball Times) – Patrick Dubuque’s long-running NotGraphs series has found a new home. This installment includes the Padres (yay!) and Giants (boo!). Dubuque was kind enough to ask for my input, which I gladly provided. Nate Colbert makes an appearance, as do Enzo Hernandez and eight other players. Fun stuff.
- Anatomy of a Murder: The Federal League and the Courts (Our Game) – In the department of super-long reads, this is the first part of an article written by Gary Hailey in the mid-’80s for SABR and reproduced now by John Thorn. To blatantly name drop, Hailey and I played in a Scoresheet league together for many years. He’s an interesting guy and an excellent writer, and you should read this. See also Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4.
- On Derek Norris’ Surprising Strength (Padres Public) – Dustin observes that the Padres catcher is much harder to run on than he used to be. Note that this does not hold true when the Tyson Ross Track Meet™ is in effect.
- Inside a Beanball War: How One Play Turned into Three Days of Royals, A’s Rage (Bleacher Report) – Scott Miller does some nice investigative reporting on a series of brawls that took place earlier this season. Miller digs into the psychology behind such incidents and highlights some famous wars of the past, including the Carlos Quentin/Zack Greinke affair of 2013 and the Padres/Braves ugliness of 1984.