FanGraphs Weekly Mailbag: February 28, 2026
Happy last day of February, everyone. By this time next week, the World Baseball Classic will have begun, allowing us to experience the best of what our global game has to offer. Earlier this month, Kiri Oler previewed the WBC with four team-by-team breakdown pieces, one for each pool, and we’ll have more coverage next week leading into the tournament. Also, I’ll be in Miami covering Pool D, which features Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, Israel, and Nicaragua, so if you have any questions related to the first-round action at loanDepot park, you know how to reach me.
Of course, the World Baseball Classic isn’t the only baseball we have to look forward to in March. We are less than four weeks away from Opening Day! This year marks the earliest traditional Opening Day in MLB history, with 14 games scheduled for Thursday, March 26. The night before, the Giants will host the Yankees for the first game of the season. That standalone primetime matchup will air on Netflix of all places, because we all needed another streaming service subscription.
Anyway, in this week’s mailbag, we’ll be answering your questions about the NL Central, the value of a foul ball, a hypothetical Hall of Fame election in which every player regained eligibility for one year, and the most and least valuable baseball last names. Before we do, though, I’d like to remind you that this mailbag is exclusive to FanGraphs Members. If you aren’t yet a Member and would like to keep reading, you can sign up for a Membership here. It’s the best way to both experience the site and support our staff, and it comes with a bunch of other great benefits. Also, if you’d like to ask a question for an upcoming mailbag, send me an email at mailbag@fangraphs.com.
Matt is the associate editor of FanGraphs. Previously, he was the baseball editor at Sports Illustrated. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Men’s Health, Baseball Prospectus, and Lindy’s Sports Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @ByMattMartell and Blue Sky @mattmartell.bsky.social.
Re: Last Names – Alas, poor Josh Outman, for what might have been.
Outman would have been a great name for a pitcher. For a hitter…nope.
Scott Blewett is a terrible name for a reliever.
Definitely.
Who names their kid Scott?!?
So many ways to go here. The old Pirates pitcher Bob Walk comes to mind. But all I can say is Richard Lovelady. What WERE his parents thinking when they gave him that first name.
Current St. Louis pitcher Richard Fitts fall into the same category. as Lovelady.
Every time I see his name, the 16 year old portion of my brain let’s out a little chuckle.
Don’t forget the pitcher Grant Balfour! And then head on over to Jon Bois’s Baseball Name Hall of Fame.
Arlie Latham’s entry…oh wow…
They were hoping for a porn star
In an era where pitcher injuries are more common than pinch runners, I always thought DL Hall was really risking the wrath of the Gods of nominative determinism.
Man, that guy Tommy John is just ASKING for trouble 🙂
Lou Gehrig’s family, too.
“Babe Ruth used to tell him, Lou, there’s a disease with your name all over it pal….I mean, Lou Gehrig’s Disease…how do you not see that comin’?!”
–Denis Leary
Edited