The Best of FanGraphs: September 25-29

by
September 30, 2017

Each week, we publish north of 100 posts on our various blogs. With this post, we hope to highlight 10 to 15 of them. You can read more on it here. The links below are color coded — green for FanGraphs, brown for RotoGraphs, dark red for The Hardball Times and blue for Community Research.

MONDAY
Shohei Otani, Brendan McKay, and the Blueprint for a Two-Way Player, by Stephen Loftus
Yes, please.

What Strikeouts Have Taken from Baseball, by Craig Edwards
Craig was on fire this week. Make sure to also read his two-part comparison (parts one and two) between this season and the Steroid Era.

TUESDAY
What If the Twins Won the World Series?, by Jeff Sullivan
It’d be cool. Minnesota’s got 10,000 lakes.

Boston Should Be Worried About Drew Pomeranz, by Dave Cameron
Not to mention the rest of their starting rotation.

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Who Will Be the Face of This Record Home-Run Season?, by Carson Cistulli
Identification is in the eye of the beholder.

WEDNESDAY
Aaron Judge Has Been the Least Clutch Player on Record, by Travis Sawchick
This is kind of a big deal.

Francisco Lindor and Baseball’s Arbitration Problem, by Michael Hattery
There is opportunity here for the Player’s Association. Hopefully they have the wherewithal to seize it.

What To Do With the Other Two Aces: Bumgarner & Syndergard?, by Jeff Zimmerman
The only comp for Thor is not what I would call encouraging.

Small Sample Seasons You Might’ve Missed, by Paul Sporer
The Dodgers’ catcher is a particularly interesting case. He’s hit so well that you’d like him to play more, but there isn’t really much opportunity for him to do so.

The Possible Dream: The 1967 AL Pennant Race, Conclusion, by Shane Tourtellotte
The conclusion of Shane’s four-part series wrapped up with Boston completing their “Impossible Dream,” but at they say, the journey is more rewarding than the destination.

THURSDAY
There Is No Obvious NL MVP, by Dave Cameron
Which leaves the door open for writers to pick the best narrative.

Foul Balls, by Rachael McDaniel
Rachael’s THT debut was a brilliantly researched and written piece. I don’t want to spoil it for you. Read it yourself.

FRIDAY
The Players KATOH Got Right in 2017, by Chris Mitchell
As you might suspect, there were more than a few.

What Walk-Up Music Reveals about Baseball, by Mina Dunn
A good walk-up song is everything. Here, Mina researches its traditions in exquisite detail.

Can Wobble Rob(ble) Hitters? Fly Ball Distance and Baseball Precession by Michael McClellan
No, he’s not talking about that song by V.I.C. This one is a must-read. We’ve been very spoiled at the Community blog lately.





 

Paul Swydan used to be the managing editor of The Hardball Times, a writer and editor for FanGraphs and a writer for Boston.com and The Boston Globe. Now, he owns The Silver Unicorn Bookstore, an independent bookstore in Acton, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @Swydan. Follow the store @SilUnicornActon.

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