Eric Chalek
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eric-chalek.bsky.social
Eric Chalek
@eric-chalek.bsky.social
I turn Negro Leagues, NPB, KBO, etc data into major league equivalencies (MLEs) to answer baseball What Ifs. Read/download at horsehidedragnet.Wordpress.com. And I love cats. And Mexican food.
HOF is done. Next important matter. I think I should root for Los Sultanes de Monterrey in La Liga de Béisbol Professional Mexicana. Lázaro Salazar player-led them to titles. Espino played there. Est Mobil Super has amazing view of Cerró de la Silla. Y they aren’t Los Diablos Rojos…the NYY of LMB.
January 22, 2025 at 3:41 AM
While you await the HOF results, cast an eye back in baseball time with an update segregation-effect research.

TL;DR? Comprehensive study supports and deepens original findings.

public-api.wordpress.com/bar/?stat=gr...
The Segregation Adjustment Done Right
Imagine me as a baseball home cook. I make stuff that tastes yummy, but not restaurant yummy. And it takes me a while because I’m not trained to chop ingredients in mere seconds. Oh, and sometimes …
public-api.wordpress.com
January 21, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The All-Christmas Team outfield kinda hasta be
Lee King
Jim King
King Kelly

Gotta be in the gospels of Gary Mathews/Luke Scott. (Not Luke Easter: diff team)

C Jose Maria Fernandez
1B Tommy Joseph (b/up Matt Carpenter)
2B Omar Infante
SS Cesar Izturis
3B Ángel Aragón

UT Jesus Alou

P Ray Starr
December 24, 2024 at 12:57 PM
Happy holidays @adarowski.bsky.social!

Will the greatest site ever continue its recent policy of updating Negro Leagues stats during this offseason? Asking b/c Seamheads updated at least twice since BBREF’s annual NeL update in 2024.

Annnnd, does a NeL update mean an update of NeL wOBA weights?
December 23, 2024 at 5:13 PM
4 active players in 2024 crossed the line that marks their careers as Hall-worthy in my book:
Jose Ramirez
Shohei Ohtani
Aaron Judge
Chris Sale.
December 22, 2024 at 10:55 PM
Ugh—not Rickey Henderson! Somehow the world felt like a better place to me knowing that Rickey was out there somewhere.
December 21, 2024 at 10:05 PM
You’ve always wondered who would kick butt in a baseball league of surname-based rosters. Riiiight?

Now u can find out.

horsehidedragnet.wordpress.com/2024/12/19/t...
The Surname League
We’re back with another fun way to use MLEs to see how outsider players look beside their MLB peers. Last time it was birthdays, this time it’s surnames. You can find rosters for both o…
horsehidedragnet.wordpress.com
December 19, 2024 at 9:48 PM
Which #NPB team should I root for?

I am liberal, open-minded, contrarian, not bound by tradition, and generally don’t like bandwaggoning.

(Only incorrect answer is Yomiuri.)
December 18, 2024 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by Eric Chalek
the sports reference series of websites are some of the last good ones on the internet. they’ve never once changed their design to ruin it, have never hid critical functions behind a paywall, the stathead stuff they do put behind a paywall is incredible/worth charging for. i hope we never lose them
December 17, 2024 at 9:25 PM
Reposted by Eric Chalek
For any past Hall of Merit voters, while BBTF is down (maybe forever), we've continued on at hallofmerit.boards.net - we're doing the 2025 voting now, do come get your ballot in!

(Also, share this around, I may not reach everyone I hope)
Home | Hall of Merit
Visit our forum at: hallofmerit.boards.net
hallofmerit.boards.net
December 16, 2024 at 5:19 PM
I made a decision.

For #NPB like Kawakami/Bozo Wakabayashi w/ no modern cards (i.e. no Calbee/Kabaya Leaf), I will set aside the “Stats on Back” policy that guides my Halls of Fame baseball card collection. That puts Menko and bromides on the table (for these guys only). I won’t do Karuta tho.
December 16, 2024 at 2:25 AM
Been reflecting. It seems there r types of players I respond most positively to.
1) High-OBP, no power, good/great secondary skills (Roy Thomas)
2) Overlooked greats (Grich)
3) Can play anywhere on the field at any moment (Tony Phillips)
4) Stars w/ hi character (Jackie, F-Rob)
5) Mookie Betts
December 13, 2024 at 10:04 PM
As so often with VC votes, the results r mixed. Allen is a win. Parker isn’t. Sim to J Clark, Rocky C, Callison. >Baines…

There r top NeL PLAYERS in the cold, e.g. Scales, Lundy, Beckwith, Moore. But screening committee twiddles w/ fringy combo guys. Then again, Whitaker, Grich, Nettles, Evanses….
December 9, 2024 at 2:23 AM
VC announce on Sunday. Quick hits:

Allen, Boyer, Tiant yes on merits. Parker, Donaldson, Garvey no on merits.

Not firm no on TJ but I wouldn’t vote him (no credit for TJS. Jobe merits it for that.)

Harris…??? NeL managing might be dif & Posey was the tm builder.

My vote: the 3 noted above.
December 5, 2024 at 8:40 PM
My million-dollar idea for a baseball-themed TV show:

It’s a sitcom about the hijinks and madcap hilarity of the 1906 Cubs infield. It’s titled _Steinfeldt_.

Which TV heavy hitters just got their checkbook out???
December 5, 2024 at 2:22 AM
Thinking today about Earl Weaver Baseball & how its AL/NL 00-30 teams dominated. Why, of course they did, all the other teams were built on 15 year spans, not 30. Bigger sample, more chances at great players.

Which leads to a bit of a conundrum when we go down the rabbit hole.
1/
November 29, 2024 at 11:06 PM
Continuing with the geographic theme…. Japan has eight traditional regions. I could be very wrong, but I’m guessing that if you made birthplace rosters for each region, the one where Sadaharu Oh was born would be the best. Just a hunch. (And a 12.5% chance of being right!)
November 28, 2024 at 1:47 AM
I’m not saying it’s the best core among the 50 states, but Mookie Betts, Todd Helton, and Turkey Stearnes is a pretty rich starter set for TN in the Birthplace League.
November 26, 2024 at 12:26 AM
In case u ever wondered what the notebook of a baseball nerd looks like….

I can usually read the scratch, but sometimes not without my pocket copy of the Rosetta Stone.
November 24, 2024 at 3:26 AM
Fun facts learned today:
-JAP&MEX r both ~⅓ US pop, but their 100th most populous cities r about same as US 100th
2) 100th biggest in China >1M
3) Despite landmass similar to US, AUS’ 100th city=1/10th pop of US 100th
4) 2nd biggest contiguous US city by landmass (Tribune KS) has only 1200 ppl.
November 23, 2024 at 4:23 AM
We just renamed our very young cat from Cole to Koji. I didn’t mention to the missus that Koji Yamamoto’s MLE is HoF level. But Koji Uehara might have been in her mind, as it was mine.

PS: Google says Koji means Little One.
November 22, 2024 at 4:05 AM
Fact I didn’t know b4 today. Rickey Henderson was born in Chicago. I’d always thought he was a Bay Area birth. Born in the back seat of an Olds en route to the hospital and named after Rickey Nelson. As Mel Allen used to say…”Hoooooow ‘bout that.”
November 21, 2024 at 10:02 PM
Thank you to the folks who have welcomed me to BlueSky with follows! I appreciate you very much.
November 21, 2024 at 2:35 AM