Steve Wang
@stevewang251nyy.bsky.social
Yankees fan since 1979. Professor of Statistics at Swarthmore College. This is my baseball account; my personal/professional account is @SteveWang251.
Greg Bird was supposed to be what I was hoping Nick Johnson would be. Hoping Rice will be the one that pans out.
April 13, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Greg Bird was supposed to be what I was hoping Nick Johnson would be. Hoping Rice will be the one that pans out.
Reminds me of the great Greg Golson throw where he ended the game by throwing out Carl Crawford at third.
March 30, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Reminds me of the great Greg Golson throw where he ended the game by throwing out Carl Crawford at third.
I would have loved to have seen this for Mattingly, who IIRC had unusual foot placement, with his back foot pointed back at the catcher (similar to Eloy Jimenez but more extreme, as I remember it). Would also be interesting to see how Musial compares to Kwan in terms of narrow stances.
March 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM
I would have loved to have seen this for Mattingly, who IIRC had unusual foot placement, with his back foot pointed back at the catcher (similar to Eloy Jimenez but more extreme, as I remember it). Would also be interesting to see how Musial compares to Kwan in terms of narrow stances.
Really cool stuff. Is this all done using Hawkeye-type cameras?
March 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Really cool stuff. Is this all done using Hawkeye-type cameras?
A long-time favorite; I had such high hopes for him. A poor man's Nick Johnson in multiple ways.
February 14, 2025 at 9:39 AM
A long-time favorite; I had such high hopes for him. A poor man's Nick Johnson in multiple ways.
Do you know how common sidearm deliveries were back in that era? Was it more common than now, or was Johnson unusual even at that time?
January 29, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Do you know how common sidearm deliveries were back in that era? Was it more common than now, or was Johnson unusual even at that time?
I liked him too, and he did a good job over the years. But due to the Judge and Cole/Rizzo errors, he managed to largely get off scot-free even though he lost Game 5 by facing three batters and letting all of them reach base.
January 29, 2025 at 6:19 PM
I liked him too, and he did a good job over the years. But due to the Judge and Cole/Rizzo errors, he managed to largely get off scot-free even though he lost Game 5 by facing three batters and letting all of them reach base.
He had only 8.7 WAR in 1958 after having 11.2 and 11.3 the previous two years, so clearly he was on the decline.
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January 22, 2025 at 5:20 AM
He had only 8.7 WAR in 1958 after having 11.2 and 11.3 the previous two years, so clearly he was on the decline.
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The original Greg Bird in more ways than one. I was a huge fan of Nick Johnson's ever since his spectacular .345/.525/.548 season in AA in 1999 at age 20. (At age 20, Greg Bird hit .288/.428/.511 in A ball, obviously not quite as good but a similar shape of production.)
January 20, 2025 at 11:19 AM
The original Greg Bird in more ways than one. I was a huge fan of Nick Johnson's ever since his spectacular .345/.525/.548 season in AA in 1999 at age 20. (At age 20, Greg Bird hit .288/.428/.511 in A ball, obviously not quite as good but a similar shape of production.)
Doc Edwards went on to a long career as a coach and manager in the minors and majors, and was the manager for my hometown Rochester Red Wings when I went to my first baseball game.
January 20, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Doc Edwards went on to a long career as a coach and manager in the minors and majors, and was the manager for my hometown Rochester Red Wings when I went to my first baseball game.
Congratulations on getting the vote. I've been reading you since the early days of RAB.
January 20, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Congratulations on getting the vote. I've been reading you since the early days of RAB.
I think that's the first time I've seen Lou Reed smile.
January 12, 2025 at 5:20 AM
I think that's the first time I've seen Lou Reed smile.
I had high hopes for him. I remember him having a lot of movement on his pitches, perhaps similar to David Cone.
January 9, 2025 at 3:34 AM
I had high hopes for him. I remember him having a lot of movement on his pitches, perhaps similar to David Cone.
Who is the guy telling the story?
January 8, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Who is the guy telling the story?
Did you know: T. rex lived closer in time to humans than to Stegosaurus. Dinosaurs were around for a *long* time (and still are, as birds).
December 24, 2024 at 8:03 PM
Did you know: T. rex lived closer in time to humans than to Stegosaurus. Dinosaurs were around for a *long* time (and still are, as birds).
This was lovely; they did justice to this classic. I also love the blue and gold lighting -- a nice departure from the usual red and green color scheme of the season.
December 23, 2024 at 10:33 AM
This was lovely; they did justice to this classic. I also love the blue and gold lighting -- a nice departure from the usual red and green color scheme of the season.
Soto had 7.9 bWAR this year.
December 11, 2024 at 12:23 AM
Soto had 7.9 bWAR this year.
I was wondering about Al Oliver. He just missed, with 9778 PA and 44 WAR.
December 10, 2024 at 3:40 AM
I was wondering about Al Oliver. He just missed, with 9778 PA and 44 WAR.
Judge had played for only the Yankees, so maybe loyalty to his one team might have meant something to him. But Soto had been traded twice by age 25; he knows baseball is a business. There's no reason to expect him to show any loyalty to a team when no team had shown any loyalty to him.
December 9, 2024 at 2:05 PM
Judge had played for only the Yankees, so maybe loyalty to his one team might have meant something to him. But Soto had been traded twice by age 25; he knows baseball is a business. There's no reason to expect him to show any loyalty to a team when no team had shown any loyalty to him.
Also this 1-hitter with 17 strikeouts
www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NY...
www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NY...
www.baseball-reference.com
December 4, 2024 at 12:58 AM
Also this 1-hitter with 17 strikeouts
www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NY...
www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NY...