RE best pitcher & hitter on the same team, based on Baseball Reference yearly leaders in WAR for position players/WAR for pitchers:  

 

1965, Willie Mays, Juan Marichal  

1965 Giants were 95-67, 2nd place, 2 games behind the Dodgers  

 

1932 Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove  

1932 Athletics were 94-60, 2nd place, 13 games behind the Yankees

In the question concerning strike zone evaluation of umpires, you said "Sandy Alderman". I think you meant Sandy Alderson. I suspect most people know who you were talking about, but in case anyone was confused, I thought I should send in a correction.

Interesting the ultra-closed batting stand of Giancarlo Stanton this year, a la Dan Ford? Do you thing this will start a new retro trend?

While researching your true crime stories,  have you ever looked into the Connecticut Valley killings of the 80's?  They also were called the Nurse Killings,  here in NH and Vermont there were at least 7 victims and maybe more.  Most are unsolved still.  Do you have any insights into any of this?  Just curious.

Watching Indians-Tigers game of Friday, June 8 -- Michael Fulmer has Indians baffled all game long, leaves after the 7th with the score 1-1, game score of 70. In the 9th, Indians score 3 off the 2nd reliever, Shane Greene. Fans (and broadcasters) commonly identify the effect of a team pouncing on a reliever whose stuff isn't as dominant as that of the starter (or just is different). Has there been research on this topic -- do you have thoughts? Is this an area teams have to pay more attention to, not letting pitcher transitions work against them?

Every time I hear the words "Dylan Bundy," why do i think "serial killer" instead of "Orioles pitcher?" Please help me.

Hi Bill - do you recall any MLB player with a throwing motion as awkward as that of Hunter Pence?

Is it my imagination or are pitchers pitching inside more this year? Could that be one reason why offensive production is down? I know it's true of the Mets' pitchers.

A NL GM was quoted as calling Bryce Harper "overrated, selfish, and a losing player."  Of course, the comment was made anonymously.   I'm thinking that the exec has some sort of ulterior motive for making such a comment.  Do you have an opinion on the propriety of making a comment like this, in general, but more specifically, under cover of anonymity?

Un-baseball-related:  

 

Have you been following the arrest of Joseph DeAngelo for being the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer/Visalia Ransacker/Killer with Too Many Nicknames? I know you didn't cover the case for Popular Crime, but what are your thoughts on the case? I was always amazed how much work the guy spent into each attack, murder or rape, and how it paid off, since he got away with it until technology (DNA testing and the Internet) nabbed him, and even then it took a few years.

It’s my understanding that in the deadball era, which ended around 1921, one run strategies such as bunts, hit and run, stolen bases, and taking an extra base were the prevalent offensive tactics in Major League Baseball.  In the 1920s and 1930s, scoring increased dramatically.  In a low scoring environment, one run strategies make more sense than they do in a high scoring environment.  Which teams in the 1920s and 1930s were the first to recognize the need to abandon the old tactics and adopt strategies that would maximize opportunities for big innings?

My fantasy team currently has the best hitter so far this season per the player raters (Mookie Betts) and the best pitcher (Justin Verlander).  The team correspondingly is doing well.  What are examples of MLB teams simultaneously with the best hitter and the best pitcher?  Have any of these MLB teams not been upper tier?

In watching games this season, it's been my anecdotal observation that when there's a difference between the ball/strike call of the umpire and that of the TV electronic strike zone, most of the time (80% maybe) it was the batter who was "robbed," usually when a low or outside pitch was called a strike. I don't know how accurate strike zone trackers are, and I don't know if the 80/20 split was just due to small sample size. But it would seem worth looking into, because if this is actually going on, it might create a way to decrease strikeouts and increase offense: require umpires to watch video of their "mistakes" and re-learn the zone, so to speak. Or do umps already have to do that now? And do teams send umpires tapes of their mistakes?

Hi Bill!  

 

First time question asker here.  I have been monitoring the total runs leaderboard under the stats section and the runs attributed for position, batting and fielding make sense.  However for base running, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts for example are considered un-impactful base runners so far this year (0 and -1 runs respectively) despite a general commentary in the media describing them as above average base runners especially when looking at Stolen Base numbers, caught stealing percentages, and attaining extra bases on balls in play. I understand that stolen bases are usually overrated in terms of impact on team performance but I would have expected their contributions to be meaningful. Why is your opinion of their skills and why that may or may not be reflected in the leaderboard?  Thank you!

Not a question... Yes, Nettles did play a deep third base.  He explains his defense here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVu0tZXnPCA