Baseball, explained.
Major League Baseball and beyond: pitch design, park factors, the rule changes of the 2020s and the statistics behind them.
25 articlesAnalysisTacticsExplainerGuideEconomics
- AnalysisSpin rate in baseball explained: rpm is only half of it20 minWhat spin rate measures, why active spin and spin axis decide whether the revolutions do anything, and how a movement number is built out of them.
- AnalysisWAR explained: what the baseball stat actually measures20 minWhat WAR actually measures in baseball: the replacement-level question underneath it, what each component contributes, and why the public versions disagree.
- TacticsPitch design in baseball explained: engineering movement22 minPitch design in baseball explained: what trackers measure, why spin efficiency beats raw spin, how seam-shifted wake broke the old model.
- AnalysisPark factors in baseball: why no two ballparks are equal20 minHow park factors are built, what actually varies between ballparks, why a single season of the number is useless, and what the adjustment still cannot fix.
- AnalysisOPS+ explained: how baseball's adjusted OPS really works19 minThe OPS+ formula, the park and league adjustment underneath it, and the reason a figure of 145 does not mean a hitter was 45 per cent above average.
- ExplainerMLB waivers and options explained: the roster's back door18 minMLB waivers and options explained properly: how option years are burned, why the five-assignment limit killed the shuttle, and what happens after a DFA.
- ExplainerMLB service time explained: 172 days and six long years18 minMLB service time explained from the day count up: what 172 days buys, how Super Two works, why a fortnight in April is worth a year, and what the CBA did.
- ExplainerMLB roster rules explained: the 26, the 40 and the crunch18 minHow MLB roster rules work: the 26-man active roster, the 13-pitcher limit, what the 40-man is really for, September expansion and the November squeeze.
- ExplainerMLB playoff format explained: byes, seeds and short series20 minHow the 12-team bracket is built, what a first-round bye is really worth, why home field matters less in baseball, and the honest case against the format.
- AnalysisMLB pitch clock rules and what they actually changed22 minHow the MLB pitch clock rules work: the timer with bases empty and runners on, the automatic ball and strike, and why the disengagement limit matters most.
- ExplainerMLB draft explained, from the lottery to the bonus pool18 minThe MLB draft explained properly: 20 rounds, the lottery that ended the certain reward for losing, how bonus pools bind clubs, and why leverage sets a bonus.
- ExplainerMLB arbitration explained, file-and-trial and Super Two18 minMLB arbitration explained properly: who qualifies, what Super Two really is, why a panel must pick one figure or the other, and what file-and-trial changed.
- GuideMinor league baseball explained, complex to Triple-A18 minMinor league baseball explained after the 2021 reorganisation: four levels, 120 clubs, who owns what, who pays the players and the clocks that decide careers.
- EconomicsHow the MLB luxury tax works, and why there is no cap18 minThe MLB luxury tax explained properly: what the competitive balance tax is charged on, why average annual value decides everything, and what deferrals do.
- AnalysisFIP explained: the baseball stat that ignores your fielders20 minFIP explained for baseball fans: the exact formula, where the 13, 3 and 2 come from, how the season constant is set, and the three things it throws away.
- AnalysisExit velocity and launch angle explained, and what they miss20 minExit velocity and launch angle explained: the 95 mph line, the 8 to 32 degree sweet spot, how a barrel is defined, and what both numbers still miss.
- ExplainerThe designated hitter rule explained, and how a team loses it19 minThe designated hitter rule explained: how the DH is named, the five moves that end the role mid-game, and the two-way provision behind the Ohtani rule.
- AnalysisCatcher framing explained, and what happens to it now21 minFraming is the skill of not moving. How catchers earn called strikes, how the metric is built, and what the automated strike zone does to its value.
- ExplainerThe baseball strike zone explained: the rule and the real one21 minThe strike zone is a solid over a five-sided plate, sized by the batter, and it is wider than the plate. What the rulebook says, and what gets called.
- ExplainerThe baseball shift ban explained: what the rule really says20 minThe shift ban is not a ban on shifting. The exact positioning requirement, the two moments it is tested, the inning lock, and what a violation now costs.
- ExplainerThe baseball infield fly rule, and the exploit it kills21 minThe baseball infield fly rule explained: every condition, what ordinary effort really means, why the ball stays live, and the trap that catches runners.
- ExplainerBaseball extra innings rules, and the runner nobody put there18 minThe baseball extra innings rules explained: who the automatic runner is, why the postseason plays a different game, and what it does to a manager.
- ExplainerThe balk rule in baseball explained: deception on the mound21 minWhat a balk actually is, the thirteen enumerated acts, why the windup and set differ, what happens after the call, and how amateur rules differ.
- AnalysisBABIP explained: what baseball's luck number really measures18 minBABIP explained for baseball: the formula, the quirks in its denominator, why pitchers regress and hitters do not, and how to tell noise from a real change.
- ExplainerThe automated ball strike system, and what it actually changed18 minHow the automated ball strike system works: the two challenges, who is allowed to ask, the zone cut from a batter's own height, and what it does not fix.