Sabermiketrics

I’ve written about Broxton a couple times now. It first started when I proclaimed him to be the next big thing in baseball , and then I listed him as one of the power/speed/defense hybrids that we now see in today’s center fielders. Really that’s what is so frustrating about Keon Broxton; I have so much good to say about him yet I was so, so wrong about him being the next big thing. Based off his 2016 season, I saw a lot of good in him. In just a half season, he hit 9 homers and stole a very efficient 23 bases. He was fast, he hit the ball as hard as the best hitters in the league, and when he was called up for good in the second half, he put up really impressive numbers. 2017 saw a lot of that same talent. It’s definitely there, just check out this great highlight video . Homers! Catches! Effortless speed! I love all those things. In 2017, Broxton continued to show off the skills that I saw. He hit 20 homers with 21 stolen bases, one of only nine players to accomplish 20/2...

Now that Wade Davis is the highest paid relief pitcher in baseball, the discussion of reliever salaries has made a comeback. Should relievers get “starter” money? Should closers be paid the most?  Talk about reliever salaries shot back during the previous off-season when a few elite closers hit the free agent market: Mark Melancon (4 years, $62 million), Kenley Jansen (5 years, $80 million), and Aroldis Chapman (5 years, $86 million). The standard for what the best closers were making immediately changed, as Chapman, Jansen, and Melancon became the three relievers with the highest average annual salary. David Robertson’s $11.5 million a year was a distant fourth place with a whole $4 million less than Melancon. As a fan, and especially as a Yankees fan, I felt really conflicted about these signings. On one hand, these pitchers were the best of the best in relief and pitched the glorious ninth inning because they were the best of the best. I got to see the Yankees re-sign one ...