Monday, July 21, 2008
BYTO Presents: Michael McCardell!
Michael McCardell, the Twins’ sixth round draft choice out of Kutztown University in 2007, has answered some questions submitted by posters at battleyourtailoff.com. The 23 year old right-hander with the Beloit Snappers is currently sporting a 3.08 ERA and 88 K’s in 87.2 IP. Michael is in his second year of pro ball, and is continuing the success he had with the Gulf Coast League and Elizabethton Twins. Enjoy the interview.
More...BYTO would like to thank Michael McCardell for taking the time to conduct an interview, we wish him continued success and hope to be in contact in the future!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Reason of Age
Delmon Young’s age is important. So important, in fact, that it has been repeated to the point where it has become a word filter punchline here at BYTO. But seriously, what does it mean to be an unusually young big leaguer? 64 men have been full-time outfielders (defined here as having 1000 PA) in the majors over their age 21 and 22 seasons. 21 of those players are in the Hall of Fame, and another six - Shoeless Joe Jackson, Rickey Henderson, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr., Vlad Guerrero, and Albert Pujols - clearly belong with the elite group. That’s pretty damn impressive.
But does it make any sense to compare Young to that group? Young currently has an OPS+ of 91 over his age 21 and 22 seasons. Of the 64 other youngsters, 55 had an OPS+ of 100 or more over that stretch, including 26 of the 27 HOF-caliber sluggers. For the most part, these 64 guys weren’t just handed playing time on the basis of a scouting report and a sweet swing. They earned it on the field, with a median OPS+ of 122.
So what happened to the men who were both young and below average? I loosened the PA requirement to 900 in order to get a bigger pool. For what it’s worth, Gary Carter technically qualified, but only by 2 OF appearances and 37 PA. Here’s how the rest did…
- killebrew
More...Tuesday, June 10, 2008
A belated look at the draft
Meh, I should’ve done this Friday. Whatever, I was busy.
More...Tuesday, May 27, 2008
A Few Small Tweaks Creates a Much Better Lineup
More...Thursday, May 01, 2008
The Ballad of Ryan Mills
A Francisco Liriano blog that’s not 100% about Francisco Liriano.
More...