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Hello all! As the college application/decision process comes to a close, I would like to share the personal statement I wrote for all of the colleges I applied to. It tells the story of my relationship with the marvelous sport of baseball. I can’t remember life before baseball. As a child, my grandfather told me … Continue reading
In my blog post last month, I discussed the types of spin on a baseball: sidespin, back/topspin, and gyro spin (which is a spin like that of a football). Let’s look closer at two of these spin types–sidespin and gyro spin–and how grip affects the spin on the most successful pitch in the major leagues … Continue reading
Gallo It’s no mystery that Joey Gallo of the New York Yankees has been struggling greatly this year–in the field and especially at the plate. And with the recent signing of Andrew Benintendi, Gallo’s time with the team may be limited. Today, I search for the reason (or reasons) behind the Yankee outfielder’s substandard season … Continue reading
Looks like a normal baseball, right? Well, this pitchLogic ball by F5 sports “puts a pitching lab in the palm of your hand” for only $300. Besides velocity and spin rate, the two most well-known pitch metrics, this ball gives horizontal and vertical movement, arm slot, spin direction, and different types of spin. Knowing this … Continue reading
Hello readers of the blog! I apologize for the month-long recess in posts–I’ve been finishing up my junior year in high school and traveling in Israel. During this time, I’ve had two of my articles published on different websites, one on Medium and the other on the SABR Games Project website. They are attached below–if … Continue reading
About a month and a half ago, I wrote an article about the increased importance of biomechanics–the study of structure and function in living things–in baseball. Check it out below, if you haven’t already: Today, I want to look at some examples of how this can be applied in Major League Baseball, and how you … Continue reading
A few days ago, I was reading David Adler’s article “The Nastiest Pitcher You Don’t Know Yet” on MLB.com, about the Mariners rookie Matt Brash and his frequent mentions on the Pitching Ninja Twitter page. But in my opinion, Brash is not even the nastiest pitcher on the Mariners, much less in the league. It’s … Continue reading
The era of baseball analytics, often referred to as “Moneyball” thanks to the popularity of the Michael Lewis book and subsequent movie starring Brad Pitt, has been in full swing for more than two decades. Teams continue to extend the boundaries of the discipline, using advanced tracking systems, such as Hawkeye, which provide more and … Continue reading
In a fascinating post titled “What makes a home run pitch” in the Hardball Times, Jonathan Hale looks at long ball frequencies versus pitch location. In one of his graphics, called “Home Run Rate by Height of Pitch,” it shows a clear increase in the frequency of home runs from two to four feet off … Continue reading
Yesterday, MLB’s owners and the Players Union reached a new labor deal, with Opening Day scheduled for April 7th, only one week after the original start date. My friend Thomas and I were checking Twitter every five minutes (while in school), and when Jeff Passan of ESPN dropped the news, we were ecstatic. Not only … Continue reading
Theo Tobel's Baseball Blog 