I should not be, but I am constantly amazed at the dramatic decline in what is needed to compete in ERA and WHIP. Prior to last year (you know, the dark ages before 2010 when major league pitchers still threw the ball under-handed), if you were sitting at this point in the season with a sub-3.900, you might not be winning that category in your league, but you were OK and within striking distance. Currently there are 260 with a 3.900 ERA or better (two-thirds of all teams in the Main Event)! Top 100 needs a 3.530 or better.
Same with WHIP. Anything under a 1.300 you were not too far out of where you wanted to be. For example, for five of the first six years of the NFBC, you would have been at or very near the top 20% with a WHIP this "good". This year there are 258 teams currently with a 1.300 WHIP or better. To be near the top 100, you have to be at 1.230 or better!
Either this is a bonafide trend (after nearly a year and a half you have to think it may be) or the second half of this season is going to see some real batting upswings (no pun intended)!
ERA and WHIP
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Edwards Kings
- Posts: 5910
- Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2004 6:00 pm
- Location: Duluth, Georgia
ERA and WHIP
Baseball is a slow, boring, complex, cerebral game that doesn't lend itself to histrionics. You 'take in' a baseball game, something odd to say about a football or basketball game, with the clock running and the bodies flying.
Charles Krauthammer
Charles Krauthammer
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PittIsIt95
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2004 6:00 pm
ERA and WHIP
I firmly believe that MLB in years past have juiced the baseballs to get fans in the seats (drying them out). And add the fact that alot of players were using PED's, this lead to many more balls leaving the stands. But it also put more butt's in the stands at a time when baseball needed to win fans back.
Then came along the PED PR nightmare. Fans started to become fed up with the players cheating. So how would baseball handle that?
They start some testing of random players(to satisfy the public) - but ultimately not many players have been suspended (just the one's that are not well liked -- See Barry Bonds and Manny.
But ultimately, I believe they have tinkered with the ball again. Maybe how its manufactured or ultimately how they fixed the softball scores that were occurring in Coor's Field? They put the baseball's in humidors to moisten the baseball.
We will never know, but how else do you explain the quick decline in run production. The bats have not changed, the fields have not changed. Yes some players may not be juiced up. But that could not cause this quick of a decline in offense.
The second they started putting the baseballs in a humidor in Colorado, the runs rapidly declined.
That is truly the only factor that could cause this regression in offense since most other factors have remained the same.
Then came along the PED PR nightmare. Fans started to become fed up with the players cheating. So how would baseball handle that?
They start some testing of random players(to satisfy the public) - but ultimately not many players have been suspended (just the one's that are not well liked -- See Barry Bonds and Manny.
But ultimately, I believe they have tinkered with the ball again. Maybe how its manufactured or ultimately how they fixed the softball scores that were occurring in Coor's Field? They put the baseball's in humidors to moisten the baseball.
We will never know, but how else do you explain the quick decline in run production. The bats have not changed, the fields have not changed. Yes some players may not be juiced up. But that could not cause this quick of a decline in offense.
The second they started putting the baseballs in a humidor in Colorado, the runs rapidly declined.
That is truly the only factor that could cause this regression in offense since most other factors have remained the same.
ERA and WHIP
The Bats have changed in the past 2 seasons. MLB worked with US Forestry scientists to determine why Bats were breaking at an alarming rate during last 10 years or so, especially since the switch to Maple. What they found is the grain of wood direction. The straighter it (the grain) is the lower the chance of the bat breaking. They now have compliance rules in place for all bats that has the grain direction having to conform to certain specs. The end result has been a reduction in breaking bats by over 50% the past 2 seasons. The ? i have is, has this had any effect on power, hitting in general. I would suspect the Bats are now stronger and stiffer, possibly reducing the flex in them, that possibly reduces the whip on the ball. Just one idea or theory, in addtion to no more Roids.