Newsletter Excerpt, November 27, 2019 -- "Jacoby Ellsbury and Aaron Judge"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

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"We laugh at Ellsbury for having the gall to get paid what the market would bear, but just accept that Judge, a superstar at the core of the Yankees’ and MLB’s marketing efforts, makes 5% of his market value year after year.

"Ellsbury and Judge are two sides of the same coin, each part of a system designed two generations ago. Last week, NBC Sports reported that Rob Manfred said, 'maybe Marvin Miller’s economic system doesn’t work any more.' It read as a threat, but Manfred was more right than wrong."

My Hall Ballot

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

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"If I had a ballot, I would vote for these nine players:

"Barry Bonds
Roger Clemens
Derek Jeter
Andy Pettitte
Manny Ramirez
Scott Rolen
Curt Schilling
Sammy Sosa
Larry Walker

"That’s seven holdovers from last year, plus Derek Jeter, newly eligible.

[...]

"As with Martinez, however, the recent induction of Trevor Hoffman puts Walker’s 'low' PA total in context. Hoffman faced 4,388 batters in his career, and even giving him some leverage credit doesn’t make up nearly 4,000 PAs. If we’re going to put low-volume relievers in, then the standard for hitters, especially hitters who were Hall of Famers on a rate basis, has to move accordingly. The easy election of Vladimir Guerrero, a lesser player and a contemporary of Walker’s, is a factor in this choice as well. I waited a long time to call Walker a Hall of Famer, as I did with Martinez, but this year I move him over the line."

Newsletter Excerpt, November 22, 2019 -- "Yasmani Grandal and the White Sox"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

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"With that in mind, his contract, four years for $73 million, seems to undervalue his skills. Even if you zero out framing, Grandal is a switch-hitting high-OBP catcher who has been durable and is worth two to three wins a season. Grandal has never been a below-average hitter in the majors. He’ll play next year at 31, and even if you project some decline from his 2018-19 peak, he represents an enormous upgrade for the White Sox in every facet of the game. He’s a perfect fit for a team that needed OBP and some lefty balance."

Newsletter Excerpt, November 19, 2019 -- "Rebuilding the Minors"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $49.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.

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"It seems an unassailable point that MLB teams don’t need all of the minor-league teams and all of the minor-league players that they are currently supporting. Under the current proposal, the low-A and short-season levels would be eliminated, the draft would be shortened to 20-25 rounds and pushed into the summer, and teams would be restricted to 150-200 minor leaguers, as opposed to the uncapped number today. All of these changes fit the way players are developed in the early 21st century."

Newsletter Excerpt, November 18, 2019 -- "The Astros' Edge?"

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $49.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.

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"For a larger sample, let’s look at 3-1. Eighty percent of 3-1 pitches are fastballs, and a bit less than half are two-seamers. Batters hit .363 with a .713 SLG. The more confidence you have in what’s coming, the more confident you can be in your swing. Remember, too, that many pitchers throw just one variety of fastball, so at the individual level, just knowing “fastball or not” is a powerful bit of information. Think of all the two-pitch relievers in the modern game. Now eliminate the coin flip when facing them."

The Hot Stove League's Most Interesting Teams, 1-30

This is a preview of the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for nearly 25 years.

Your subscription gets you the newsletter and various related features two to five days a week, more than 150 mailings (more than 200,000 words) a year full of smart, fun baseball writing that you can't find in the mainstream. Subscribers can also access the new Slack workspace, to talk baseball with me and hundreds of other Newsletter subscribers.

You can subscribe to the newsletter for one year for $49.95 using your PayPal account or major credit card.

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From today's Newsletter. For comments on all 30 teams, subscribe today!

1. Red Sox
2. Cubs
3. White Sox
4. Dodgers
5. Reds
6. Angels
7. Padres
8. Phillies
9. Nationals
10. Indians

11. Astros
12. Mets
13. Yankees
14. Braves
15. Twins
16. Brewers
17. Cardinals
18. Blue Jays
19. Athletics
20. Rockies

21. Rays
22. Rangers
23. Giants
24. Diamondbacks
25. Pirates
26. Mariners
27. Marlins
28. Tigers
29. Royals
30. Orioles