Quote:
Originally Posted by rudel.dietrich
Is it just me or are these things starting to feel less special?
I would love to see a statistical analysis of why these things are becoming more common.
I have a few theories of my own.
#1 Strike outs are at record highs and thus fewer balls are being put into play.
#2 Fielders are simply better than ever before. Each season we keep seeing new records for fielding % and I think players today are all around better athletes with better mechanics, arms and range.
#3 Baseball was deeply embarrassed by the steroid scandal and the year 2000 was also an embarrassment as the league had it's most extreme offensive season ever. I think since then there was been a concerted behind the scenes effort on the part of the commissioners office to increase the strike zone by a mandate to the umpires.
I would love for a baseball prospectus article on this issue by someone with more time than me and better research tools.
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You had me till #3...that sounds like a conspiracy to me.