Sports – FiveThirtyEight — Ask Us Something RSS



Which Is Better: A Hitting Streak Or an On-Base Streak?

On Thursday, I highlighted Nolan Arenado’s 27-game hitting streak (it ended Friday at 28 games), comparing his overall offensive statistics during the streak to those of streaks from the past. But a few readers smartly pointed out that I was only comparing Arenado’s streak to those that stopped at 27, rather than looking at the […]

Continue reading



Which Is Better: A Hitting Streak Or an On-Base Streak?

On Thursday, I highlighted Nolan Arenado’s 27-game hitting streak (it ended Friday at 28 games), comparing his overall offensive statistics during the streak to those of streaks from the past. But a few readers smartly pointed out that I was only comparing Arenado’s streak to those that stopped at 27, rather than looking at the […]

Continue reading



Is the DH Rule Slowing the Game Down?

When I wrote last week about the slowdown of MLB games in recent years, I noted that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were the two slowest teams. Both are in the American League, and maybe that’s part of the explanation. After all, AL games are played with the designated-hitter rule, which means […]

Continue reading



Is the DH Rule Slowing the Game Down?

When I wrote last week about the slowdown of MLB games in recent years, I noted that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox were the two slowest teams. Both are in the American League, and maybe that’s part of the explanation. After all, AL games are played with the designated-hitter rule, which means […]

Continue reading



Steals Are Predictive, But Are They That Important?

This is the final part of my four-part response to questions and comments stemming from my article “The Hidden Value of the NBA Steal.” Here are Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Near the beginning of my article on steals, I made the following claim: If you had to pick one statistic from the common […]

Continue reading