Yordan Álvarez has been every bit as advertised since his major league debut with the Houston Astros in 2019. The Cuban-born outfielder and designated hitter is an intimidating presence in the batter’s box — he’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, but it would be reasonable to take the over on both of those figures. […]
If there is one thing we know about hitters vs. pitchers, it is that a hitter’s stats tend to stabilize much more quickly. This means it takes a bit smaller of a sample for us to figure out what to make of their performance. That isn’t to say there is no noise in small samples […]
It takes a lot for a piece of baseball history to impress Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker. In 44 combined seasons as a major league player and manager, Baker has pretty much seen it all — as his players are constantly reminded. Witness 24-year-old rookie Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña’s reaction to learning that his dad […]
In honor of the 2022 Major League Baseball season, which starts April 7 — and is actually a thing! — FiveThirtyEight will be focusing our attention on the most intriguing team (or in this case, teams) in each division. Today we take a look at the American League West, which has mostly belonged to the […]
After a season when things seldom came easy, the Atlanta Braves finally changed that script for good on Tuesday night, dispatching the Houston Astros 7-0 to clinch their first World Series crown in 26 years. The title was a culmination of one of the most mercurial campaigns by any champion, but the Braves also proved […]