Over the offseason, Kevin Gausman signed a five-year, $110 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, one of the biggest contracts handed out this winter. For a then-30-year-old with only a season and a half’s worth of ace-like production, it was a big commitment, but one that ought to be worth it if he can […]
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 in each division. Today, we take a look at the American League East, a top-heavy group of talented teams that could be due for […]
The general point of the MLB playoffs is to showcase the best teams in baseball with the World Series on the line. (No duh.) But that hasn’t always been the case in practice, even after baseball expanded its postseason over the past few decades to include an ever-increasing array of would-be contenders. Every so often, […]
When it’s time for pitcher Marcus Stroman’s turn in the rotation, he runs to the mound to throw his warmup pitches, rap music blasting over the PA system to get him hyped up. He gets himself set, and right as he releases his pitch, you see it: a durag tucked under his cap. A durag, […]
Before 2019, Marcus Semien was already a valuable major leaguer. His solid glove and roughly league-average offensive output were more than enough to make him a quality shortstop, if an unspectacular one. He showed his power potential in 2016, blasting 27 home runs en route to career highs to that point in slugging percentage (.435) […]