Tag Archives: Bryce Harper

May 23, 2022

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Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals gets a day off as St. Louis pounds Pittsburgh 18-4, but Goldschmidt maintains a big lead in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Manny Machado of the Padres posted the best game score of the day, an 84, as he posts a perfect day at the plate. His four for four with three doubles, a triple, and an intentional walk, propels him into second place. The Padres blow out the Giants 10-1

Aaron Judge of the Yankees plays both ends of the doubleheader against the White Sox. He goes four for eight on the day with a double and a home run, but Chicago sweeps 3-1 and 5-0. Judge stands in third place.

Bryce Harper of the Phillies goes 0 for 4 in a 4-3 victory over the Dodgers and drops to fourth place. Fifth place belongs to Pete Alonso of the Mets, also 0 for 4 in 2-0 win over the Rockies.

Mike Trout keeps moving up, and now ranks 145 as rebuilds his position after missing most of last season.

May 22, 2022

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Saturday brought about a small change to the top five of the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals increase his lead to nearly eighteen points as he posts a four for five day with a double against the Pirates in a 5-4 St. Louis win. Bryce Harper returned to the Phillies lineup with a one for four to stay in second place. The Dodgers prevail in that game 7-4. Pete Alonso of the Mets stands in third place as he plays both ends of the doubleheader against the Rockies, collecting two hits in each game for a four for nine day. One of those hits went for a double as the teams split. The Mets win game one 5-1, the Rockies take the night-cap11-3.

Aaron Judge of the Yankees sits in fourth place after a one for three with a walk in a 7-5 win over the White Sox. Manny Machado of the Padres moves back into the top five after homering in five trips to the plate in a 2-1 win over the Giants.

The best game score of the day belongs to Rafael Devers of the Red Sox who goes three for four with two home runs to help down the Mariners 6-5. Devers is now slugging .602 on the season, with twenty five of his 56 hits going for extra bases. The Baseball Musings Neural Network tagged him with the highest probability of getting a hit on Saturday.

May 21, 2022

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Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals remains atop the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings as he goes one for four in a 5-3 victory over the Pirates. It was a good night for the veteran battery of the Cardinals as Adam Wainwright allowed one run in seven innings of work, and catcher Yadier Molina posted a two for four.

Bryce Harper of the Phillies remained sidelined after his elbow injection and sits in second place.

Both New York teams saw games postponed due to weather, leaving Pete Alonso of the Mets in third place and Aaron Judge of the Yankees in fourth place.

Fifth place belongs to Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers, who collected three singles in a 4-1 win over the Phillies.

The best game score of the day goes to Josh Rojas of the Diamondbacks, an 85. I discussed his three homer game here.

May 20, 2022

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Thursday featured an epic battle between two of the members of the top five in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals and Pete Alonso of the Mets squared off in a 7-6 Mets victory. Goldschmidt goes three for four with a double, home run, sacrifice fly, and four RBI for a game score of 74. He remains in first place, extending his lead over the idle Bryce Harper of the Phillies. Alsonso goes three for four with a walk and a walk-off home run, drives in three for a game score of 75. He stands in third place.

Fourth place belongs to Aaron Judge of the Yankees who singled and walked twice in a 9-6 Orioles win. Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers moves into fifth despite a day off, as Ty France slips a bit after a one for four in a 12-6 Boston win.

That game between the Mariners and Red Sox also produced the highest game score of the day and of the year as Trevor Story goes four for four with three home runs and a walk for a game score of 101. Story represents a 2022 disappointment, as even after this great game his slash line stands at .230/.317/.413. He may be coming out of it, as all five of his home runs came in the last nine games.

May 19, 2022

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Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals stays atop the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. He goes one for five in a 11-4 blowout by the Mets. In the same game, Pete Alonso of the Mets collected two hits, including a home run, to move into fifth place.

Bryce Harper of the Phillies remained sidelined after his elbow injection and stays in second place.

Aaron Judge of the Yankees holds third place after an 0 for 4 in a 3-2 win over Baltimore. Ty France of the Mariners stands fourth as he goes three for five with a home run, Seattle beating Toronto 5-1.

The best game score of Wednesday goes to Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Marlins. He goes two for two with a home run, triple, walk, sacrifice fly, and a hit by pitch for a score of 77. He’s now hitting .304/.346/.617 on the season and is back at the top of the Miami order. He just beat out one of his opponents, Keibert Ruiz of the Nationals, who goes three for three with two walks and two doubles in a 5-4, ten inning, Washington win.

May 18, 2022

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Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals posts two good games in a doubleheader against the Mets on Tuesday to pass the idle Bryce Harper of the Phillies and move into first place in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Goldschmidt went four for nine on the day with two doubles and a home run. Goldschmidt got off to a slow start, but starting on April 22, he’s hitting .398/.456/.667. The Cardinals and Mets split the doubleheader, the Mets winning game one 3-1, St. Louis taking the night cap 4-3.

Aaron Judge of the Yankees posts the highest game score of the day, an 87 as he goes four for five with a double and two home runs in a 5-4 win at Baltimore. That score moves Judge into third place in the rankings. His fourteen home runs lead the majors by two.

Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers sits in fourth place after a good doubleheader against the Diamondbacks. Freeman went four for eight on the day with a walk and three doubles, all the doubles in the nightcap. The later numbers helped the Dodgers sweep the day, with a 7-6 win in the afternoon and a 12-3 blowout late.

Manny Machado of the Padres winds up in fifth place as he goes one for four in a 3-0 win over the Phillies.

May 17, 2022

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Monday provided little change to the top of the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Bryce Harper of the Phillies (1st), Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals (2nd), Manny Machado of the Padres (3rd), and Pete Alonso of the Mets (5th) all did not play. The game between the Cardinals and Mets was rained out and will be made up as a doubleheader on Tuesday.

Ty France of the Mariners did play, and he drew two walks in a 6-2 Toronto win. France stands in fourth place.

The highest game score of the day goes to Curt Casali of the Giants, three for four with two home runs in a 7-6 win over the Rockies. That was good for a score of 81. Casali, the ninth place hitter and catcher, is batting .298/.377/.532 on the season. Note that for his career, Casali always drew a good number of walks and produced a good isolated power number. When his batting average goes way up from his .229 career average, that makes him look like a star.

May 16, 2022

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Bryce Harper of the Phillies did not play in the 5-4 victory by the Dodgers, but remains in first place in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Harper received an injection for his elbow on Sunday. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals did gain ground. His three for four with two doubles and a home run earned him a game score of 77, tied for second best on the day. He now trails Harper by 1.2 points. The Cardinals walloped the Giants 15-6. Albert Pujols proved he is not a two way player as he pitched the ninth inning and allowed four runs.

Ty France of the Mariners sits in third place after a two for five game with a double in a high-scoring, tight game. The Mariners beat the Mets 8-7. Manny Machado of the Padres did not start on Sunday, so his unchanged score is good for fourth today. Pete Alonso of the Mets stands in fifth place after a one for five against Seattle. He struck out with the bases loaded to end the game.

The highest game score of the day came from the Mariners-Mets game as rookie Julio Rodriguez posts a four for four day, including a solo home run. That was good for an 82. Rodriguez got off to a slow start, but since 4/17 he owns a .309/.368/.433 slash line.

May 15, 2022

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Bryce Harper once again sits atop the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Harper posted the second best game score of the day, a 75, with three for four including a double and a home run in an 8-3 win over the Dodgers. Harper will miss Sunday’s game and likely Tuesday’s game as he will get a platelet-rich plasma injection to try to correct his torn elbow. The timing of Harper’s injury is fortunate for the Phillies since he can continue to hit with the universal DH. It does give the Phillies less flexibility, however. It’s possible that at some point Harper may need surgery to repair the elbow.

Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals takes second place as he doubles in a 4-0 win over the Giants. Manny Machado of the Padres now ranks third after going 0-4 in a 6-5 Braves win. Ty France of the Mariners collects two singles in five at bats on Saturday, but the Mets take the game 5-4. France sits in fourth place. In the same game, Pete Alonso of the Mets collected a double for fifth place.

The best game score of the day goes to Taylor Ward of the Angels. In game two of the double header against the Athletics, Ward missed the cycle by triple in an otherwise perfect night, three for three with two walks, a double, and a home run for a game sore of 85. The Angles win the game 9-1 to earn a split on the day. Ward is hitting a fantastic .384/.505/.744 on the season, but does not quite qualify for the batting title yet.

May 14, 2022

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Friday proved to be a day of extremes, as a dozen teams scored two runs or less, and seven teams scored ten runs or more. Those games helped shake up the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings.

Bryce Harper of the Phillies turned in the best game score of the night, an 81, as he helps win a slugfest over the Dodgers 12-10. Harper goes three for four with two doubles, a home run, and two walks (one an IBB) to jump into first place in the ranking. Harper is hitting .364/.408/.841 in May, with eleven of his 16 hits going for extra bases.

Manny Machado of the Padres falls to second place, drawing a walk in five trips to the plate against the Braves. The rest of the team had a good night, however, as San Diego wins 11-6, and are now the same number of games over .500 as the Dodgers. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals singles and homers in an 8-2 Giants win for third place.

Aaron Judge of the Yankees moves into the top five, sitting in fourth place after a two for three night with two walks, including his twelfth home run of the season. Judge is also having an excellent May, with a .326/.400/.767 slash line, with 14 RBI in 11 games.

Ty France of the Mariners rounds out the top five with a hit by pitch and single against the Mets, the single driving in the winning run in a 2-1 Seattle victory.

May 13, 2022

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Manny Machado of the Padres stays atop the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings as San Diego did not play on Thursday. Pete Alonso of the Mets could not take advantage of that as he goes 0 for 4 in a 4-1 win over the Nationals to stay in second place. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals singled in four trips to hold third place, Baltimore taking the game 3-2. Fourth place goes to Ty France of the Mariners, who were also idle on the day.

Bryce Harper of the Phillies moves into the top five with a double and a home run in a 9-7 victory over the Dodgers. Harper is not getting on base at his usual high rate, but nineteen of his 34 hits this season fell for extra bases.

Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees posts the highest game score of the day, an 86. He goes three for four with a walk and two home runs as the Yankees win a slugfest 15-7. Stanton now ranks 15th on the list. The Yankees play three of the top five home run hitters in the AL, as Aaron Judge hit 11, while Anthony Rizzo and Stanton hit nine each. Judge ranks seventh, Rizzo 22nd.

April 20, 2022

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The bottom of the top five of the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings keeps churning. Juan Soto of the Nationals remains on top despite a weak day at the plate. He reached on a walk and hit by pitch in game one of the doubleheader, and took an 0-4 in game two of the sweep over the Diamondbacks. He is now just two points ahead of Matt Olson of the Braves, 0 for 4 with a walk in a 3-1 win over the Dodgers.

Manny Machado of the Padres leaps into third place with one of the better games on a night of dismal offense. He singled and homered in four trips in a 6-2 win over the Reds. Bryce Harper of the Phillies drops to fourth place as he singles in four PA against the Rockies, Colorado taking the game 6-5. The Rockies, 8-3, are tied with the Dodgers for the NL West lead. Tyler O’Neill of the Cardinals rounds out the top five as he singles and walks in a 5-1 win over the Marlins.

The highest game score of the day goes to Salvador Perez of the Royals. He hit two home runs and drew a walk for a score of 77 as Kansas City beats the Twins 4-3. Perez is second in home runs in the major leagues since the start of the 2021 season.

Tuesday saw the second lowest run scoring day of the season, as the sixteen games averaged 6.5 runs per game. The lowest was on April 9, when 15 games averaged 5.6 runs per game. It was cold on Tuesday in much of the northern half of the country, but there were not many runs scored in Los Angeles, either. There were 17 instances where a team scored two runs or less in a game, including two 1-0 games (both second games of doubleheaders) and a two 2-1 games. Note that pitchers didn’t exactly dominate, as games averaged 16 strikeouts, tied for the lowest of any day this year.

April 19, 2022

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Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers returns to the top five of the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Freeman homered and walked twice to lead his new team over his old team, the Braves, 7-4. Freeman takes fourth place. His replacement in Atlanta, Matt Olson, played a bit better, going three for four with a double to remain in second place. He now trails lead Juan Soto of the Nationals by three points, as rain washed out the game in Washington.

Bryce Harper of the Phillies sits in third place after a one for four night in Colorado, the Rockies taking the game 4-1. Harper hurt his elbow and occupies the DH slot while his arm heals.

Jose Ramirez of the Guardians stands fifth as Cleveland also saw their game washed out.

The best game score on Monday belongs to Yordan Alvarez of the Astros. He collected three hits, including two home runs against the Angels for a score of 77. The Astros took the game 8-3. Alvarez is slugging .789 on the season. He’s only played five games, but four of his five hits went for extra bases.

April 18, 2022

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Bryce Harper of the Phillies returns to the top five in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings after he misses the cycle by a triple in an 11-3 Miami win. Harper moves up to third place as his game score of 71 led the majors.

His old teammate, Juan Soto of the Nationals, remains in first place as he draws two walks in a 5-3 win by the Pirates. Matt Olson of the Braves singles and doubles, but the Padres win a Sunday night pitching duel 2-1. He stays in second place. Jose Ramirez of the Guardians singled in an 8-1 Giants win for fourth place, while Tyler O’Neill of the Cardinals singled and walked in a 6-5 Brewers win. He sits in fifth place.

It seems that having a great hitter on your team was not a recipe for success on Sunday.

April 15, 2022

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A bit of churn took place in the four-five slots of the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Juan Soto of the Nationals drew a walk in 9-4 Pirates win, keeping Soto on top. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals held second despite an 0 for 3 with a reach on interference. The Brewers took that game 5-1. Matt Olson of the Braves singled and doubled for third place, but the Padres win a blow out 12-1.

Bryce Harper of the Phillies returns to the top five as he drove in three runs with a double and a sacrifice fly in a 4-3 win by the Marlins. Jose Ramirez of the Guardians did not play, but others dropped due to poor games, moving the hot hitter nearer to the top of the list. Ramirez owns a .480/.536/1.040 slash line to start the season.

The highest game score of on Thursday belongs to Manny Machado of the Padres, an 82. He goes five for six with a home run in the big blow out win. Machado owns eleven hits and four walks in his first eight games for a .417 OBP. It was a big night for singles in southern California as the Padres collected eleven and the Dodgers collected twelve.

April 12, 2022

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The Baseball Musings Batter Rankings saw no change in the top five due to games of Monday. The Cardinals saw their game postponed, or Paul Goldschmidt and Tyler O’Neill sit in first and fourth place. Juan Soto of the Nationals held second place with a single and two walks in an 11-2 win over the Braves. In the same game, Matt Olson of the Braves drew two walks to hold third place. Bryce Harper drew a walk in four trips while striking out three times in a 5-4 Phillies victory over the Mets. Philadelphia scored five times in the eighth inning for a big comeback victory. It appears the Harper injury scare was nothing.

The highest game score of the night came in Atlanta as Maikel Franco of the Nationals misses the cycle by a triple. He goes four for five with a double and a home run for a game score of 82. He came into the game one for thirteen on the season.

Note that Steven Kwan, with his red hot start, has risen 40 points and now ranks 402 on a list that now contains 500 players.

April 11, 2022 April 11, 2022

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Games of Sunday caused a slight shuffling of the top five in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals remained on top after a one for four day in a 9-4 Pirates win. His teammate, Tyler O’Neill, added a sacrifice fly and drops to fourth place. The Nationals beat the Mets 4-2, but Juan Soto held a quiet bat as he posts an 0-4 day, still good for second place. Matt Olson of the Braves moves into third place as he goes three for four with a home run, but the Reds take the contest 6-3. Bryce Harper of the Phillies sits fifth as he goes 0 for 4 in a 4-1 Athletics victory.

The highest game score of the day goes to Steven Kwan of the Guardians. He reached base six times with five hits and a hit by pitch, doubling once. That was good for an 80. The true rookie is now eight for 10 on the season with two doubles and three walks. That should make him a leading candidate for rookie of the year!

April 10, 2022

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A new hitter moves into the top five of the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals remains on top, about 1.4 points ahead of Juan Soto of the Nationals. Goldschmidt singled and walks in a 6-2 win over the Pirates. Soto hit two singles in a 5-0 Mets win. Washington scored just four runs in their first three games.

Tyler O’Neill, also of the Cardinals, moves just ahead to Bryce Harper of the Philles as they occupy the third and fourth slots. O’Neill drew a walks in four trips to the plate, while Harper reached on a hit by pitch in 4-2 win over the Athletics.

Matt Olson of the Braves moves into fifth place. He goes two for three with a double and a walk in a 2-1 win over the Reds. He’s five for ten with two doubles to start off his Braves career.

The Cardinals also take highest game score of the day as Nolan Arenado goes four for four with three doubles for a game score of 79. Four of his five hits this season have gone for extra bases.

April 9, 2022

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Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals remains atop the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings after an off day for the Cardinals on Friday. His teammate Tyler O’Neill, drops to fourth as Bryce Harper of the Phillies gets in on the action, using a double and a walk to reclaim third place in a 9-5 win over the Athletics.

Juan Soto of the Nationals remains in second place as he draws a walk in a 7-3 Mets win, marred by a baseball non-brawl when Francisco Lindor took a pitch to the face. It was the fourth Mets batter hit by a pitch in the series, and brought the ire of Buck Showalter. Lindor is okay.

Freddie Freeman holds fifth place, collecting a single and a walk in his first game with the Dodgers, a 5-3 win in Colorado. Matt Olson, his replacement in Atlanta, is just 0.44 points behind Freeman in sixth place.

The highest game score of Friday goes to Jeff McNeil of the Mets. His three for four with a home run and a walk was good for a 75. He’s off to a hot start, five for eight with the walk and homer so far. Not bad for a number eight hitter.

April 8, 2022

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Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals wastes no time moving ahead of Juan Soto of the Nationals as the top player in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. Soto drew a walk and homered in the 5-1 Mets win, but that was not enough to stave off a perfect day at the plate for Goldschmidt as he singles and draws five walks, the Cardinals downing the Pirates 9-0. Fellow Cardinal Tyler O’Neill moves up to third place with a single, homer, walk, and five RBI. He moves ahead of the idle Bryce Harper of the Phillies, with Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers in fifth place, also waiting to play.

The highest game score of the day goes to Austin Riley of the Braves. He provided most of Atlanta’s offense as the Reds take the game 6-3. Riley singled twice and homered for a game score of 72. He begins 2022 on a high note after a break-out season in 2021 where he posted a .303/.367/.531 slash line. In 2022, Riley plays as a 25-year-old, right at the beginning of his peak years. I suspect his emergence as an excellent hitter was another reason the Braves thought they could let Freddie Freeman leave via free agency. Riley now ranks 16th on the list.

April 7, 2022

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As the season starts, the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings provides a power ranking for major league batters. Every player-game is assigned a linear weights based game score, designed to have a mid-point at 50 and a range of 0 to 100, but higher and negative game scores are possible. A brand new player, or one that has not played for a long time have 300 points.

Each game started counts, including the playoffs. A game score above 50 increases the points total, while a game score below 50 moves it down. Each player’s score contains the entire history of his career, with more weight given to recent history. So to make it to the top of the list, a player must be good long term and great near term.

Long absences cause the score to decline. In the off-season the decline is about 0.25 points per day, but after 200 days that goes up to 0.75 per day. So Mike Trout, who had a very long layoff, now ranks 458th. He needs to prove once again that he is the best hitter in the game.

The top five going into the season consist of Juan Soto, Paul Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper, Tyler O’Neill, and Freddie Freeman. The list can change quickly as players run hot and cold.

November 18, 2021

Harper Times Two

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Bryce Harper took home his second National League Most Valuable Player Award:

Harper also joins Robinson as having won the award for two different clubs. Two AL winners also won for two clubs — Jimmie Foxx with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1932 and ‘33 and with the Boston Red Sox in 1938 and Alex Rodriguez with the Texas Rangers in 2003 and with the New York Yankees in 2005 and ‘07. 

BBWAA.com

Somewhat surprising to me was how poorly Trea Turner of the Nationals and the Dodgers finished, fifth in the voting. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference rated him at or near the top of position player WAR. I’m also a bit surprised that the best pitchers in the league did not finish in the top ten.

Harper led the majors in slugging in both his MVP years. In 2015, he led the NL with 42 home runs. This year, he lead the majors with 42 doubles. He now has a pre-prime MVP and a prime years MVP. Will see if he can land a third one in his post-prime seasons.

Congratulations to Bryce Harper on a fantastic season!

November 18, 2021

MVP! MVP!

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The Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) announces the winners of the Most Valuable Player Award this evening. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays, Shohei Ohtani of the Angels,, and Marcus Semien of the Blue Jays top the list in the American League. Bryce Harper of the Phillies, Juan Soto of the Nationals, and Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres represent the finalists in the National League. None came from a playoff team.

I find the exclusion of Zack Wheeler from the NL list fascinating. Both FanGraphs and Baseball Reference show Wheeler with a higher WAR than any batter. He also led the league in innings pitched with 213 1/3. I suspect writers don’t see 213 1/3 innings as a very high total to lead the league, and they’re right. Teams to a great extent have devalued starting pitching, and the writers have followed suit.

The winner in the NL comes down to Haper or Soto, as Tatis’s injuries cut down his playing time compared to the other two. Soto hit .295/.420/.510 before the Nationals fire sale, .342/.528/.574 after. It strikes me that when Soto was the only hitter who could do damage, teams did not pitch as carefully to him. If there was a situation where he might do real damage, they just walked him. Meanwhile, there is a huge split between how FanGraphs and Baseball Reference value Harper. FanGraphs has him second to another former National, Trea Turner, while BR has him ninth in WAR among position players. Given that Harper won the Hank Aaron Award, I suspect Bryce will win in a close vote.

Ohtani is the favorite in the American League. His ability to pitch well and hit well represents tremendous value, as he actually saves a roster spot for his team. Baseball Reference has him posting 4.9 WAR on the batting side, and 4.1 WAR on the pitching side. Either of those seasons would be great alone, but together they are a sure winner. I think this will be a landslide.

I also have to ask, how can Toronto have three players in consideration for the two major awards, good talent around them, and not make the playoffs? They are looking like a great team long term.

November 8, 2021

Odd MVPs

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Does anyone find it a big odd that in both the National League and the American League, none of the finalists for Most Valuable Player came from a team that made the playoffs? Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, and Fernando Tatis Jr.make up the NL finalists, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Shohei Ohtani, and Marcus Semien made the AL top three. I think it’s good that sport writers are looking past playing for a playoff team, but it is impressive that the ten teams that did get to the post-season didn’t have someone worthy of the award. Trea Turner of the Nationals and Dodgers led the majors in fWAR for batters. Corbin Burnes of the Brewers had an even higher fWAR than Turner. Maybe in today’s game a team that’s well balanced with solid players is the way to win, rather than depending on a star or two.

November 3, 2021

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Freddie Freeman of the Braves finishes the season with a two for four with a double and a home run for the best game score of the World Series finale, a 66. That propels him into fifth place in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings. The season ends with the top five all occupied by National League players; Juan Soto, Paul Goldschmidt, Bryce Harper, and Tyler O’Neill making up the top four.

October 11, 2021

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The top three in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings remain the same as Juan Soto, Paul Goldschmidt, and Bryce Harper remain off for the winter. Kyle Tucker of the Astros, however, posts the best game score on Sunday as he goes two for four with a double and a home run in the 12-6 White Sox win. That propels Tucker into fourth place, dropping Tyler O’Neill of the Cardinals to fifth place.

It was a good day to be a Kyle, as Kyle Schwarber of the Red Sox posts a game score of 68 with a three for five afternoon, including a home run.

Trea Turner and Corey Seager of the Dodgers, sixth and seventh respectively, can move up today with good games, as 1.7 points separate fourth from seventh. Tucker is six points behind Harper, and Harper’s score has started to decay.

October 10, 2021

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Juan Soto of the Nationals, Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals, and Bryce Harper of the Phillies remain 1-2-3 in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings as their seasons are over. Their scores will start to decay soon, giving some of the players still competing a chance to overtake them. That didn’t happen on Saturday, and Trea Turner and Corey Seager of the Dodgers each went one for five, Turner’s hit a double. That was enough to drop both behind Tyler O’Neill of the Cardinals, who is now in fourth place. Turner takes the fifth slot.

The best game score of the day goes to Buster Posey of the Giants, three for four with a double in the 9-2 Dodgers win. That was good for a 64 game score. Posey now ranks 62nd overall.

October 9, 2021

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Juan Soto of the Nationals, Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals, and Bryce Harper of the Phillies remain 1-2-3 in the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings as their seasons are over. Trea Turner and Corey Seager of the Dodgers rank fourth and fifth respectively. If the Dodgers go deep into the post-season, they might be able to dislodge the top three. Seager went one for four with a double in the 4-0 Giants win, while Turner posted an 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.

Two Red Sox players posted game scores of at least 80 as Boston pounded Tampa Bay 14-6. Enrique Hernandez goes five for six with three doubles and a home run for a game score of 89, the best on the night. J.D. Martinez returns from an injury to post a four for five night with a double and a home run for a game score of 80. The top four game scores of Friday belong to the Red Sox, as five different hitters knocked out at least three hits in the game. The teams make their way to Boston, the Red Sox now holding home field advantage.

October 7, 2021

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There is a slight change to the top five of the Baseball Musings Batter Rankings based on the Cardinals at the Dodgers Wednesday night. Despite a one for three with two walks, Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals failed to pass Juan Soto of the Nationals for first place. Their seasons end with the two separated by three points. Trea Tuner of the Dodgers remains in fourth place, two points behind Bryce Harper of the Phillies after a two for four night.

Corey Seager of the Dodgers goes 0 for three with walk to drop to sixth place, with Brandon Lowe of the Rays moving up to fifth. Lowe may see action tonight.

On a night with little offense, Tommy Edman of the Cardinals goes three for five for highest game score, a 60. He went three for five, all singles, and scored the lone run for St. Louis. He is pretty much a singles hitter, as he posted a .387 slugging percentage in the regular season.