# MLB 2021 Playoffs **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [October 5, 2021, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930 "2021-10-05T13:47:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/301 "2021-10-21T17:46:16Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Have the NLCS and ALCS games been unusually high scoring? According to [TeamRankings](https://www.teamrankings.com/mlb/stat/runs-per-game), the Dodgers scored 5.03 runs per game, while the Braves scored 4.88. Those two teams combined to average 9.91 rpg. In the NLCS, the Braves are averaging 5.5 rpg, while the Dodgers are averaging 3.5. Total of 9 rpg. The Red Sox scored 5.17 during the season, while the Astros led the majors with 5.41. Total average was 10.58. In the ALCS, the Astros are averaging 6.2 rpg, while the BoSox are averaging 5.6. Total of 11.8 rpg. NLCS is a bit lower than the season average, while the ALCS is higher. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/302 "2021-10-21T18:04:43Z")
Wouldn’t you expect the runs scored by all four teams to be down from the season average, because presumably they have better-than-average pitching, being [among] the best teams in baseball this year? Though I see that these four teams are #1, #4, #5 and #7 in runs scored in the season, so maybe they got here DESPITE having average pitching. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/303 "2021-10-21T18:09:37Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Though I see that these four teams are #1, #4, #5 and #7 in runs scored in the season, so maybe they got here DESPITE having average pitching. I think you might be on to something there. The Dodgers led the majors in ERA, but Atlanta was 7th, Houston 10th, and Boston 15th. So perhaps the biggest surprise is the Braves success against the Dodger pitching staff. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/304 "2021-10-21T18:10:37Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I think you might be on to something there. I don’t think you have considered my posting history on sports topics before making this rash statement! ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/305 "2021-10-21T18:28:19Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > I don’t think you have considered my posting history on sports topics That’s the magic of the Dope! ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/306 "2021-10-21T20:21:39Z")
Id take a shortcut through Chinatown to save a little time. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/307 "2021-10-22T00:10:01Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > [Google Maps](https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Union+Station,+800+N+Alameda+St,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90012/Dodger+Stadium,+Vin+Scully+Ave,+Los+Angeles,+CA/@34.0650289,-118.2524374,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x80c2c64160adbc4b:0x527217f541ae2569!2m2!1d-118.2365021!2d34.056219!1m5!1m1!1s0x80c2c6f954005675:0x9e94554f839c09df!2m2!1d-118.2399583!2d34.073851!3e2) put it at 41 minutes / 1.9 miles. All uphill. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/308 "2021-10-22T02:34:08Z")
What happened to the strike zone? It looks like it’s from the belt to the knees when they superimpose the box on TV. > The official strike zone is the area over home plate from the midpoint between a batter’s shoulders and the top of the uniform pants – when the batter is in his stance and prepared to swing at a pitched ball – and a point just below the kneecap. In order to get a strike call, part of the ball must cross over part of home plate while in the aforementioned area. > **[Strike Zone | Glossary | MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/glossary/rules/strike-zone)** > > The Official Site of Major League Baseball That sounds like it would be as I learned it, way back—between the letters and the knees. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/309 "2021-10-22T04:18:57Z")
Three home runs from Chris Taylor! Dodgers destroyed them 11-2. Back to Atlanta! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/310 "2021-10-22T05:25:58Z")
yay ! I was sort of going into “well maybe next year” like I did last years lakers …i still don’t know whether to have hope or not but this roller coaster has been the dodgers for the past what 3 years? ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/311 "2021-10-22T13:40:48Z")
So if instead we look at runs conceded (if that is a baseball term, I’m borrowing it from cricket) instead of runs scored, it looks this. Nothing really unusual either. Team Season (Playoffs) Dodgers 3.45 (4.2) Braves 4.04 (4.8) Red Sox 4.66 (6.2) Astros 4.12 (5.6) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/312 "2021-10-22T20:44:03Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > So if instead we look at runs conceded (if that is a baseball term, I’m borrowing it from cricket) I think it’s typically called “runs allowed” in baseball, but the concept would be the same. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/313 "2021-10-22T20:48:45Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > Three home runs from Chris Taylor! Dodgers destroyed them 11-2. Back to Atlanta! Braves doing what Braves do best, blowing nice safe leads. hrmph. The 90’s are back. At least it’s not the 80’s. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2021, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/314 "2021-10-22T22:23:16Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > yay ! I was sort of going into “well maybe next year” like I did last years lakers …i still don’t know whether to have hope or not but this roller coaster has been the dodgers for the past what 3 years? Forever. It’s been the Dodgers since forever. 😣 ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/315 "2021-10-23T03:39:52Z")
OK, NL teams. One of you needs to take out the garbage. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/316 "2021-10-23T12:53:53Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > Have the NLCS and ALCS games been unusually high scoring? There have been nine or more runs scored in every game but one so far. Somehow I have the impression that (a) a “normal” baseball score is more like 3-1 than 9-2 or even 5-4 and (b) teams with the best pitching are supposed to get deep into the playoffs rather than teams with the best hitters. Yes, that’s what you would expect. Back in 1994 there was no World Series. It wasn’t that a war was going on etc. but rather, the players and management were bickering over money. They cancelled the series and said, “Come back next year.” That really irked me (and others)—they betrayed the fans who follow the 162 games, as far as I’m concerned. Many of us stopped following it for the full season, maybe watching some playoffs but not much more. Things have changed a bit… I posted upthread a question about why the strike zone is what it is, but nobody answered. I learned it’s the zone between the letters of the uniform (the nipples, basically) and the knees, but the box they show on TV only goes as high as the belt. You can see where if you make a smaller target for the pitcher to hit gives the batter an advantage. The pitcher would be prone to walking more batters, and the batter would have a smaller “window” to watch for hittable pitches. I notice too that apparently they’ve added some rules that didn’t exist in the past. They’ve restricted pitching changes. In a single inning, a manager could have pitcher A face batter A, then put in pitcher B to face batter B, then change again to pitcher C to face batter C—each pitcher only pitching to one batter. In order to speed up the game, a pitcher has to face 3 batters or finish the inning. You can see how that would be less surgical than before. Historians will compare home run hitters across the decades and note that some batted in the “dead ball” era and others in the “live ball” era. As you might guess, that refers to how the composition of the ball has changed, from absorbing more energy to being more like a bouncy rubber ball. I thought this was interesting: they deadened the ball for this year. [https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/02/09/baseball-changes-dead-ball-era](https://www.si.com/mlb/2021/02/09/baseball-changes-dead-ball-era) I would suspect that the powers that be are manipulating the game to put fans in the seats. People like to see home runs and high scoring games. Pro basketball has a shot clock and a three point range that were never part of the original game, for instance—they’re businesses trying to generate excitement to make money. Cheating could also drive up scores. > **[Houston Astros sign stealing scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Astros_sign_stealing_scandal)** > > The Houston Astros sign stealing scandal was a major scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) that broke in November 2019, in which several members of the Houston Astros were caught and disciplined for illegally using a video camera system to steal signs from opposing teams during games in 2017 and 2018. Many have correlated the Astros' sign stealing as a major contributor to their 2017 World Series championship. > For years, some people on other teams had suspected the Astros of stealing signs. ... If batters know which pitch is coming…and according to this player, it wasn’t just Houston. Quoting: > But there was a lot going on. It was like an arms race, almost like it was like hey, this team’s doing this. This team’s doing that, this team’s cheating here. This team’s doing this. Is it happening? Still? No I think that aspect is completely gone of the game I think that’s clean. [Source](https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/as-pitcher-chris-bassitt-says-astros-werent-only-team-in-mlb-stealing-signs/) > [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > So if instead we look at runs conceded (if that is a baseball term, I’m borrowing it from cricket) The statistic you’ll find for the pitcher is ERA—earned run average. Suppose a pitcher throws the ball and the batter hits a home run. The pitcher earned that—it was his fault. Suppose a pitcher throws the ball, the batter hits it to a fielder, the fielder makes an error and the batter reaches base safely…and later that batter comes home to score. He never should have been on base in the first place, so it doesn’t count against the pitcher’s stats (though it does of course count on the game scoreboard). Then it’s just a matter of calculating how many earned runs the pitcher is averaging per game (9 innings). If he allows 2 earned runs in 3 full innings pitched, extrapolate that to get an ERA of 6.00 for 9 innings for that outing. Of course, they keep compiling the total innings pitched and earned runs as the season wears on, recalculating as they go. > **[How to Calculate ERA (Earned Run Average): 8 Steps (with Pictures)](https://www.wikihow.com/Calculate-ERA-(Earned-Run-Average))** > > ERA (Earned Run Average) is the average number of earned runs a pitcher has allowed per every 9 innings he pitches. This is one of the most useful calculations in baseball, as it shows the pitcher's overall effectiveness. Know a bit more... ---
**Author:** ![jaycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat/32/3015_2.png) [@jaycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jaycat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2021, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/317 "2021-10-23T21:38:31Z")
It’s not the best look for an impending free agent to miss work due to a “dead arm.” ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2021, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/318 "2021-10-23T22:50:08Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > There have been nine or more runs scored in every game but one so far. Somehow I have the impression that (a) a “normal” baseball score is more like 3-1 than 9-2 or even 5-4 and (b) teams with the best pitching are supposed to get deep into the playoffs rather than teams with the best hitters. A normal major league baseball game is 5-4. In 2021 an average of 9.06 runs per game were scored between both teams, which is pretty much right in the middle of the historical average. The highest figure was in 1930 (I believe) when 11 runs a game were scored; the lowest in modern history was 1968 when it dropped to 7. > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > I would suspect that the powers that be are manipulating the game to put fans in the seats. People like to see home runs and high scoring games. One can hardly blame a business for changing the product to attract paying customers, but having more home runs only helps so much. Attendance flattened out years ago, and home run increases have not helped. > [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > The statistic you’ll find for the pitcher is ERA—earned run average. > > Suppose a pitcher throws the ball and the batter hits a home run. The pitcher earned that—it was his fault. Mighty Mouse was asking more in general though about all runs allowed. The correct stat would then be runs allowed, not ERA, which as you point out doesn’t include unearned runs; these days they differ by about one run every three games, which of course is a much lower difference than it used to be. (It’s also quite possible for a home run - even the run scored by the batter - to be unearned.) ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/319 "2021-10-24T13:49:15Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > (It’s also quite possible for a home run - even the run scored by the batter - to be unearned.) True, the rules for what’s earned or not are more extensive and complicated than what I wrote. For example, if a pitcher walks a batter, and then the pitcher is replaced, that walked batter remains the original pitcher’s responsibility. If he scores it counts against the statistics of the pitcher who walked him, even though he’s gone from the game. That later may also figure into which pitcher gets credit for a win or a loss… The other night, Kike Hdez of the Red Sox dropped a fly ball. It hit the heel of his glove and popped out. Maybe I’ve been away from the game too long, but I was very surprised they didn’t call that an error. Since it’s a hit, the run counts against the ERA of the pitcher. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930/320 "2021-10-24T14:58:20Z")
The commentators said it was scored a hit because of how far the fielder had to run to get there and how fast he was moving when he tried to catch it. I don’t know enough about baseball to know whither that makes sense. I mean it must always be a judgement call as to how hard a play has to be before missing it is an error. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-2021-playoffs/951930.md?page=17)