The huge jump this year is the ball. That’s established fact. The seams are different.
The general rise in the last few years is a bunch of things. Hitting approach, strength training, philosophy in what players to draft/sign/promote.
Lower drag, no more detail given even though it’s obviously there.
That can come from simply increasing the tension on the yarn, making it press deeper into the leather and lowering the seam height. The lower seams mean less break, and the harder ball has a higher coefficient of restitution (it rebounds harder off the bat). That’s all it takes.
Many pitchers have adjusted to it. The Red Sox starters have not.
Right you are. (I wonder if I just missed him or am still thinking of Houston as an NL team!)
Anyway, he’s a little ahead of Guerrero too. And in half the playing time, which a) is impressive but b) suggests he may be getting lucky–small sample size and all.
Looks like his BABIP is close to .400, so I imagine it’s doubtful he’ll keep up an OPS of over 1.1–especially given that only Yelich and Trout have done that so far.
But I suppose you never know. Be interesting to see!
Alvarez absolutely is getting lucky, but if it kept up all year. it is what it is. Bloop hits and hits that fall between guys are still hits.
Alvarez’s peripherals and minor league numbers say he is the real deal; it’s not just a fluke.
Hey Blue Jays fans! Who is this guy in the dugout?
Jason Statham?
Jeff Bezos. 
Aristides Aquino with another homer to help beat the Cubs in a must-win game!
I dont’ believe what I just saw! (last night)
Ramos gives up a passed ball to put the Mets down 6-3 in the 9th. Then a couple of hits and Frazier hits a 3 run HR to tie it. With 2 outs, Conforto with a double to win it!
This is the damndest 2nd half I’ve ever seen. The Mets can’t lose and I can’t get laid
Mets now 14 of the last 15. YGFB and LGFM!
Astros just brutalize the Orioles, 23 to 2, with Alvarez getting his first 3-home-run game. It’s hard to fathom that there’s a team out there with a worse record than the Orioles, but there is.
Surprisingly, the Mariners are not worse. They’re also not much better. But they are rebuilding and it’s expected, so meh.
The O’s followed this performance by winning on a walkoff HR with two outs and two strikes. Any given day in MLB
The Orioles remain the poster boy for “awful team” because they were just so epically bad last year, and they continue to play Chris Davis, which cannot be interpreted as anything other than total insanity or a deliberate effort to lose baseball games.
But man, the Tigers suck. They are very, very bad in terms of winning and losing; right now they are on pace to go 49-113, which is historically terrible. They will probably not lose 120 to equal the '62 Mets and “Beat” the 2003 Tigers, but they are actually getting worse so who knows.
The thing is - like, do they have any hope at all? The team is rolling a lot of bad veterans out there, and they don’t have any Grade A prospects. I am a fan of the Blue Jays and they’re a very bad team but at least we can enjoy watching Vlad Jr. and Bo Bichette become great players.
I feel the same as you RickJay about my Reds. Entertaining to watch, but ultimately a likely .500 finisher.
I won some money on that game. I had just about written it off until that surprise tie, then I was glued to the screen. Talk about an eleventh-hour comeback.
Their ass was clearly in the jackpot.
Schedule has been released for 2020
Notice how MLB does it on a Monday afternoon while the NFL demands a prime time special. No staggered start next year, all teams open on the same day.
I would be surprised if the Reds made the playoffs. It wouldn’t be SHOCKING, though. They are only five games out of a wild card sport with 46 games to play, and they’re a better team than their record would suggest.
7 games out of the division, 5 out of the WC…both equally hard. So many teams to jump.
Awhile back I posted about the Pirates’ radio announcing crew making a cocky prediction that backfired.
They’ve managed to top themselves.
In other news, it looks like the Orioles and Pirates are commemorating the 40th anniversary of their trip to the 1979 World Series by sucking horrendously.