ABS is going to kill catcher framing, but it's going to create a new class of catchers who are good at working the ABS system.
@pizzacutter4
Baseball Prospectus (emeritus) | author of "The Shift: The Next Evolution in Baseball Thinking" and "The New Ballgame: The Not-So-Hidden Forces Shaping Modern Baseball" (Triumph) | Quad-A Sabermetrician | he/him
ABS is going to kill catcher framing, but it's going to create a new class of catchers who are good at working the ABS system.
Many teams, especially this early in the spring, intentionally don't turn on the radar.
With a lot of pitchers, you don't want them at max effort right away. But guess what happens when you gather a bunch of hyper-competitive athletes who haven't seen each other in a few months? They "scoreboard."
congrats to my @baseballprospectus.com colleagues @srbrown70.bsky.social, @depstein1983.bsky.social, @stevengoldman.bsky.social and RJ McDaniel, and all the other finalists on their nominations!
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Congrats to all the finalists for the 2026 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards! sabr.org/latest/annou...
Voting for the winners begins next week. Thanks to @baseballprospectus.com, @fangraphs.com, @sportsinfosolutions.com, @ibwaa.bsky.social for their contributions to the selection process.
So... Bichette.
I'm old enough to remember Goodtime 2!!!
I command people to read it and all I saw was the Goodtime III reference. #LegendsOf216
Made it. Somehow.
The Chicago Bears of Gary
I got you Craig. I was altar boy of the year at my parish when I was younger.
Jeff... Kent?
So uh...
A sign from the Atlanta Zoo advertising "Giraffe Feeding. $4 for two lettuce leaves"
Inflation is out of hand!
Well this is awkward.
Today, I am grateful for...
So it goes.
Hey, SABR hasn't put both its feet into bluesky yet (I know, a lot of its people have) but this is a good time to remind you that the SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards are open for nominations.
When you have a few minutes, please nominate some of your favorite baseball research from 2025.
The Cleveland Guardians are looking for talented Data Scientists to add to their R&D department. Apply here: job-boards.greenhouse.io/clevelandgua...
Fire questions my way if you want.
I also like that you are you.
Aww, thanks for taking two chances on me. Happy to have worked with Triumph.
Move fences back.
I command you to watch this space. ;-)
I've talked this one through with @cdgoldstein.baseballprospectus.com and the BP editorial staff and they have graciously allowed me to remain an author emeritus. I will still contribute to the annual and website here and there but much less frequently.
And for that, I am very grateful.
Between the "Pizza Cutter" days posting at Baseball Fever and Statistically Speaking and then @baseballprospectus.com, it's been almost 20 years and I'm not as 25 as I used to be.
The grind of weekly work and having a "real job" and a "real family" just got to be too much.
That's the entire story.
Some personal news: After 15 occasionally interrupted years @baseballprospectus.com providing weekly #GoryMath, I am taking a step back.
No, I haven't been hired by a team or another outlet.
No, I'm not doing a Substack.
No, I'm not mad at BP. They're amazing.
Yes, I will still write occasionally.
She said something about heading to San Diego.
My wife just hugged me. #HugWatch
As always, my sources tell me "Dude, we're a little busy today. Can't really talk."
They tell me that when it's not the trade deadline too.
Shameless self-promotion: Let's talk about actual rule changes that might just happen in the near future.
@baseballprospectus.com
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From the archives: For some reason, this seems relevant.
www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article...