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July 21, 2017

It's Probably A Good Idea To Disbelieve Everything Nick Cafardo Writes

Nick Cafardo, Boston Globe, July 19, 2017:
If the Royals don't pick up the pace, they could make a late decision to trade away players and [Mike] Moustakas could hit home runs at Fenway from the left side because he prefers to hit to the opposite field.
In truth, only one of Moustakas's 25 home runs this season has been hit to the opposite field. I've indicated that home run with a big red arrow.


But perhaps this season is an anomaly. Let's look at 2016, when Moustakas played only 27 games and hit seven home runs.


Okay. What about his 22 home runs in 2015?


Well, I'm beginning to see a pattern. Moustakas is actually a pull hitter, at least when it comes to home runs.

Here is his career spray chart (and location of his 106 career home runs):


Cafardo wrote the exact opposite of what is true. I cannot see any nefarious intent in his ignorance; he simply refuses to do any research or legwork regarding his job. (Maybe someone told him that Moustakas's power is to the opposite field and Cafardo simply put it in his story without thinking about it.) This happens on a near-daily basis in Cafardo's work. And yet he remains employed as the Globe's National Baseball Writer, the paper's top baseball writer.

These charts are not top secret information. They are easily found (in less than one minute) by clicking on Fangraphs' list of players. ... Easily found, that is, if one was inclined to expend even a little effort before writing his column.

2 comments:

  1. Yep, the guy's a moron, and his latest piece is advocating Mookie Betts is 1-2 with Mike Trout. I love the Mookster but track records do count for something. Staying power in MLB's 162-game seasonal grind year after year is always the judge.

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  2. First sentence of Sunday column (July 23):

    "Sometimes it's as if baseball has become all about analytics. It's good to know there's still a human side to the game."

    He is the worst.

    SoSH's John Marzano Olympic Hero says it better than me:
    "Baseball [has] always been about analytics and stats. What do you think winning percentage, batting average, ERA ... are. What Nick Cafardo is finding out is that there are more advanced analytics and more people are understanding them, yet he will (or does) not and he feels dumb. Therefore he has to attack stats and the thousands of people who use them, in a bizarre crusade to bring these folks down to his anti-intellectual level."

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