Last week, I published a piece here that explored some NBA tracking data for LeBron James passes that led to Laker three-point attempts last season. You can find that dataset here.
Now that we’ve explored the data and some insights from simple manipulation of the data, what if we wanted to predict how likely a shot was to go in? After all, as we saw with Kuzma, he shot 60% on corner threes, which is just not sustainable. …
LeBron James is one of the best passers in the NBA right now, despite being a nominal “Small Forward”. As he led the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2019–2020 NBA title, James set a career-high in assists per game (APG), dishing out a league-leading 10.2 APG. While the Lakers themselves aren’t a huge 3-point shooting team, only making 35% of the 31.6 three-pointers that they took in the 19–20 season, 763 of those were catch-and-shoot threes from a LeBron pass.
This tracking data from PBP Stats has graciously been made available by Darryl Blackport on his GitHub. I’m going to…
Hi there! If you’ve stumbled on my Medium writing, you’re likely looking for reports on the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). I’d recommend heading over to my website, benhowell71.com, to find my most recent work, including the KBO Wizard.
*This article was originally published on my website here*
I also have a MUCH more detailed write-up of Yang which you can find here that was put together after the KBO season ended.
The KBO season is entering its home stretch as teams enter their final 30 games with seven teams (sorry Samsung) jockeying for five playoff spots. A lot can change in 30ish games, but the first three seeds seem secure (NC, LG, Kiwoom) and you’ve got Doosan, KT, Kia, and Lotte fighting for the fourth and fifth seeds.
But the playoffs aren’t the only thing that is approaching…
This story was originally published on my website *
As the NC Dinos look to extend their control over the one-seed in the KBO playoff race, they turned to Drew Rucinski against the SK Wyverns and he delivered a strong performance. With just 91 pitches, Rucinski went seven innings, allowing just two runs, two hits, and two walks while striking out five as the Dinos pulled off a 9–5 win against the ninth-ranked Wyverns.
Rucinski has been consistently good for the Dinos over the last two seasons, posting a combined 3.10 ERA over 301.2 KBO innings, the ninth-best mark over…
*This article was originally published here on my website*
Some thieves pick pockets and some crack safes. Aaron Brooks steals strikes and uses a unique tool: a first-pitch curveball.
As a pitcher, getting ahead in the count is one of the most important things that you can do. In an 0–1 count in MLB, the xwOBA is just 0.373 versus 0.400 in a 1–0 count. In the KBO, while there’s no surefire to corroborate this, I’d expect things to be no different.
Aaron Brooks is one of the best pitchers in the KBO, with an ERA of 2.85, FIP of…
Aaron Brooks has been one of the best and most consistent pitchers in the KBO this season, posting a 3.13 FIP and 2.42 ERA, marks that rank 3rd and 5th-best in the league respectively. I’ve written about him before and I find his pitch arsenal fascinating: his sinker and changeup have so much side-to-side break on them that it feels like he has them tied to the end of the string. On top of that, he’s got a power slider, a 4-Seam fastball around 94 mph, and a curveball. …
The young Samsung RHP allows hard contact, base runners, and HRs, but the results are hard to argue with
MLB has returned here in the United States, but in the KBO, baseball continues and the playoff picture is beginning to take shape as teams have crossed the midway point of the season. As such, we’re getting a good sample to start evaluating players for their talent, rather than looking at noisy stats influenced by small samples.
Won Tae-in got the win for Samsung against the Doosan Bears, holding them to three runs over 5.1 innings as the Lions’ bats knocked in six runs of their own. It was another solid start for the 20-year-old who’s in his second season…
How do you face one of the best in the KBO?
Major League Baseball has finally made its return in the United States, but in a country with COVID-19 under control, baseball has been playing since May. The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) is about halfway through their 144 game season and a former MLBer has been one of the best pitchers in the league.
Here’s how he’s done it and what you can expect from Aaron Brooks when he’s on the mound for the Kia Tigers.
Aaron Brooks is a 30-year-old RHP who was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2011 in the 9th-round out of California State San Bernardino…
A “lively” mix of pitches kept the Tigers from hitting the ball hard, but the bullpen let Samsung down
Major League Baseball resumed play the last two days, but in Korea, the KBO keeps on playing. Teams are beginning to approach 70 games played and playoff races are starting to shape up. On Saturday, the 6th-place Samsung Lions faced off against the 3rd-place KIA Tigers.
Ben Lively started his 6th game of the season for the Samsung Lions and his six innings of one-run ball weren’t enough for the Lions to beat the KIA Tigers who won 8–2, scoring big after Lively exited the game. Lively dealt with numerous injuries to start this season and has just recently returned…
