The one thing I’ve seen in football stats is there seems to be a lot of value of going for it on 4th down more often. You have 4th and 2 at your own 40, go for it. I’d be surprised if coaches started doing that, but you never know. It would change 3rd down calls too if you play with the idea of using all 4 downs.
I’d be interested in seeing how individual stats would reveal hidden value in players. The game is so team-oriented. What kind of sabermetrics are you going to use to evaluate a right guard? There are already stats on blocking, etc.
Of course, if everyone starts going for it on fourth and short, then the surprise value wears off and it becomes less effective. There’s probably an equilibrium with a higher attempt percentage than present, but not as high as the stats currently suggest.
It’s not a surprise thing, but a statistical thing. The stats tend to say that going for it will result in making the 1st down often enough that on balance it results in more offense and more points vs the points you will give up by turning it over on downs.
I am literally the only person in this thread talking about Rhys Hoskins. I did a search. The above quote is the only other mention. Called up on August 10. I cobbled this together from various sites.
• Fastest player to hit 16 home runs in MLB history (32 games). Courtesy of CSN’s Dan Roche, by comparison, here is the number of games it took these all-timers to reach 16 homers: Hank Aaron (137), Mike Schmidt (115), Barry Bonds (103), Willie Mays (55).
• MLB record for most homers after making debut Aug. 1 or later. Previous mark held by Ted Williams with 13 in 1953.
• Third fastest player to gather 34 RBIs in 32 games: Ted Williams (36), Albert Pujols (35) (h/t MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki).
• Projected power numbers over 162 games: 81 HR, 172 RBIs.
Last night, he hit No. 18. Rhys Hoskins through 34 career games:
18 HR - most in baseball history
39 RBI - most in baseball history
He’s played 34 Major League games in his life. He is now three home runs shy of the Phillies team lead (Tommy Joseph has 21), and that is now entirely in reach, as Joseph is on the bench in favor of Hoskins.
His 39 RBIs in his first 34 games is more than any player in history (Albert Pujols, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, and someone named Zeke Bonura each had 37). He has a home run in three straight games for the third time this season. The last time someone did that was Jayson Werth in 2009. His 18 home runs in his first 34 games are five more than any other player in history. After walking twice last night, he now has just as many walks as strikeouts this season (26). And he is one of 36 MLB players with at least 10 homers with two strikes in the count. Giancarlo Stanton has 9, by the way.
• Hoskins is only the fourth rookie in the modern era (since 1900) to hit at least 17 home runs over a 33-game span. The others: Rudy York (1937), Mark McGwire (1987), and Gary Sanchez (2016).
• Hoskins entered play Thursday with a 1.218 OPS. If he can keep that number up for 17 more games, he’d join an elite group of seven players with an OPS of 1.218 or greater with at least 140 plate appearances in a single season: Babe Ruth (seven times!), Barry Bonds (four times), Ted Williams (twice), Mark McGwire (twice), Roger Hornsby (once), Jimmie Foxx (once), Lou Gehrig (once).
All his dingers:
We now return you to our regularly scheduled discussion of the Indians ;)
I don’t think anyone’s purposely ignoring him. It’s just that a) he plays for the Phillies, and b) he has 2.4 WAR over 34 games which doesn’t really seem sustainable.
