Yesterday, we introduced some of our favorite articles from 2021 (see those here). We continue that series today with part two of our most thought-provoking, useful, or personal stories we told in 2021.
I hope you enjoy revisiting (or discovering for the first time) these pieces as much as I have.
Kissed by Arozarena by Adam Howe
This was my first season contributing to the daily Batter’s Box series and it was a blast. This one article was just one of the hundreds that went out throughout the season. I chose this particular piece because it went on to win the “Batter’s Box Best Title Championship” as voted upon by the readers and Pitcher List staff. I will forever be grateful for the little baseball trophy this article won me in 2021. – Adam Howe
The Legitmus Test: on Adolis García, Harrison Bader, Polyps, and Pokemón by Sami Alsado
This article was a joy to put together considering all the extracurricular storytelling that allowed me to link pokemon to Bader’s changes with plate discipline. Since I wrote this article I think all of my analysis really held up. Overall, I enjoyed the experience of writing this one, got amazing feedback on it, and feel the analysis is relatively spot on. – Sami Alsado
When is it Safe to Stream Pitchers? by Ben Palmer
I put a fair amount of research into this (along with a lot of help from the wonderful Justin Filteau) and I think it’s something that can be really helpful to fantasy players. Streaming pitchers is a very common strategy but it can be extremely risky and volatile. The method I came up with doesn’t make it safe, but I think it makes it a bit less risky. I even tried it out myself this year and found that, more often than not, it worked, and I plan to do that again next year. – Ben Palmer
Caught in the Webb by Max Greenfield
I felt like my work on Logan Webb aged well, and there’s good analysis in here about the use of pitch sequencing and the importance of ground balls and contact management. – Max Greenfield
Fixing HardHit%: Rescaling our Hitter Expectations by Alexander Chase
This is easily the most important piece I’ve written this year — it’s no secret that Baseball Savant’s sliders create this deeply flawed picture of who’s good and who’s not, so any opportunity to un-warp the discourse is a fun one. – Alexander Chase
Every Pitch from Shane Baz’s Debut by Nick Pollack
I was in the process of picking up 2 free agent prospects, in my 10 team, 40-man roster league at the deadline. As I was researching, I turned to YouTube and happened to see the show in my to watch list, during which I found that Baz was an available free agent and I grabbed him up for 2022. Made my off-season that much better already. – Reader Jasper Springer
The End of Gerritt Cole was Exaggerated by Max Greenfield
The crackdown on foreign substances was probably the biggest story of the year, and Cole losing his dominance was a huge question that all fantasy players considered at one point or another. This article helped answer that question and quell fears that all was going to h*ck for Cole. – Reader Matt Nielsen
Lockout Recap: A Pair of Un-modest Proposals by Zach Hayes
Zach’s Batter Box pieces all year were great, but his deeper articles are where he really shines. He’s a pro at using visual aids to illustrate and support his arguments, and he takes it a step further in the Lockout Recap Week Two article by using clips of old periodicals in a really effective way. The conclusion is particularly powerful. I appreciate and respect Pitcher List’s leadership to publish unabashedly pro-player takes like Zach’s Lockout Recap pieces. It’s incredibly important, and one of a litany of reasons that I continue to follow and support this site. – Reader Alex Sawczynec
Does Messing with Timing Actually Work? by Zach Hayes
I went to MLB film room and charted more than a thousand Néstor Cortes Jr. pitches and actually found something. Messing with timing actually seems to work! At least for Néstor Cortes. That alone is a worthy accomplishment, in my mind. High effort, high reward! – Zach Hayes
The Scully Series 2021 (Special Edition): All-Woman Broadcast by Collin Carlone
This piece brought to life some truly inspiring gender diversity within baseball. Not only did these women accomplish something extraordinary, they did it together. I had a blast being along for the ride with the knowledge it was in a segment I was writing about for Pitcher List. –Collin Carlone
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