Advanced stats aren’t just great for mad baseball geniuses, they also offer fascinating insights for fans, especially since 2015 with the introduction of the Statcast analysis tool. Here’s a quick quiz on some of those less conventional stats for 2023. (Answers below.)
1. Who hit the ball the hardest?
To) Matt Olson
b) Shhei Ohtani
vs) Ronald Acuna
2. Who hit the ball the furthest?
To) Aaron Richter
b) Jarred Kelenic
vs) Mike Trout
3. Who hits the longest home runs on average?
To) Ronald Acuna
b) Shhei Ohtani
vs) Ryan Mountcastle
4. Who is the most irreplaceable player or who shows the best “WAR”?
To) Corbin Carroll
b) Zac Gallen
vs) Shhei Ohtani
5. Who threw the fastest?
To) Aroldis Chapman
b) Hunter Greene
vs) John Duran
Answer 1: I wouldn’t want to play first base when Braves left-hander Matt Olson comes up to bat. He hit a ball at 118.6 miles per hour. Nobody did it better.
Answer 2: The Mets fielded a pretty decent first-round hitter (6th overall) in 2018, but traded him to Seattle that same year for backup Edwin Diaz. Five years later, at 23, this thug is beginning to make a name for himself. It’s Jarred Kelenic who reached a distance of 482 feet this year, the longest distance in 2023.
Answer 3: This statistic is stunning. Ronald Acuna hit 15 homers this year averaging 438 feet. So it’s a bomb every time, and clearly so. Apparently nobody does it better.
Answer 4: There’s no catch. So you’re right if you answered Shohei Ohtani with hard throws and punches. This statistic, the “WAR” which means “wins over substitutes” in French, is very complex to compile but is good for understanding a player’s influence on his team. It is very interesting to note that newcomer Corbin Carroll finishes second who can seemingly do it all on the field. Who has by far the best WAR in baseball history? You know what, but the Red Sox were cursed when they sold him to the Yankees in 1919.
Answer 5: Dominican Jhoan Duran is the new fastball king of the world. This 6’1″ and 230-pound 25-year-old monster is untouchable. He hit 36 batters in 27 innings. Thanks to its speed averaging 101.9 miles per hour. In May, he clocked a 104.6 mph, the fastest in baseball that year.
*Source Statcast and Fangraphs