Trailing 30 - September 13

Here is an explanation of this weekly feature, listing the best and worst of past 30 days, made possible by FanGraphs' Leaders application. Comment for the week: The Blue Jays and Red Sox each have two of the best five hitters in the American League in just about every offensive category over the past 30 days. No wonder they've been winning at a combined .660 pace.

   American League              National League

   Team W-L                     Team W-L      

1. Toronto         18- 8     1. New York        18- 9

2. Texas           18-10     2. Pittsburgh      19-10    

3. Boston          17-10     3. Los Angeles     17- 9         

4. Cleveland       16-10     4. Chicago         17-11   

5. KC, Minnesota   16-11     5. Milwaukee       15-13        

   Worst Team W-L               Worst Team W-L

1. Detroit          9-17     1. Atlanta          5-24      

2. Oakland         10-16     2. Cincinnati       9-19       

3. Baltimore       11-17        Philadelphia     9-19      

4. Tampa Bay       11-16     4. Arizona         12-17
5. Los Angeles     12-15        Colorado        12-17

   Batting Average              Batting Average     

1. Revere, Tor      .394     1. Escobar, Was     .397  

2. Bradley, Bos     .393     2. Votto, Cin       .373      

3. Donaldson, Tor   .366     3. Braun, Mil       .347           

4. Altuve, Hou      .362     4. Lucroy, Mil      .346          

5. Betts, Bos       .360     5. Prado, Mia       .352       

   Lowest Batting Average       Lowest Batting Average  

1. Gomes, Cle       .165     1. Turner, LA       .169         

2. Lowrie, Hou      .184     2. Bruce, Cin       .184       

3. Escobar, KC      .185     3. Gonzalez, LA     .208
4. Rodriguez, NY    .193     4. Rollins, LA      .214           

5. V Martinez, Det  .203     5. Peterson, Atl    .218      

   On Base Percentage           On Base Percentage  

1. Revere, Phi      .4522    1. Votto, Cin       .569           

2. Bradley, Bos     .4516    2. Harper, Was      .487         

3. Choo, Tex        .440     3. Escobar, Was     .470         

4. Bautista, Tor    .432     4. Freeman, Atl     .447          

5. Encarnacion, Tor .430     5. Cervelli, Pit    .441      

      

   Slugging Percentage          Slugging Percentage   

1. Bradley, Bos     .821     1. Cespedes, NY     .800        

2. Encarnacion, Tor .798     2. Votto, Cin       .723    

3. Ortiz, Bos       .787     3. Zimmerman, Was   .684       

4. Donaldson, Tor   .693     4. Harper, Was      .674       

5. Moustakas, KC    .675     5. Arenado, Col     .664        

          

   Home Runs                    Home Runs

1. Encarnacion, Tor   11     1. Cespedes, NY       15
2. Davis, Bal         10     2. Gonzalez, Col      11        

3. Ortiz, Bos          9     3. Arenado, Col       10
   Sano, Min           9     4. Kemp, SD            9
5. 3 with              8     5. 3 with              8

   Runs                         Runs    

1. Betts, Bos         25     1. Cespedes, NY       28        

   Bradley, Bos       25     2. Harper, Was        27     

   Donaldson, Tor     25     3. Granderson, NY     23
   Revere, Tor        25        Votto, Cin         23
5. Zobrist, KC        24     5. 3 with             20

   RBI                          RBI      

1. Encarnacion, Tor   35     1. Cespedes, NY       34        

2. Donaldson, Tor     34     2. Kemp, SD           31      

3. Moustakas, KC      28     3. Zimmerman, Was     28       

4. Bradley, Bos       27     4. Arenado, Col       27
   Ortiz, Bos         27     5. Bryant, Chi        25
                             

   Stolen Bases                 Stolen Bases             

1. Altuve, Hou         7     1. Gordon, Mia        15
2. Andrus, Tex         6     2. Blackmon, Col       7     

   Cain, KC            6        Pollock, Ari        7   

4. 3 with              5     4. Crawford, LA        5
                                Inciarte, Ari       6
                                                     
   Saves                        Saves

1. Tolleson, Tex      10     1. Melancon, Pit      10

2. Street, LA          8     2. Jansen, LA          9

   Wilhelmsen, Sea     8        Ramos, Mia          9
4. 3 with              7        Rondon, Chi         9
                             5. 3 with              8

   ERA                          ERA

1. Verlander, Det   1.47     1. Arrieta, Chi     0.62

2. Keuchel, Hou     1.50     2. Happ, Pit        1.00

3. Kelly, Bos       1.64     3. Kershaw, LA      1.15

4. Rodon, Chi       2.12     4. Bumgarner, SF    2.08

5. Porcello, Bos    2.15     5. Greinke, LA      2.10

   Worst ERA                    Worst ERA

1. Nova, NY         7.58     1. Perez, Atl       7.92

2. Tilman, Bal      7.16     2. Rusin, Col       7.14

3. Cueto, KC        7.07     3. Scherzer, Was    6.43

4. Samardzija, Chi  6.03     4. Flande, Col      6.10

5. Jimenez, Bal     5.82     5. de la Rosa, Ari  5.63

   WHIP                         WHIP

1. Tomlin, Cle      0.732    1. Arrieta, Chi     0.69

2. Kluber, Cle      0.733    2. Kershaw, LA      0.79
3. Verlander, Det   0.82     3. Happ, Pit        0.806

4. Keuchel, Hou     0.929    4. Bumgarner, SF    0.808
5. Sale, Chi        0.932    5. Greinke, LA      0.84

   Strikeouts                   Strikeouts

1. Sale, Chi          54     1. Kershaw, LA        54     

2. Keuchel, Hou       49     2. Bumgarner, SF      52

3. Ventura, KC        48     3. Kennedy, SD        48

4. Price, Tor         47     4. Arrieta, Chi       46

5. Archer, TB         46     5. Iglesias, Cin      40

Trailing 30 - Father's Day

Here is an explanation of this weekly feature, listing the best and worst of past 30 days, made possible by FanGraph's Leaders application. Comment for the week: The American League East has been knocked, with some justification, for no longer being the powerhouse it was in recent years. But as I write this, every team but Boston has a winning record, and over the past month, three of the teams have the second, third, and fourth best record in the American League over the past month. 

   American League              National League

   Team W-L                     Team W-L      

1. Texas           19- 9     1. Pittsburgh      21- 7

2. Toronto         18- 9     2. St. Louis       18- 9    

3. Tampa Bay       17-11     3. San Francisco   15-14         

4. New York        16-11     4. Miami, Arizona  14-14   

5. Oakland         16-12        Chicago         13-13        

   Worst Team W-L               Worst Team W-L

1. Detroit          9-17     1. Philadelphia     5-22      

2. Boston          11-18     2. Milwaukee       10-18       

   Chicago         11-18     3. New York        12-16      

4. Houston         13-15        Washington      12-16
5. Los Angeles     14-14     5. Colorado        14-16

   Batting Average              Batting Average     

1. Kipnis, Cle      .374     1. Goldschmidt, Ari .412        

2. Springer, Hou    .360     2. Harper, Was      .369      

3. Butler, TB       .353     3. McCutchen, Pit   .353           

4. Cabrera, Det     .352     4. Tulowitzski, Col .347          

5. Pedroia, Bos     .345     5. Cervelli, Pit    .347       

   Lowest Batting Average       Lowest Batting Average  

1. Valbuena, Hou    .140     1. Galvis, Phi      .165          

2. Castellanos, Det .176     2. Bour, Mia        .182       

   Infante, KC      .176     3. Pagan, SF        .184
4. Miller, Sea      .177     4. Desmond, Was     .188           

5. Drew, NY         .180     5. Utley, Phi       .190      

   On Base Percentage           On Base Percentage  

1. Kipnis, Cle      .462     1. Goldschmidt, Ari .551           

2. Cabrera, Det     .452     2. Harper, Was      .485          

3. Holt, Bos        .441     3. Cervelli, Pit    .443         

4. Rodriguez, NY    .439     4. Carpenter, SL    .423          

5. Bautista, Tor    .438     5. Votto, Cin       .421      

      

   Slugging Percentage          Slugging Percentage   

1. Pujols, LA       .725     1. Goldschmidt, Ari .753        

2. Trout, LA        .607     2. Frazier, Cin     .735     

3. Cabrera, Det     .591     3. Harper, Was      .726       

4. Bautista, Tor    .586     4. Stanton, Mia     .717       

5. McCann, NY       .579     5. Votto, Cin       .635        

          

   Home Runs                    Home Runs

1. Pujols, LA         13     1. Stanton, Mia       13
2. Donaldson, Tor      8     2. Frazier, Cin       10        

   Machado, Bal        8     3. Arenado, Col        9
   Souza, TB           8        Goldschmidt, Ari    9
5. 2 with              7     5. 2 with              8
                                

   Runs                         Runs    

1. Donaldson, Tor     24     1. Frazier, Cin       23        

   Machado, Bal       24     2. LeMahieu, Col      22     

   Pujols, LA         24     3. Arenado, Col       21
4. Dozier, Min        23     4. 3 with             20
   Gardner, NY        23        

   RBI                          RBI      

1. Pujols, LA         27     1. Arenado, Col       33        

2. Fielder, Tex       24     2. Stanton, Mia       24      

3. Vogt, Oak          21     3. Frazier, Cin       23       

4. 4 with             20        Goldschmidt, Ari   23
                             5. 2 with             20
                             

   Stolen Bases                 Stolen Bases             

1. Burns, Oak         11     1. Hamilton, Cin      14            

2. Ramirez, Chi        7     2. Blackmon, Col      11     

3. 4 with              6        Gordon, Mia        11   

                             4. Revere, Phi         8
                             5. 2 with              7
                                

   Saves                        Saves

1. Britton, Bal       10     1. Melancon, Pit      14

2. Perkins, Min        8     2. Casilla, SF        10

   Tolleson, Tex       8     3. Ziegler, Ari        9
4. Clippard, Oak       7     4. 5 with              8

   Gregerson, Hou      7     

   ERA                          ERA

1. Gonzalez, Tex    0.90     1. Martinez, SL     1.06

2. Sale, Chi        1.19     2. Cole, Pit        1.06

3. Price, Det       1.19     3. Kershaw, LA      1.56

4. Gallardo, Tex    1.41     4. Garcia, SL       1.59

5. Archer, TB       1.78     5. Morton, Pit      1.62

   Worst ERA                    Worst ERA

1. Porcello, Bos    7.50     1. Lohse, Mil       7.59

2. McHugh, Hou      6.43     2. Teheran, Atl     6.97

3. Sabathia, NY     6.39     3. de la Rosa, Ari  6.25

4. Lewis, Tex       5.40     4. Frias, LA        6.17

5. Weaver, LA       5.31     5. Nelson, Mil      6.06

   WHIP                         WHIP

1. Sale, Chi        0.64     1. Scherzer, Was    0.66

2. Gray, Oak        0.86     2. deGrom, NY       0.74
3. Buehrle, Tor     0.93     3. Kershaw, LA      0.75

4. Gallardo, Tex    0.94     4. Garcia, SL       0.79
5. Price, Det       0.96     5. Liriano, Pit     0.84

   Strikeouts                   Strikeouts

1. Sale, Chi          75     1. Scherzer, Was      57     

2. Archer, TB         55     2. Liriano, Pit       53

3. Wilson, LA         45     3. Kershaw, LA        49

4. 3 with             41     4. Cole, Pit          44

                             5. Hamels, Phi        41

Happy Opening Day!

Here's a fantastic heartwarming piece by the great Joe Posnanski. He calls it "A Baseball Story." It's not. It's a human potential story. Posnanski is a national treasure.

Now, on to the season. Last year I did detailed predictions for each division. Given that the season's started, and I was out of the country since mid-March, I'm not going to do that this year. But let's get some stakes in the ground:

National League East
Washington Nationals, 91-71: There are, in my mind, five locks in baseball this season. Three are in this division. This is one of them. The Nationals are, to me, clearly the best team in the division, arguably in the league.
New York Mets, 84-78: Mets fans are pessimistic about the team. Mets fans have learned their pessimism from experience. Still, even with young righthander Zack Wheeler out with Tommy John surgery, this is a...well, not excellent, but an okay team. Sure, the offense is suspect, but in 2015, just about everybody's offense is suspect.
Miami Marlins, 81-81: The Marlins are kind of a fashionable pick. I don't care for that fashion. The outfield's great, and they have some good arms, but there are too many weaknesses elsewhere for me to get excited.
Atlanta Braves, 69-93: Lock No. 2. The Braves have all but admitted they're in rebuilding mode, shedding stars (Jayson Heyward, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel) for prospects. But they won't be in last place because...
Philadelphia Phillies, 64-98: ...the Phillies are probably the worst team in baseball right now. Lock No. 3

National League Central
St. Louis Cardinals, 89-73: Yes, the Cards have a great farm system, but they're also reliant on some older players (Adam Wainwright, Matt Holliday) who are going to get old someday. Probably not today, though.
Pittsburgh Pirates, 85-77: Probably the best outfield in baseball, but the loss of catcher Russell Martin to free agency will be felt, and I have a hard time seeing last year's surprise hero, Josh Harrison, duplicating his performance.
Chicago Cubs, 81-81: Cool your jets, Cubs fans. Your farm system's fantastic, even after graduating a lot of guys to the majors. You got Jon Lester and Joe Maddon during the offseason. But this was a last-place, 89-loss team last year. Getting to .500 would be a tremendous improvement.
Milwaukee Brewers, 78-84: They spent most of last season in first place. I'd be surprised if they see much if it this year.
Cincinnati Reds, 72-90: They can't hit, and if they're out of contention at the All-Star Break, they might trade starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, an impending free agent, and then things would get really ugly.

National League West
Los Angeles Dodgers, 94-68: The fourth lock. They've been criticized by some for trading outfielder Matt Kemp and second baseman Dee Gordon, but the replacements (rookie Joc Pederson, former Angel Howie Kendrick) could wind up being just about as good.
San Diego Padres, 86-76: Another trendy pick, as new GM A.J. Preller remade the team. They'll be better, but the infield's awful.
San Francisco Giants, 84-78: No, it's not just because the Giants win only in even-numbered years. They lost third baseman Pablo Sandoval to free agency, outfielder Hunter Pence is on the disabled list, and there are a lot of questions in the rotation after postseason hero Madison Bumgarner.
Colorado Rockies, 78-84: DON'T SAY IT. Yes, I know, this team could be pretty good if shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez can stay in the lineup together. But they can't. One or the other will get hurt. Or both. Don't get your hopes up.
Arizona Diamondbacks, 71-91: I wouldn't say they're a lock for last, but they're not a good club, either. Worst record in baseball last year, you know.

American League East
Boston Red Sox, 88-74: Viva la parity. The additions of Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, and the presumed return to health of Dustin Pedroia and Mike Napoli, makes the team's offense formidable. The pitching...not so much. But this is no longer a killer division.
Toronto Blue Jays, 84-78: Really, you could almost draw the names of these five teams out of a hat; they're all pretty close. I really like the additions of Josh Donaldson and Russell Martin.
New York Yankees, 82-80: Because the Yankees are incapable of finishing a season with a losing record.
Baltimore Orioles, 80-82: Over the past three seasons, the O's have won the second-most games in the American League. I haven't been able to figure out why. The batters don't get on base a lot and the starting rotation is unimpressive if solid. In Buck we trust, I suppose. I'm probably going to be wrong about them again.
Tampa Bay Rays, 77-85: I think the departure of GM Andrew Friedman and manager Joe Maddon are the beginning of the end for one of my favorite teams. (I like small-market, low-budget teams.)

American League Central
Detroit Tigers, 88-74: They've won four divisional titles in a row. The streak will come to an end, probably soon, as the team's getting old. But I don't think this is they year.
Cleveland Indians, 84-78: Another trendy pick, and I would like nothing more than to see this small-market, low-budget team succeed. But the team's pitchers, unbelievable in the second half of the year (2.95 starter ERA, best in the league), are due for regression, and the team's defense won't help. But I'll be pulling for them, if for no other reason than radio announcer Tom Hamilton's home run calls.
Chicago White Sox, 83-79: Another greatly improved team - they lost 89 games last year - but not enough to contend, yet.
Kansas City Royals, 79-83: Yeah, I know, they came within a game of winning the World Championship. But they didn't win their division, and they kind of lucked their way to a wild card win. Over the winter, they lost their No. 1 starter and their DH. I'm not buying sustained success.
Minnesota Twins, 70-92: My fifth and final lock. I've documented my lack of affection for the Twins.

American League West
Seattle Mariners, 89-73: You can make a case that the other two top contenders in this tight division enter 2015 weaker than 2014. Not so the Mariners.
Los Angeles Angels, 86-76: They had the best record in baseball last year. But they enter the season with concerns in the rotation and at second base and overpaid slugger Josh Hamilton recovering from shoulder surgery and a drug relapse.
Oakland Athletics, 79-83: I mentioned that I don't understand how the Orioles have managed the second-most wins in the league over the past three years. I even more don't understand how the A's are No. 1, but they are. What they did this offseason strikes me as a teardown. But I've been wrong before.
Houston Astros, 79-83: Everything is going according to plan. The Astros improved by 19 games last year, and I see another nine this year. Eight or so next year, and they're talking playoffs.
Texas Rangers, 75-87: I thought they might rebound strongly from their injury-riddled 2014, but then ace pitcher Yu Darvish went down with Tommy John surgery.

If The Boss Were Still Alive

Toward the end of February, the Boston Red Sox signed 19-old-Cuban prospect Yoan Mondaca for $31.5 million. Under baseball's borderline-incomprehensible international signing rules, that amount was doubled to $63 million, half to Moncada, and half to Major League Baseball as a "tax" for exceeding Boston's international spending limit. 

Moncada is a highly-regarded prospect, projected to play second or third base, possibly shortstop, with speed and the potential to hit for average and for power. He doesn't seem to fit in with the Red Sox, who have second baseman Dustin Pedroia signed through 2021, newly-signed Pablo Sandoval under contract through 2019 (with a 2020 option), and 22-year old shortstop Xander Bogaerts under team control through 2019. But Moncada's expected to need a year or two in the minors, and a lot can change over two seasons.

The surprise isn't that Moncada got $31.5 million (and that's just a signing bonus; he'll earn a salary above and beyond that) nor that the big-budget Red Sox got him. But a lot of people figured he'd wind up a Yankee. The Yankees, after all, are the richest franchise in baseball, and they enter 2015 with a 31-year-old second baseman who's played the position only 34 games in the majors and batted .220 over the past three seasons, along with a shortstop platoon consisting of a left-handed batter with a .243 career average and a right-handed batter with a .234 career average. Reportedly, they bid $25 million ($50 million with the penalty), with general manager Brian Cashman wanting to go higher but principal owner Hal Steinbrenner balked.

That scenario led, predictably, into many Yankee fans and pundits moaning that if Hal's father, George Steinbrenner, aka The Boss, were still alive, the Yankees would've signed Moncada. Certainly, the elder Steinbrenner had a reputation for not being outbid for free agent talent that could help the Yankees. Of course, his sons, Hal and Hank, haven't exactly been tightwads, as they committed nearly half a billion dollars last winter, signing outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (seven years for $153 million or, optionally, eight for $169 million), catcher Brian McCann (five years for $85 million or six for $100 million), pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (seven years for $155 million with a player opt-out after four years for $88 million), and outfielder Carlos Beltran (three year, $45 million). Still, there's little question that Moncada would be a good fit for the Yankees, nor that the $13 million by which the Red Sox outbid them isn't that large.

I'm still not convinced, though, that George Steinbrenner would've signed him. No question, the man excelled at signing free agents. He also didn't lose key players to free agency, an key reason for the Yankees' success that often gets overlooked. But he wasn't a big fan of young prospects. Moncada's 19, has never played in anything comparable to American baseball leagues, and, as noted above, is probably two years removed from the majors. That's not the type of player the late Steinbrenner coveted. 

Take the first Yankees world championship team under Steinbrenner, the 1977 team. (That's the year Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in the last game of the World Series.) Left fielder Roy White, catcher Thurman Munson, and pitcher Ron Guidry were drafted by the Yankees. Jackson and pitcher Catfish Hunter were signed as free agents. Every other starting position player, every other member of the five-man pitching rotation, the closer and the key setup man--they were all acquired via trade. Some of them were astute deals involving veterans, but many involved prospects. Steinbrenner traded a lot of prospects for established players, filling other needs via free agency.

Want more proof? Look at the greatest Yankee team of recent vintage, the 114-48 1998 squad that swept to a World Championship. Outside of the Core Four of shortstop Derek Jeter, catcher Jorge Posada, starter Andy Pettitte and reliever Mariano Rivera, the team was assembled by trade (first baseman Tino Martinez, second baseman Chuck Knoblauch, third baseman Scott Brosius, left fielder Chad Curtis, right fielder Paul O'Neill) mostly for prospects, and free agency (DHs Darryl Strawberry and Tim Raines; starters David Wells, David Cone, Hideki Irabu and Orlando Hernandez; reliever Mike Stanton). The only home-grown regular, outside of the Core Four, was center fielder Bernie Williams.

Wait, you're saying, that "outside of the Core Four" line is pretty glib. True enough: The Yankees drafted Posada and Pettitte and signed Rivera as an amateur free agent in 1990. They drafted Jeter in 1992. The Boss didn't trade any of them away, so why do I think he had a thing against prospects?

Because he didn't have a chance to trade them away. Steinbrenner was suspended from the Yankees in 1990 for his dealings with outfielder Dave Winfield and reinstated in 1993. During his absence, the Core Four rose through the Yankees farm system; all four arrived in the majors in 1995. And even then, Steinbrenner wanted to trade Rivera for a shortstop who would have blocked Jeter. The man saw prospects more as a means to end, rather than an end.

So would George have spent mid-eight figures for a 19-year-old? It's possible, but I question it. Maybe he'd have more aggressively pursued pitchers Jon Lester, Max Scherzer, or James Shields this winter. I think he wouldn't have let second baseman Robinson Cano depart a year ago, creating a hole that Moncada might have been able to fill. (As I said, I think the Yankees' ability to retain its key players is an underappreciated Steinbrenner strength.) But I think there's a decent chance that Yoan Moncada would be a Red Sox farmhand even if The Boss were still alive.

Red Sox Fans, Meet the New Left Side of Your Infield

Not really.

Last year, Red Sox third basemen (primarily Will Middlebrooks, but also Xander Bogaerts and Brock Holt) batted .211 with a .271 on base percentage and .308 slugging percentage. Those are all pretty bad! That ranked them 14th in the 15-team American League with a .580 OPS. That's pretty bad, as they weren't particularly close to the Royals, 13th with .658. Red Sox shortstops (primarily Bogaerts and Stephen Drew) batted .250 with a .316 on base percentage and and .369 slugging percentage. That ranked them seventh in the league in OPS. (Red Sox fans will probably be surprised the team's shortstops ranked in the upper half offensively. Keep in mind that shortstops collectively had the lowest OPS in the league, and that Bogaerts hit far better at short (.266/.333/.391 slash line) than at third (.182/.217/.300)).

So by signing free agents Pablo Sandoval, who was the Giants' third baseman last year, and Hanley Ramirez, who played shortstop for the Dodgers, Boston could be seen as upgrading both positions. But they're not; Sandoval will indeed become the team's third baseman, but Ramirez is slated to play left field, where he will join a very crowded Boston outfield that includes Yoenis Cespedes, Shane Victorino, Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts, Rusney Castillo, Daniel Nava, Allen Craig, and Holt. Obviously, some of those players will be traded (the leading candidate is Cespedes, acquired at last year's trade deadline from Oakland; the 29-year old has one year remaining on his contract at a reasonable $10.5 million). The shortstop job will apparently be Bogaerts's. 

But what of Sandoval and Ramirez? What can Red Sox fans expect?

Both are coming from two of the toughest parks in baseball for hitters, going to one that is good, though not for the reasons usually cited. Let me explain that. Per the 2015 Bill James Handbook, over the past three seasons, Dodger Stadium, where Ramirez played the past two years, suppressed runs by 12%, doubles by 5%, and triples by 57%. (When I say "suppressed" I mean that there were 12% fewer runs scored in Dodger games at Dodger Stadium than at Dodger games on the road). It was actually an OK place for home runs, boosting homers for right-handed batters like Ramirez by 7%, but it suppressed other hits enough that right-handed batting average took a 7% hit.

Sandoval's a switch hitter, but the Giants' AT&T Park hurt everybody. It suppressed runs by 16%, doubles by 4%, and homers by 34%. With its large outfield, it increased triples (not exactly Sandoval's specialty) by 36%, but overall it suppressed left-handed hitters' batting average by 1% and righties by 7%. It reduced homers from both sides of the plate by about a third. Overall, Dodger Stadium was the the fifth-toughest National League park in which to score a run, and AT&T Park was the second-toughest. 

By contrast, from 2012-2014, the Red Sox's Fenway Park increased scoring by 8%, the second highest boost in the American League. Contrary to its reputation, it's not an easy place in which to hit a home run. In fact, it's been the toughest American League park for left-handed hitters, decreasing long balls by 28%. For righties, it increased home runs by 3%. Overall, though, it boosted batting average by 6%, doubles by 36%, and triples by 13%. Its small foul areas reduced foul outs by 27%, the most in the league.

So Sandoval and Ramirez are moving to friendlier ballparks for hitters. The thing is, neither of them have suffered much from playing in pitchers' parks their entire careers--Ramirez in Miami and Los Angeles, Sandoval in San Francisco. Here are Ramirez's home/road splits:

Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Home	610	590	2578	2270	402	683	132	20	102	334	122	42	269	445	.301	.379	.511	.891
Away	613	592	2694	2407	420	720	171	10	89	320	139	41	237	430	.299	.367	.489	.856

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/26/2014.

And here are Sandoval's:

Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Home	432	416	1718	1561	203	488	93	12	52	232	7	5	131	191	.313	.365	.488	.853
Away	437	419	1815	1654	195	458	99	7	54	230	4	7	128	273	.277	.328	.443	.771

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/26/2014.

Each player was more effective at home than on the road. That's normal in general, but not so much when a player's home park is tough on hitters. As a team, the Dodgers had an OPS 41 points higher in away games, while the Giants' team OPS was five points lower at AT&T than on the road. So for whatever reason, Ramirez and Sandoval were less affected by their home park than their teammates. Both are likely to get a benefit from Fenway, though not as much as some may expect, given that their penalty for their prior home parks was less than usual.

Neither should be hurt much by Fenway's homer-suppressing properties, though. Ramirez bats right, and Fenway's favorable for right-handed sluggers. As a switch hitter, Sandoval mostly bats left, but his career home run percentage from the left side--3.4% of plate appearances--isn't high. Among 54 left-handed and switch-hitting batters with 500 or more games played since 2008 (Sandoval's rookie season), Sandoval ranks last in home run rate. So he's not a home run-dependent guy, at least in the regular season.

That brings up two odd splits of Sandoval's. First, his record in the regular season and the postseason:

Season	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
Regular season	869	3533	3215	398	946	192	19	106	462	11	12	259	464	.294	.346	.465	.811
Postseason	39	167	154	21	53	13	0	6	20	0	0	10	22	.344	.389	.545	.935

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/26/2014.

If the only time you saw Sandoval play was during the postseason, you'd think he's an elite slugger. He's not. He's a very good hitter, but not the Hercules that he's become in October. And the Red Sox are smart enough to not read too much into his performance over 39 games.

Next, his performance against right- and left-handed pitching:

Like most switch-hitters, Sandoval fares better when batting left. You heard a lot during the postseason that he was pretty useless against left-handed pitching. As the table shows, that was certainly true in 2014. But that's not the norm for him. Expect him to be better against left-handers in 2015.

A few other tidbits about Sandoval and Ramirez:

• Ramirez has acquired a reputation for being injury-prone. That's been true over the past two years, during which he's missed 110 Dodger games, but it wasn't the case up until then. From 2006 to 2012, he played at least 151 five times and 142 once. The only season he missed substantial time was 2011, when he had shoulder surgery. During thpse seven seasons, the only shortstop to play more games than Ramirez's 1,007 was Derek Jeter with 1,060. So for most of his career, he's been durable. Now that he's on the wrong side of 30, though--he turns 31 next month--staying in the lineup may be a challenge, made easier by the move to the outfield.
• The Red Sox are pretty disciplined at the plate, swinging at only 28% of pitches outside the strike zone (third lowest in the majors) and making contact on 80% of swings (tenth highest). Sandoval's 84% contact rate was 51st among 146 batting title qualifiers this year, and Ramirez was 72nd at 82%. So they'll both fit in by that measure. But Ramirez chased 29% of pitches outside the strike zone (76th highest), while Sandoval, a notorious free swinger, was first at 45%. What's doubly remarkable is that despite leading the majors at swinging at pitches outside the strike zone, he made contact on 80% of such swings (the major league average was 63%), seventh highest in the majors. He swings at, and hits, just about everything. His free-swinging ways make him possibly the most entertaining batter to watch. (The link, to an article by Baseball Prospectus's Sam Miller, never fails to make me laugh.)
• A lot has been written about Sandoval's physique. He is, put bluntly, fat. It hasn't affected his hitting, and he's a surprisingly good third baseman, with quick reactions and a strong arm, but there's plenty of reason to worry that he'll age quickly. However, he does have the option of moving to DH if his fielding deteriorates, on the theory that 39-year-old David Ortiz won't last forever. 
• Ramirez is the rare player to return to a team that traded him away. He was 21, with two major league at-bats under his belt, when he was traded by the Red Sox following the 2005 season with three other prospects (one of whom, pitcher Anibal Sanchez, panned out) to the Marlins for starter Josh Beckett, third baseman Mike Lowell, and reliever Guillermo Mota, who in turn was flipped for, among others, outfielder Coco Crisp. Beckett, Lowell, and Crisp all played key roles for the 2007 World Champion Red Sox, so that swap worked. 

Overall, these signings improve the Red Sox, though it's incumbent on them to sign some free agent starting pitchers and/or trade some of their surplus outfielders for starters. Red Sox starting pitchers had a 4.36 ERA last year, third-worst in the league, and it was 4.68 excluding Jon Lester, who was traded for Cespedes at the trade deadline. Ramirez and Sandoval have their talents, but they don't pitch.