Author: Nick Ashbourne

Theoretically speaking, power hitting a pretty simple business. In order to get hit home runs you need to hit the ball hard and put it in the air often. Just because it’s simple that doesn’t mean it’s easy to do, nothing could be farther from the truth. But it’s easy enough to conceptualize. Traditionally Alex Rodriguez […]

At this particular moment in time Aaron Hicks is simultaneously a Statcast legend and a player providing significantly negative value to his team. Yes, he can throw the ball hard, maybe even harder than anyone else. When you’re a pitcher that’s both cool and extraordinarily useful as Aroldis Chapman has demonstrated. When you’re a position […]

Nothing offends the sensibilities of sports fans more than seeing what they perceive as great potential “going to waste.” If people believe you are especially talented, you’d better produce or you will surely incur the wrath of the masses. If the general consensus is that you posses unremarkable tools then you have carte blanche to suck. […]

Whenever the New York Yankees acquire a left-handed hitter, there is always hope that Yankee Stadium will be good to them. With comical right-field dimensions that warmly invite even modest fly balls into the crowd, most assume new Yankees can count on a few more round trippers than they’re accustomed to. This line of thinking has […]

In everyday life we most commonly think of human bodies holistically. Walking down the street we tend to see the fine folk in our path as people instead of limbs, torsos, rib cages and facial features. Things are a little different when evaluating athletes. In baseball, arms, shoulders, elbows, legs, and hands are commonly scrutinized intently by scouts, fans and […]

When you have an arm like Aroldis Chapman does pitching should be a pretty easy way to collect a pay check. Basically all you have to do is roll out of bed drive down the ballpark and unleash hell. Even the best hitters in the world cannot hit the kind of velocity Chapman brings with […]

Jacoby Ellsbury has a commonality with every other human being on the face of the earth regardless of where they’re from, how old they are, or which way their moral compass points. He is going to die. While we’re on the subject, you are going to die as well, as will I. Last year’s Finnish […]

There are a myriad of reasons to be impressed by Andrew Miller. He’s 6-foot-7, which is quite a height for a human to grow to. He’s left-handed, which a rare trait. He can throw a ball at 94 mph consistency. Beyond the basics, it has become apparent in recent years that he’s a pretty remarkable pitcher. You could […]

The fastball is the basic building block upon which all pitching is built. If you were to describe the act of pitching to an alien, or someone from Norway, you would probably say something to the effect of “the attempt to throw a ball hard into an imaginary box of sorts past someone trying to […]

For better or for worse, the misfortune of others is very interesting to most human beings. Most of what we call “news” falls under that umbrella. In some cases this interest leads to action for the betterment of those suffering. Often it does not. The extent of this suffering is important for people to be […]