Tag Archives: baseball

The Continuum Baseball Rankings as of February 14 (but posted on 15), 2013

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The IBAF (International Baseball Federation) has a list of World Rankings for baseball, but that is a list for the production of national teams- not how successful a baseball country is at producing MLB players, or producing the best MLB players. Nor does it take into account how well teams from those countries do in competitions like the Caribbean Series.

The Continuum Baseball Rankings do that differently. Using an ELO rating system, the Continuum Rankings takes into account a few factors:

1. The IBAF rankings

2. The amount of MLB players produced

3. The amount of win shares of MLB players by country

4. Game results by both national teams and representative teams (such as a league champion in the Caribbean Series), as well as overall tournament performance (coming in first in a tournament, for example, versus coming in third or fourth).

Now, here’s how ELO Rankings work: each team has a rating (originally all the teams had their rating set as 0, but after running the first 3 parts of the rankings I used the rankings it produced for the first tournament covered with the Continuum Baseball Rankings- the Caribbean World Series). Based on how high or low one team’s ranking is compared to another, the winner or loser of a game is awarded anywhere from 0 to 15 points OR loses 0 to 15 points. The number of points awarded depends on the quality of the two teams. More impressive wins get more points, for example.

Note that the following rankings are just for fun, they are not scientific and are not meant to be definitive whatsoever. I have no background in statistics, and my knowledge on the ELO ranking system comes entirely from reading about it and such. Even the math itself was done using another website, not a personal calculator or spreadsheet.

Also, note that I counted just the Netherlands (and added together Netherlands, Curacao, Aruba. etc. into one for the Win Shares and Number of Players) for this, not each of the countries in the Kingdom of the Netherlands individually, just for simplicity.

So, go below the jump for the current ratings (calculated February 14, 2013 but posted on February 15, 2013):

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A little bit of late WBC news for February 13, 2013

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Go here for earlier news of the day on the World Baseball Classic.

Cuba’s national team roster has been confirmed completely for the WBC now. The only way it will now change will be if there is a last-second injury:

The roster is the following:

Catchers:  Frank Camilo Morejon Reyes (IND), Yosvani Peraza (PRI), and Eriel Sanchez Leon (SSP).

Infielders: Jose Dariel Abreu Correa (CFG), Jose Miguel Fernandez Diaz (MTZ), Erisbel Arruebarruena Escalante (CFG), Yulieski Gourriel Castillo and newcomers Raul Gonzalez (CA),  Luis Felipe Rivera and Andy Ibañez, both from Isla de la Juventud.

Outfielders: Alfredo Despaigne Rodriguez (GRA), Frederich Cepeda Cruz (SSP), Guillermo Heredia Molina (MTZ), Alexei Bell Quintero (SCU), and Yasmani Tomas (IND).

Hurlers:  Odrisamer Despaigne Orue (IND), Freddy A. Alvarez Saez (VCL), Ismel Jimenez Santiago (SSP), Vladimir Garcia Escalante (CAV), Yadier Pedroso (ART) Norberto Gonzalez Miranda (CFG),  Alexander Rodriguez Matos (GTM), Yander Guevara Morales (CAV), Danny Betancourt (SCU), Leandro Martinez (Gr), Diosdani Castillo (Vcl),  Raciel Iglesias and Wilber Perez, both from IJV.

Victor Mesa will be the manager of the team.

What will Barry Larkin do before managing Team Brazil in the WBC? Why, he’s going to India to teach baseball as part of a State Department program. Between doing these while also doing work for ESPN and watching his son tear it up for the University of Miami basketball team, I must wonder: does he ever sleep?

More news tomorrow….

Picture of the Day: Fukuoka Dome

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The Fukuoka Dome will be the site of the Pool A games of the 2013 WBC, and normally is the home of the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Here’s what it looks like during a between-innings celebration:

This image is used under a creative commons license and was taken by “toooooool“.

Early WBC News for Feb. 13, 2013

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As we near the World Baseball Classic, I’ll be collecting news and notes about it. Due to length, it starts after the jump.

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Well, that was quick…

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Earlier today, I had a list of 15 things that were going to happen in Spring Training. But, well, it was only a few hours late and it turns out that number five on the list isn’t going to happen, since Michael Bourn has signed with the Indians.

So, uh, I guess it’s only 14 things that are going to happen in Spring Training now. Whoops.

The grand World Baseball Classic Question and Answer (Part 4: Miscellaneous)

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If you haven’t seen the previous Q&A installments, you can find them here, here and here.

Today’s WBC Q&A covers basically everything else that is left on the World Baseball Classic that I haven’t covered elsewhere. Go below the jump for it.

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15 things guaranteed to happen in Spring Training

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The following things are guaranteed to happen during spring training:

1. At least one player per team will be declared to be in the best shape of his life.

2. On at least one day, basically every Grapefruit League game will be cancelled due to rain.

3. You will check the box score of every exhibition game against a college team, just to see if any MLB players were struck out by a college pitcher or a college pitcher got a hit off a MLB pitcher.

4. At least one game will be delayed due to a weird reason, like a tornado warning or a large swarm of bees.

5. At least one person will write an article questioning whether Michael Bourn‘s continued free agency is a sign of collusion, as opposed to the reality, which is that the Minnesota Twins basically removed Washington and Philadelphia- two of the most likely destinations for Bourn- when they traded Denard Span and Ben Revere, unintentionally destroying the demand for Bourn in the process.

6. Somebody will try to liken something going on in Spring Training to the going-ons in Vatican City, and it won’t make for a good metaphor.

7. A MLB player will tweet out a picture of what his NCAA bracket looks like.

8. There will be confusion when a player on a World Baseball Classic team plays an exhibition against his usual team.

9. While watching stock footage of players doing routine workouts, you will inexplicably get the theme from The Rookie stuck in your head.

10. Somebody will have an embarrassing injury that will have more to do with their own stupidity or bad luck then some sort of baseball activity.

11. After the Astros lose a Cactus League game, somebody on Twitter will declare that they have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.

12. We will hear about some humorous clubhouse prank.

13. At least one notable veteran will announce their retirement.

14. The Yankees will be declared doomed, the World Series favorites and a Wild Card contender… possibly all on the same day.

15. Everyone in Tampa, at Yankees’ camp, will be on 24/7 Alex Rodriguez watch.

And now, a quick thought…

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If Felix Hernandez is worth $175 million dollars over 7 years…

… just how much will Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander be worth?

(The answer: At least that.)

Picture of the day: Walter Johnson gets a car

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Another image from the Library of Congress Flickr stream, this one is of Walter Johnson receiving a car.

But why is he receiving a car? Well, from 1911 to 1914, the MVP was awarded a car  from Chalmers Automobile. The winner of the AL MVP in 1913? Walter Johnson. This is him receiving that car.

Picture of the day: Connie Mack didn’t need a uniform

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Another picture from the Library of Congress Flickr stream. This time, it’s of Connie Mack, who didn’t wear a uniform during his long managerial career, instead famously opting for a fancy suit. Can you imagine if Joe Girardi or Charlie Manuel did this?