The baseball thread

[prasen9]

Shortstop need a good arm. And, infielders need to hit the ball out of the park - everyone does. So, arm muscle. Not so much leg I suppose but all muscle counts wrt hitting the ball out of the park. I can bet that he will add muscle and improve his power. Modern baseball is about homeruns and striktouts.

[jayakris]

Short stops are typically good base-stealers too, as they tend to be smaller and speedy guys. Get on base and make something happen - and that is what also expected of many short stops. Good bunting ability also helps. They can be difference-makers.

[arjun2761]

Shortstop need a good arm. And, infielders need to hit the ball out of the park - everyone does. So, arm muscle. Not so much leg I suppose but all muscle counts wrt hitting the ball out of the park. I can bet that he will add muscle and improve his power. Modern baseball is about homeruns and striktouts.

This is a misconception with respect to arm muscle. In sports like golf, tennis, baseball, softball etc., the power really comes from the legs/glutes/core. Once the body has rotated sufficiently to load for power, the explosive power comes from kinetic chain powered from the legs and core/hips with the arms/hands mostly just delivering the power.

That is why Jay's focus on looking at legs to predict future tennis success has some legs

Here is random link for hitting power in baseball but pretty much anybody that has played any of these sports knows this from a young age.
https://www.wikihow.com/Add-Power-to-Yo ... ball-Swing

[prasen9]

The biggest muscles for hitting home runs are the hips and the torso.

My point is that the guy, from his figure looks like he needs to add muscles and more power. I was writing loosely responding to Kumar's statement that muscles are not that important for shortstops.

Shortstops are not necessarily the shortest, Jay. 2nd basemen are the shortest. Heights by position After a basic height, it does not matter that much. The guy is tall enough.

Shortstop is arguably the most athletic position in the infield, maybe apart from the centre fielder, which may need more athletic ability. And, yes, they are better base stealers than 1st base and 3rd base players. However, I do not think without adding muscles and power, he stands a chance. Bunting does not matter that much. It is very rarely used. Bunting, stealing, etc. are important. But, muscles are important for speed too. The right balance.

Adding power is also about technique, etc. So, he will be given a full set of things to do. I hope he can add some power. While shortstops do not need as much power as a easier position like first base to do well, you can compare his physique with that of any of the other shortstops. The modern game has moved towards more strikeouts and more home runs. Stealing had been going down because if you do not succeed over 75% of the time, it is actually a lossy endeavor - roughly speaking although at times meaning in certain game conditions, a > 50% rate may be good enough to try it in the expected case.

Without arm strength, however strong your legs are, you cannot generate the bat swing needed. Muscles Here is also an article on shortstops

The overarching point is that he needs to improve his physique to be able to hit the ball out of the park. And, shortstops need the most range in throwing the ball along with the 3rd basemen coupled with burst speed while fielding.

The other part of the equation is that the best players (athletes) play shortstops at lower levels. In the MLB, they are moved to 2nd base and 3rd base because there may be better options than them. So, just because he is a shortstop in school/college does not mean that he will be able to do it at the MLB level. Adding some power always helps (without losing your athleticism).

[Kumar]

I agree with moat of your premise, but stolen bases are still very important and with rule changes, they are on the way up this year. I do agree that he needs some muscle. Short stop needs most arm strength in the infield.

The expectations have changed the past few years (jeter, Arod, Nomor Garciaparra) bought about change in mindset and position has evolved. They do want them to hit, but power is still considered a bonus from this position. If he is a defensive whiz, he can get away with being average or even slightly below compared to his peers.

[prasen9]

Agree with most of what you said above Kumar. But, by "power" you mean elite power. Yes, elite power is not required at this position but power in the form of 10-20 HR in the year to be a regular player making things up with your defense. Also, once again, just because he played SS at the lower levels does not mean that he will be an elite defender in the MLB and he will most possibly move to 2B or 3B if he is not super elite. And, then he will need more power. Also, muscles are perhaps the easiest to add with the proper program - not indiscriminately but carefully tailored. Most, if not all, ballclubs have superb trainers and analysts who will tell you what program is best for you.

[prasen9]

With respect to stolen bases, stolen bases had a negative correlation with respect to wins. See here for an analysis. This is precisely why in the era of analytics, teams have shied away from stolen bases. The math does not work really. Or works only for a few players and in few situations. Meaning if a player has low power but does everything else well, there may be a space for him but below say 10 HR per year, it is going to be hard. But, if one does not really steal bases at a good clip, it does not really matter. If he hits 40 or even 30 HRs a year, fields very well (not needed in the era of universal DH), etc. he will have a great career.

Now, with the new oversized bases and the pitcher clock, there are more successful stolen bases. But, that also means bases are easier to steal now and the athletic requirement for stealing well is slightly lower. I will check if someone has done any analysis to show that stolen bases are actually a significant component of things now.

For example, Brandon Crawford of the SF Giants is one of the slower runners between bases but has been an elite SS for over a decade. He fields very well, steals a few bases but not that many, but hits very well. Again, less than 20 HRs mostly but overall he has been tremendous value. Our kid is perhaps more athletic than Crawford but Crawford has incredible burst in the field, quick release, and an accurate, powerful throwing arm.

One way perhaps to check is to find out how many of the HR leaders play at SS. And, to check how many of the position WAR players have high SB (or the correlation). I will run these numbers later to see what comes out.

[prasen9]

BTW, I am not arguing the general premise that SS have to hit fewer HRs to survive. That is absolutely true because they have very high defensive value. And, thus the offensive value required is less. Perhaps catchers are the only position who need even fewer HRs. Most (or more accurately more) HR hitters are outfielders, I think. I am saying even to get to the low bar, he will need a bit more power.

[Kumar]

Detailed profile
https://www.mlb.com/news/arjun-nimmala-guide

Yes, especially if he makes it to the team that has a great SS, he may be pushed to second base or even third base. They do say that he has very good arm strength. Let us see how he turns out. Will he be the first Indian American kid (both parents indian)to make first round of draft in US?

[Kumar]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/379 ... t-baseball

Nimmala's cricket future is a hypothetical now -- he gave it up, along with soccer and basketball, to focus on baseball when he started high school in 2019. Just four years later, earlier this spring, I ranked him as the third-best baseball player on Earth born in 2005.

Amazing, just goes on to show once again how important for you to play multiple sports till high school. Lot of indian parents tend to focus exclusively on single sport and primarily tennis. Playing one sport makes you injury prone, so i hope they let them play different sports in diff seasons at least until start of high school

[jayakris]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/379 ... t-baseball

I found this interesting -

The other influencing factor is relative inexperience: Nimmala missed all of those showcases full of middle schoolers and their dog-eat-dog travel parents in search of that elusive D-I offer -- because as a freshman in high school, he and his family still weren't aware any of it existed ... "My parents are from India and they had no clue about the recruiting process," he said. "We didn't even know there was a certain thing called college commitments. We didn't even know a D-I player. It was so new and out of the blue for us."

Haha. Typical Indian family. It seems when he committed to FSU, the parents only focused on academics on their visit. No surprise.

[prasen9]

On another note, a fascinating article about what made San Francisco Giants' Lamonte Wade Jr. able to hit better. I had loosely (and admittedly wrongly) said that the arms (although I was perhaps talking more about the throwing, which also is not arms only) but anyway, hitting is not about arms, nor about legs, or hips, or torso, or abs ... something about which eye you are using when now ... Fascinating. I am not sure if this theory is correct but at least it has been a placebo to Wade. Hitting program Thought people here will be interested.

[Kumar]

In archery , they decide if you will be left handed or right handed based on which eye is dominant.

[Kumar]

Arjun goes to Toronto Blue Jays with 20th pick. The draft slot will be 3.75 million. Interesting to see if he will go under slot or overslot. There is an interview with his parents/himpredraft.
https://bluejaysnation.com/news/late-cl ... nning-note

[arjun2761]

In archery , they decide if you will be left handed or right handed based on which eye is dominant.

Didn’t read the article but almost anyone that has handled a firearm knows their dominant eye. However, you typically don’t change your handedness, just which eye you align over the sight.