Brian Bannister Q&A, Part 3

Links (29)

Brian Bannister Is Smart
Published 1/28/2008 by Craig Brown at Royals Authority
Just in case you didn’t know from my post about the Forecast Luncheon, Brian Bannister puts a great deal of thought in everything he does. Including e-mail interviews. If you haven’t checked out MLBTradeRumors for the Bannister interviews, CLICK THESE LINKS!!!! Part I Part II Part III I used Roman Numerals, because I think Bannister is the kind of guy that can appreciate that. Thanks to Tim at MLB Trade Rumors (and friend of Royals Authority) for the series. As I told him after reading the ...

THT Daily: Spring?
Published 1/29/2008 by Bryan Tsao at The Hardball Times
... . Brian Bannister is a stat nerd - Apparently I've been remiss in not linking this series of interviews that MLB Trade Rumors has been conducting with ...

Brian Bannister on Hits Per Balls in Play
Published 1/29/2008 by Voros at vorosmccracken.com
... Well this is interesting. Other than my brief comments there, I have little to say. Let’s face facts, whatever Brian Bannister has to say on the subject is infinitely more interesting than anything I could say at this point. Interesting reading about a big leaguer who at least approaches some of his job from a statistical leverage standpoint. ...

MLB Pitcher agrees with DIPS!  We can finally come out of our basements!
Published 1/29/2008 by Tangotiger (tangotiger@yahoo.com) at THE BOOK--Playing The Percentages In Baseball
Thank you Brian Bannister!

Holding the Bannister
Published 1/29/2008 by StatsGuru at Baseball Musings
... January 29, 2008 Holding the Bannister Brian Bannister just became the favorite pitcher of sabermetricans . Posted by David Pinto at ...

Brian Bannister Likes Stats
Published 1/30/2008 by rluzinski at Another Baseball Blog
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 Brian Bannister Likes Stats And he's not afraid to use them: MLBTradeRumors: Brian Bannister Q , Part 3 Brawn and brains? If I wasn't married... posted by rluzinski at 11:03 PM 0 Comments: Post a Comment Links to this post: See links to this post "> ">$BlogBacklinkURL$>" rel="nofollow"> "> ">$BlogBacklinkTitle$> posted by @ Create a Link Home Previous Posts 2008 Brewer Offensive ...

Is Brian Bannister on to something?
Published 1/31/2008 by Pizza Cutter at Statistically Speaking
... , Kansas City Royals pitcher Brian Bannister reveals that he does statistical  studies to help improve his game.  Bannister, in talking about DIPS theory, suggests that one piece of information that is rarely taken into account, when considering statistics such as DIPS, is the issue of the count.  He doesn’t fully develop the argument, but he talks about the fact that on an 0-2 count, the batter doesn’t have the luxury of letting a pitch go by and so he might be forced into a bad decision and a bad swing.  It’s a logical theory.  And thankfully, ...

This Week's Links (1/28-2/1)
Published 2/1/2008 by Vegas Watch at Vegas Watch
... Is Somewhat Perturbed With The Help". Very old, but worth watching. Our old friend Marty Noble, at it again. Larry Johnson advises a blogger on how to get rich. Gasaway with a great analysis of conference play thus far. How is Duke still so underrated? (I understand the answer is that they don't have anyone taller than 6'8", but still- it's the Dookies!) Scott Van Pelt is a funny dude. Brian Bannister is an interesting dude. Keith Law's Top 100 prospects. I miss the days of the ...

Yin and Yang
Published 2/1/2008 by Dan Agonistes at Dan Agonistes
I thought I'd finish off January with a couple of links... Lovin' on Bannister. MLB Trade Rumors did a great interview with Royals pitcher Brian Bannister in three parts. Part 3 is where it gets really good as Brian reveals that he does his own statistical analysis (we already knew he was a BP reader) and gives us his take on DIPs theory. Several well-reknowned analysts have already started the discussion into his insights and I'm sure we'll be seeing more in the future. What really encourages me about this is recognizing the ...

The Links: Is There A Way To Bet Money On Brady Throwing A Sixty-Yard Bomb To Moss On The First Series?
Published 2/1/2008 by One More Dying Quail at One More Dying Quail
... like these, who needs enemies? If You See This Girl, Keep Your Phone as Far Away From Her as Possible (Why Don't We Get Drunk and Blog?) Thoughts on the difficulties of getting to really know one's father, backlit by a story on the death of Bear Bryant. Slippery People: A Moment, Please (Every Day Should Be Saturday) Brian Bannister offers fascinating insight into the way a major league pitcher's mind works Brian Bannister Q&A, Part 3 (MLB Trade Rumors) I worked at Target once. Stocked the ...

Friday links
Published 2/1/2008 by MB at Friar Forecast
... to Brian Bannister’s interview. I’m sure this has been discussed before, but I think the reason why BABiP’s are a little higher in hitter’s counts is because pitchers are more apt to throw a fastball. When you’ve got a hitter sitting fastball and a 95 mph pitch coming to the plate, the ball is going to come off the bat faster, resulting in a slightly higher average on balls in play. That’s just my little theory based on nothing more than a little common sense. Anyway, Pizza’s study is interesting and there may be something to ...

Friday Links (1 Feb 08)
Published 2/1/2008 by Geoff Young at Ducksnorts
... Because, of course, Bud Selig made the All-Star game “meaningful” a while back. Jeff at Lookout Landing (blog about the Mariners, our bitter natural rivals) has used Josh Kalk’s PITCHf/x tool to break down Seattle’s hitters in fascinating ways. Someone should do this for the Padres. Hint: It shouldn’t be me. MLB Trade Rumors has an interview with Royals pitcher Brian Bannister: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 (hat tip to PF4L in the comments. Incidentally, I ...

The Pujols Awards: Week 5
Published 2/6/2008 by John Brattain at The Hardball Times
... While Shea Stadium is not long for this world, cliché stadium is where athletes play their games with the media and it will never have a date with your friendly neighborhood wrecking ball. That being the case, a truly candid interview from somebody on the inside is always a refreshing change of pace. On MLB Trade Rumors Royals pitcher Brian Bannister gives us his take on a myriad of topics. If you haven’t read it, be sure to check it out: Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3 . Juan Gonzalez W.C. Fields once said "If at first you don’t succeed, try, try ...

Published 2/8/2008 by Aaron at AaronGleeman.com
... when interviewed by Seth Stohs, check out Tim Dierkes' three-part interview with Brian Bannister over at MLB Trade Rumors. ...

2007 Sabermetric Year in Review: Kansas City Royals
Published 2/11/2008 by Eric J. Seidman at Statistically Speaking
... Brian Bannister: So, apparently there is some brew-haha (how I would like that term to be spelled) about Brian Bannister being really smart and sabermetric savvy. I must admit that I had several Saber-gasms upon reading his three-part e-mail interview with ...

"Past a diving Jeter" is so passé
Published 2/22/2008 by Nick-YF at YFSF
... Okay, the answer is probably not. He was injured last season, and he wanted to his legs to be stronger to fight off that possibility this season. But I still do wonder about players' relationship with statistics, especially during this period. In what ways do statistics guide players' approaches to the game? MLBtraderumors conducted a great interview with Kansas CIty Royals pitcher Brian Bannister a while back. In one part of the interview, Bannister discussed BABIP: ...

Winning with an 89-mph fastball: an analysis of Brian Bannister (Part 1)
Published 2/24/2008 by Mike Fast at Statistically Speaking
... to Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors last month. In Part 3 of the interview, Bannister talked about his opponents’ batting average on balls in play (BABIP). I think a lot of fans underestimate how much time I spend working with statistics to improve my performance on the field. For those that don’t know, the typical BABIP for starting pitchers in Major League Baseball is around .300 give or take a few points. The common (and valid) argument is that over the course of a pitcher’s career, he can not control his BABIP from year-to-year (because it is random), but over a period ...

Winning with an 89-mph fastball: an analysis of Brian Bannister (Part 1)
Published 2/24/2008 by Mike Fast at Statistically Speaking
... to Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors last month. In Part 3 of the interview, Bannister talked about his opponents’ batting average on balls in play (BABIP). I think a lot of fans underestimate how much time I spend working with statistics to improve my performance on the field. For those that don’t know, the typical BABIP for starting pitchers in Major League Baseball is around .300 give or take a few points. The common (and valid) argument is that over the course of a pitcher’s career, he can not control his BABIP from year-to-year (because it is random), but over a period ...

30 In 30: Kansas City Royals
Published 3/1/2008 by Sky at skyking162
... Sky: Really, guys? As much as I love the Royals’ position players, the rotation scares me. Brian Bannister’s strikeout rate is awful and I doubt even his impressive baseball IQ can reproduce a .266 BABIP. Gil Meche still needs to win me over. Will his walk rate remain below 4 BB/9 and has he really morphed into a groundball pitcher? I’m as big a fan of Zach Greinke as there is, but even he’s no guarantee. And Luke Hochevar absolutely needs to make the rotation, if only to prevent another one of these guys from starting games: Kyle ...

30 Teams, 30 Days: Day 1 - Kansas City Royals - Ugghhh!!
Published 3/1/2008 by Nick the Greek at Home Run Derby
... year as a staff leader, all Meche did was finish in the top 15 in basically every major pitching category. He set career highs across the board and seemed to really embrace being ‘the man’. Sure, his win-loss record was not good, but with a little more offense behind him in 2008, Meche might end the season as a twenty game winner. Sky : Really, guys? As much as I love the Royals’ position players, the rotation scares me. Brian Bannister’s strikeout rate is awful and I doubt even his impressive baseball IQ can reproduce a .266 BABIP. Gil Meche still needs to win me over. Will ...

The Money Quote
Published 3/7/2008 by mr. met at the metropolitans
... However, guys like Acta are seeking to change that and even players are getting into it. Brian Bannister's interview with MLBTradeRumors.com was an extremely interesting read and eye opening. He may be the exception, but I think a lot of guys will be following suit because a bit of research can help them improve. ...

The Griddle: The Revolution starts in Kansas City again
Published 3/9/2008 at Baseball Toaster
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports interviews Brian Bannister of the Kansas City Royals . Bannister is likely the first major league player to implement knowledge of sabermetrics in a way that can improve his own pitching. Bannister finished 12-9 with a 3.87 earned-run average, and that was after his two final starts kicked up the ERA nearly a half-point. Otherwise, in his rookie season, Bannister would have finished among the top five in the American League with a record well above .500 in spite of playing for the moribund Royals. To explain Bannister s success in spite of his inability to overpower hitters is the crux of the scouts vs. stats ...

The Juice Blog: More Items I'm Throwing Up On the Wall...
Published 3/11/2008 at Baseball Toaster
... just might be the most promising event to be provided by a pitcher in quite some time. In this story by Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan, Royals ace Brian Bannister is featured. The piece focuses on some great quotes that Bannister gave Tim Dierkes at mlbtraderumors.com. Bannister is the first real saber-nerd pitcher I've ever heard of who has put up all-star like numbers. ************************ Every once in awhile, a recording slips by me and I learn about it too late to make my year-end list. The unfortunately named band And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead put out a ...

Schrodinger`s Bat: Spring Fling by Dan Fox
Published 3/13/2008 at Baseball Prospectus
... -12 (21 errors in 80 games and seemingly reduced range didn't help), and his 2007 at +1. Kansas City Royals As far as sabermetric circles are concerned, there is no more interesting pitcher this spring than the Brian Bannister . That's because Bannister has now become something of a posterboy for players using the ideas and techniques of performance analysis to find and exploit any and every advantage open to them. In Bannister's case, his three - part interview on MLB Trade Rumors and his use of PITCHf/x data in particular has analysts ...

Talking to Brian Bannister
Published 3/23/2008 by Voros at Baseball Digest Daily
... when a local Boston reporter asked him about DIPS. Nobody ever did point me out to Derek, and if he still wants to talk, he can e-mail me anytime. Things changed this spring when I found out Royals pitcher Brian Bannister was actually familiar with DIPS type theories and ...

They'll Never Score 1,000 Runs This Way: Royals 4, Tigers 0
Published 4/2/2008 by Ian Casselberry at Bless You Boys
... Rod Allen said during the FSN Detroit broadcast that both teams were swinging like it was getaway day.  Maybe both lineups knew each pitcher likes to work fast and throw strikes (hat tip to ...

Bronx Banter: Kansas City Royals
Published 4/8/2008 at Baseball Toaster
... met a guy as smart as him in baseball." The comment goes on to say that "intelligence may have split the atom and put a man on the moon, but it can't sustain a .264 BABIP," meaning that batting averages on balls in play naturally correct toward the league average (about .300), thus Bannister is set up for a fall after his hit-lucky debut season with the Royals. Here's where Bannister really gets interesting: he's out to prove BP wrong about that. As first discussed in part three of this January interview with Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, Bannister not only knows what ...

Open Game Thread: Game 18 - A's vs. Royals
Published 4/18/2008 by notsellingjeans at Athletics Nation
... and here, a 3-part series at MLBtraderumors. That interview, and the revelation that he intends to test some sabermetric hypotheses of his own this season with his pitching, granted him cult status online and led to other interviews.  It turns out the offseason attention was a harbinger of things to come.  ...

Bizarro Brian Bannister
Published 11 days ago by Craig Brown at Royals Authority
... No, the problem has been the fact he’s become hittable this season.  In those interviews that were all over the internet prior to spring training, Bannister stressed keeping his batting average on balls in play (BABIP) low.  Last season, he’d had great success with a .266 BABIP.  But this year, he’s exactly at .300.  And his hit rate has jumped accordingly… From 8.51 H/9 IP in 2007 to 9.27 H/9 IP this year. ...