Mike Fast - Baseball Prospectus
MLB Heat | Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 5:00AM
1. What is your favorite statistic / metric to use when evaluating the effectiveness of a pitcher?
It's very tough to pick just one or even a few, but the things I look at most are the percentage of pitches that a pitcher gets in the strike zone for each of his pitch types and the whiff/swing rate for each pitch type.
2. Who is your favorite major league broadcaster and what's your favorite historic call?
Nobody will ever top Denny Mathews and Fred White and Royals on Radio for me. They knew so much about baseball and painted the colors of the game for this young kid. No particular call sticks in my mind. The Royals have not had any really historically memorable moments since I've been following them. I heard some of the '85 World Series, but I wasn't really tuned in as an avid fan until 1986. Bret Saberhagen's no-hitter in 1991 seems like it ought to have been such a moment, but I don't remember listening to it live.
3. What is the most exciting play in baseball and why?
The double play is the most beautiful play in baseball, but the most exciting is the stolen base. It requires split-second timing and perfect execution on the part of all involved, it's a daring play, it often comes out of the blue, and it potentially puts a runner in scoring position.
Mike writes a column for BaseballProspectus.com and you can follow him on his Twitter account ().
Reader Comments (1)
duray-I kind of feel like the same person except more time has gone by.I hate to say that I feel like an adult now. I have to admit I wish I was still 18 , After all , even through the time while I was representing taht wild kid ,I really wasn't.I was just living my life . I was just not making movies at the time.-Leonardo --glasses for cheap