2026 MLB (Non-Tigers) Thread

[Shelton]

16 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Sac bunts, in the AL, dropped steadily from .45 per game in 1978 to .08 in 2024.  It was .10 in 2025 and this year it's back up to .13 which is close to what it was in 2016 (.14).  I am pretty sure it will never come close to what it was in the 70s, but perhaps they have recognized that they overdid the non-bunting just a little bit.  

Does this include extra inning attempts with the placed runner on second?

[chasfh]

16 hours ago, Tiger337 said:

Sac bunts, in the AL, dropped steadily from .45 per game in 1978 to .08 in 2024.  It was .10 in 2025 and this year it's back up to .13 which is close to what it was in 2016 (.14).  I am pretty sure it will never come close to what it was in the 70s, but perhaps they have recognized that they overdid the non-bunting just a little bit.  

I don’t think bunts could ever get back to what it was in 1978. That was a hangover year in the AL from both the pitchers’ era (low scoring) and from pitchers have recently batted (terrible hitters), so managers were still conditioned to sacrifice outs for a single run.

[Tiger337]

29 minutes ago, Shelton said:

Does this include extra inning attempts with the placed runner on second?

[gehringer_2]

17 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I don’t think bunts could ever get back to what it was in 1978. That was a hangover year in the AL from both the pitchers’ era (low scoring) and from pitchers have recently batted (terrible hitters), so managers were still conditioned to sacrifice outs for a single run.

doubly true if ABS increases average scoring. 

[Shelton]

5 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

doubly true if ABS increases average scoring. 

Is it true that ABS is expected to increase scoring?

[Tiger337]

5 minutes ago, Shelton said:

Is it true that ABS is expected to increase scoring?

Walks are up to 3.63 per game so far which would be the highest rate since 2000.  I am not sure whether walks are typically up early in the season, but walks also went way up after they started using it in AAA.  Of course, there could could be other factors which cause the increase, but it is plausible that ABS would be the reason.

 

[chasfh]

The Cubs have already had a ten-game winning streak and they're in the middle of a nine-game streak now. They are 7-12 outside those streaks.