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Without any real baseball (all apologies to the All-Star Game, which can be great, but it’s certainly not “real baseball”) on TV for four straight days, it’s time to loosen our belts and have a little fun. The All-Star break is a perfect time to find a few players who may have slipped under the radar a bit but are having notable seasons either for their comparative success or lack of success.
With the proliferation of fantasy baseball, many baseball fans are as addicted to the minutia of the box score as ever. But even still, there are 577 hitters and 637 pitchers who have appeared in at least one game this season, so keeping track of all of them is downright impossible. With that being said, we’re going to have a little fun today with some blind resume quizzes.
The ultimate Trade Deadline guide: who should buy and who should sell?
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MLB is full of middle of the pack teams that appear to be stuck at a crossroads. I made their decisions for them.
The way this will be set up is straightforward. Two players — Player A and Player B — will have their 2017 first-half portfolios compared side by side. The portfolios will include mostly surface statistics like home runs, wins, RBI, etc.
I’ll be upfront with you: I am 100 percent going to choose the statistics that allow me to make the most fun (and hopefully surprising) comparisons. This exercise isn’t meant to imply that the players compared below are having the exact same seasons, but rather to trick you into a few interesting guesses, while, once again, hopefully having a little fun during the break in the action of a long baseball season.
For each comparison, the two blind resumes will be shown first. Then I will reveal one of the two players in the text immediately following, but the other won’t be listed until the bottom of the article. That way if you scroll down slowly enough, you can try to guess both resumes first, then have a more-educated guess once you know one of the names, and finally you can check your work at the bottom. Enjoy!
Comparison 1
Blind resumes #1
| Name | R | HR | RBI | SB | BA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | R | HR | RBI | SB | BA |
| Player A | 62 | 17 | 48 | 10 | 0.332 |
| Player B | 62 | 13 | 50 | 18 | 0.347 |
In this first comparison, Player A is the more surprising of the two, so I will reveal to you that Player B is Jose Altuve. Now can you guess Player A?
Hint no. 1: He plays in the same league as Altuve.
Hint no. 2: He is also an infielder.
Hint no. 3: He does not play in the same division as Altuve.
Hint no. 4: He was an All-Star starter.
Comparison 2
Blind resumes #2
| Name | R | HR | RBI | BA | wRC+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | R | HR | RBI | BA | wRC+ |
| Player A | 50 | 25 | 58 | 0.261 | 145 |
| Player B | 49 | 24 | 57 | 0.258 | 143 |
These two players have had nearly identical first halves. Player A has played in fewer games, but been just about as productive overall. He’s also the far bigger name, as he appeared in the home run derby and All-Star game. It is Cody Bellinger. As for Player B:
Hint no. 1: He plays for a small-market team.
Hint no. 2: If the playoffs started today, his team would be in the playoffs.
Hint no. 3: He was not in the All-Star game, or in the home run derby.
Hint no. 4: He was not too pleased about not being at either.
Comparison 3
Blind resumes #3
| Name | W | L | IP | K/9 | ERA | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | W | L | IP | K/9 | ERA | WAR |
| Player A | 6 | 8 | 118.2 | 9.48 | 3.49 | 2.2 |
| Player B | 6 | 8 | 116.1 | 9.90 | 3.40 | 2.1 |
These two starting pitchers were honestly chosen more because of how absurdly similar their stats were then because it was a crazy comparison. That’s your first hint. With that in mind, know that Player A is Yu Darvish. Player B?
Hint no. 1: He is 25 years old.
Hint no. 2: This is already his fifth season in the big leagues.
Hint no. 3: He pitches in the NL Central.
Hint no. 4: He does awesome imitations of his teammates swings while in the dugout between starts.
Comparison 4
Blind resumes #4
| Name | W | L | IP | K/9 | ERA | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | W | L | IP | K/9 | ERA | WAR |
| Player A | 9 | 3 | 111.0 | 10.54 | 3.60 | 1.8 |
| Player B | 9 | 4 | 90.0 | 9.80 | 3.65 | 1.9 |
Here are another pair of nearly identical pitchers, but these two may be more surprising. Player A is certainly the more famous of the two, but it is Player B that has been worth slightly more, according to fWAR (thanks to a slightly superior FIP). Player A is Jacob deGrom, can you guess Player B?
Hint no. 1: He hails from Collierville, TN.
Hint no. 2: He’s a southpaw who has been on four different teams in his seven-year career.
Hint no. 3: He relies on his curveball more than nearly any other pitcher in baseball.
Hint no. 4: He was traded at last year’s trade deadline despite being a 2016 All Star.
Answers
Comparison 1: Jose Ramirez
Comparison 2: Logan Morrison
Comparison 3: Carlos Martinez
Comparison 4: Drew Pomeranz