Descending arc
Well, here we are again. I hope you have a great week. Although I posted only one column last week—and I was really desperate to say a lot of things—I wrote some essays that you will read at some point. Basically, I am trying to carry out two projects that I have talked about before, but I have only left some hints.
I think that by the time the MLB season ends we will have enough time to start with that series that I still have as a surprise for you. The thing about one of these two series is that the research time really deserves a great dedication. It will be worth it. And we are going to enjoy it.
The other baseball madness that I spent a lot of time on last week was updating my DATA. I was also working on the WAR adjustments for the hitters of the past 63rd Cuban National Series. Some time ago I developed the VAL (Batter and Pitcher Value, in both cases) along with the WAR. So I thought I would find out what differences a little comparison between the two would yield. There were interesting results. I hope to get there this week. And we definitely have a lot to talk about when it comes to baseball these days.
As many have wondered: where has the power of Texas Rangers Cuban outfielder Adolis Garcia gone?
The decline in “El Bombi”’s power has been somewhat worrying. And I certainly think it has also played a role in the Rangers’ inconsistent offense. Adolis hit his 22nd home run last Thursday in the Rangers’ 3-1 win over the Angels.
Adolis’ three-run homer decided the game from the first inning. But here’s the most surprising point that no one has talked about: with that three-run homer last Thursday, Adolis recorded his first consecutive multi-RBI game this year. Yes, as strange as it may seem, he did. In the previous game, Adolis had also driven in three runs when he went 1-for-4 with a double in the Rangers’ 10-6 win over the Yankees.
Last season, Adolis recorded six consecutive multi-RBI games—that's not including an eight-RBI game. After going 0-for-4 with a strikeout Sunday against Angels pitchers, Adolis has played in 138 games this year. Let's look at the comparative records of each of his seasons through the first 138 games.
2021: 30 HR, 83 RBI, 180 SO, 31 BB, .751 OPS
2022: 25 HR, 92 RBI, 162 SO, 36 BB, .765 OPS
2023: 35 HR, 102 RBI, 164 SO, 59 BB, .820 OPS
2024: 22 HR, 73 RBI, 156 SO, 40 BB, .670 OPS
You can see the notable differences there.