for all the (warranted) Garrett Crochet hype, Erick Fedde has been better
Erick Fedde was again majestic, while Michael Kopech came on and flashed the power that everyone has drooled over for years with a save — and the first immaculate inning of the MLB season, at that.
Coming into this doubleheader opener, the White Sox team WAR for the pitching staff was a quite respectable 8.1; the offense, -3.5. And yes, that was the story of today’s opener, although the arms had the good fortune of being so good, the result was a win.
We swear, these will not always be the same. But once again, the biggest momentum swing and the top play of the game are one and the same: Luis Robert Jr.’s two-run homer in the sixth that was the difference in the game. The WPA swing of Robert’s home run was 17.2% (indicating that the White Sox, leading 1-0 before the at-bat, were already in pretty good shape to win), while the total WPA value of the play also was 17.2%.
The top all-around player today was not Robert (14.9% WPA), however, but Erick Fedde (27.5%), with five scoreless innings. The first-year Sox hurler is on pace for nearly a 7.0 WAR season.
Luis Robert Jr.’s home run was also the ball hit hardest in the game: 108.7 mph.
Honestly, this probably isn’t even a hit because José Miranda would not have beat this ball out, but Miranda’s 40.7 mph swinging-bunt single in the eighth off of John Brebbia wasn’t just the weakest contact of the game, but, naturally, the ...
Yep, despite the weak contact, the placement of Miranda’s “grounder” — a perfectly-placed bunt, had it been one, had a somewhat-high .210 xBA.
Nicky Lopez has been the recipient of some recent lucky hits, so the worm turned today when his liner out to short left — had Trevor Larnach not been playing in, that is a base hit — sported a .680 xBA.
Yup, it was Luis Robert Jr., whose 416-foot blast over the wall in the left-center power alley also would have been a homer in 25 other parks.
White Sox 2024 Record 27-67, worst 94-game start in White Sox history (4 games worse than the next-worst, 1932 White Sox) and tied for 26th-worst start all-time
White Sox 2024 Run Differential -164, tied for 57th-worst 94-game start in MLB history (coincidentally, with the 1931 White Sox)
White Sox 2024 Season Record Pace 47-115 (.287)
Race to the Worst “Modern” 162-Game Record (2003 Tigers, 43-119) 4 games better
Race to the Worst “Modern” Record in a 162-Game Season (1962 Mets, 40-120) 6 games better
Race to the Most White Sox Losses (1970, 106) 9 games worse
Race to the Worst White Sox Record (1932, 52-109-1*) 5 1⁄2 games worse
Race to the Worst American League Record (1916 A’s, 38-124*) 9 games better
*record adjusted to a 162-game season
CSW called strikes plus whiffs
Hard-hit is any ball off the bat at 95 mph or more
LI measures pressure per play
pLI measures total pressure faced in-game
Whiff a swing-and-miss
WPA win probability added measures contributions to the win
xBA expected batting average
