https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/page/5/?d=1enhttps://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/baseball-smarter-why-baseball-digs-the-fly-ball-r8298/Why does putting the ball in the air matter? Anyone who has been watching baseball consistently for at least a decade or so knows that lifting the ball is a phenomenon that captured the attention of every team in the major leagues throughout the 2010s. The trend was so far-reaching that the Wash...8298Tue, 28 Apr 2026 15:15:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/mlb-power-rankings-through-a-third-order-lens-r8247/There is no shortage of ways to rank teams across Major League Baseball, and most of them start and end with the standings. Wins and losses still drive the conversation, but they rarely tell the full story. A team hovering around .500 can feel dominant one week and completely overmatched the nex...8247Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:58:52 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/baseball-smarter-what-is-woba-and-why-is-it-so-fun-to-say-out-loud-r8116/Baseball is rife with numbers and statistics, and, despite what some around the game may say, has been for over a hundred years. Over time, thanks to scores of baseball nerds, the statistics have gotten better, more descriptive. All of the acronyms can be dizzying; they can cause even the most a...8116Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:30:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/2026-is-shaping-up-to-be-the-fastest-fastball-season-ever%C2%A0-r8084/If you’ve been watching baseball over the past two decades, hell, even the past decade, you’ll likely have noticed the explosion in pitcher velocity. Back in 2007, Felix Hernandez’s 95.6 MPH average four-seam fastball velocity was the hardest among qualified starting pitchers. Almost 20 years la...8084Tue, 21 Apr 2026 22:46:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/how-is-the-abs-challenge-system-working-catchers-are-crushing-games-are-slower-r7946/As of April 16th, according to Baseball Reference, 273 total games have been played in the 2026 MLB season, with most teams playing anywhere between 17 and 18 games depending on off days. As of this date, it has become clear that pitchers and catchers have been more successful with the ABS (Auto...7946Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:27:30 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/ranking-the-2026-mlb-city-connect-jerseys-from-misses-to-must-haves-r7677/Major League Baseball’s City Connect initiative has always walked a fine line between creativity and chaos. Since its launch in 2021, the program has encouraged teams to lean into culture, community, and storytelling rather than tradition. Sometimes that results in brilliance. Sometimes it looks...7677Fri, 10 Apr 2026 22:37:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/why-hasnt-mlb-suspended-emmanuel-clase-luis-ortiz-yet-its-complicated-r7538/In the early days of this past offseason, it was reported by The Athletic that MLB "would prefer" to discipline Cleveland Guardians relievers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz before spring training began due to their involvement in a pitch-rigging scheme that resulted in federal charges. Seeme...7538Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:20:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/minor-league-baseballs-latest-rules-experiments-could-shape-the-games-future-r7405/For years, minor league baseball has served as the sport’s testing ground, a place where ideas are introduced, tweaked, and sometimes discarded altogether. The pitch timer and ABS challenge system both started there before reaching the big leagues, and now a new collection of experimental rules...7405Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:20:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/how-bad-can-an-mlb-bullpen-be-still-make-october-r7196/Bullpens matter more than ever, but not always in the way you would expect. Starters are working fewer innings, which means relievers are covering a larger share of the game and often stepping into higher-leverage spots earlier. That should make bullpen quality a defining trait for contenders...7196Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:10:03 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/which-teams-used-the-new-abs-challenge-system-most-and-least-effectively-this-spring-r7199/Major League Baseball is implementing the new Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System starting in the 2026 season. The Statcast data from Baseball Savant provides several visualizations of the results of these challenges. There is surface-level data that offers interesting insights int...7199Fri, 27 Mar 2026 16:17:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/2026-diamondcentric-mlb-preview-bold-picks-even-bolder-twists-r7115/If there is one thing baseball fans love this time of year, it is predictions. Hope is undefeated, every roster looks improved on paper, and even the most confident takes come with a hint of uncertainty. DiamondCentric gathered its writers to map out the 2026 season, and while there is plen...7115Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:29:33 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/major-league-baseball/american-league-east-preview-tampa-bay-rays-r7197/April 6th will be a very special day for the Tampa Bay Rays. The team will return home to play baseball at Tropicana Field for the first time since September 2024. On October 9, 2024, a very dangerous Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key as a powerful Category 3 hurricane. The stadium...7197Wed, 25 Mar 2026 14:29:04 +0000