The Pudding is so perfectly in my wheelhouse that it sometimes feels like they know me (apparently I’ve posted Pudding links like 6 times already!). Data visualization, finding insights in massive amounts of information and presenting in a compelling way with cool design – it’s the best. They’ve done it again today, with Batting by the Numbers: The Evolution of Baseball’s Perfect Lineup, from Neil Paine and Michelle McGhee.

The piece starts by imagining how modern lineup construction in MLB would have affected the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays. I’ll never pass up a chance to watch this clip. Tom Cheek’s “Touch ’em all, Joe” line still gives me goosebumps:

Anyway, I love this stuff – baseball is a sport that appeals to nerds and non-athletes like me, and there’s a constant evolution of how to think about the game. The statistical tools available to fans are more complicated and useful than in other sports, largely due to the one-on-one dynamic between pitching and hitting. It also lends itself to great books from all genres like Moneyball (business), Ball Four (memoir) and The Art of Fielding (lit fic).

Here’s how they think that lineup would have been constructed today:

One thing that can’t be measured (yet?) in baseball is ‘clutch’. I’d argue (based on nostalgia alone) that nobody but Joe Carter could have hit that one in 1993 (in 2015, though? No question).

The piece does a fantastic job of explaining how strategy has changed over time, and the baseball-card designs that they’ve integrated into the page are an awesome bit of interactivity.

It’s a fun piece and if you’re a baseball fan you should check it out.

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