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Baseball Articles & Guides
A Complete Guide to Baseball Statistics: From Batting Average to WAR
Everything you need to know about modern baseball stats — AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, ERA, FIP, WHIP, WAR, and more. Written for fans at every level.
How to Read a Baseball Box Score
Box scores pack an entire game into a single table. This guide walks through every row, column, and abbreviation so you can read any game in seconds.
Fantasy Baseball Statistics: Which Numbers Actually Win Leagues
Not all stats carry equal weight in your fantasy league. Learn which categories to target, how to stream pitchers, and which metrics predict breakouts.
All 30 MLB Stadiums: Capacity, Dimensions & What Makes Each Park Unique
A complete park-by-park breakdown — dimensions, capacity, surface type, roof, and how each stadium affects statistics for pitchers and hitters.
How the MLB Playoffs Work: Wild Cards, Division Series & the World Series
The 12-team playoff format explained round by round — how teams qualify, what the bye means, and how home field advantage works in the World Series.
Why Statistics Matter in Baseball
Baseball has always been a sport of numbers. Before any other professional league embraced analytics, baseball fans and front offices were debating the significance of batting averages in the 1800s. What makes baseball unique is that the game resets between every pitch — batter vs. pitcher, one at a time — creating a natural laboratory for statistical measurement that team sports like basketball or football can't replicate as cleanly.
The modern statistics revolution, often called sabermetrics, began earnestly in the 1970s with writers and analysts like Bill James, who published his first Baseball Abstract in 1977. James and those who followed him asked a simple question: what do wins actually come from? The answer changed how front offices evaluate players, how broadcasters discuss the game, and how fans like you can read a player's stat line and understand far more than the surface numbers show.
These guides are designed to take you from the basics through the advanced metrics used by MLB front offices today — all in plain English, with examples drawn from real player performances.
About Baseball Nerd
Baseball Nerd is a free web and Android application built by Henri Evjen, a software developer and lifelong baseball fan. The app pulls live data directly from the official MLB Stats API and presents it in a clean, fast interface without the clutter of traditional sports sites. Features include live scores, full standings, player statistics, team schedules, organizational depth charts, and stadium weather conditions for all 30 MLB teams.
These articles are an extension of that mission: providing real, useful baseball content for fans who want to understand the game on a deeper level — whether you're checking scores on your phone or managing a competitive fantasy league.