Derek Bain

I am a New Jersey native with a passion for baseball, statistics, computers and video games who enjoys spending quality time with his family. Co-chair of the SABR Games and Simulations Committee since August 2022 along with Mark Wendling. Visit my Amazon author page to check out my books, promotional videos, and post a review if you're a Hardball Retro fan! My Books: “Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds”, published in September 2024 with co-author John Racanelli, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Hardball Retro’s Compendium of Baseball Video Games and Electronic Handhelds was recognized with the 2025 Sporting News-SABR Baseball Research Award. Hardball Architects – Volume 1 (American League Teams)”, published in July 2020, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com.  Hardball Architects – Volume 2 (National League Teams)”, published in April 2022, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. “Hardball Architects” examines the trades, free agent acquisitions, draft picks and other transactions for the 30 Major League Baseball franchises, divided into a 2-volume set (American League and National League). All key moves are scrutinized for every team and Sabermetric principles are applied to the roster construction throughout the lifetime of the organization to encapsulate the hits and misses by front office executives. Hardball Retroactive”, published in June 2018, is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. A cross-section of essays that I penned for Seamheads.com along with my Baseball Analytics blog spanning nearly a decade touching on subjects including "Taking the Extra Base", "General Manager Scorecard", "Worst Trades", "BABIP By Location" and "Baseball Birthplaces and the Retro World Baseball Classic". Rediscover your favorite hardball arcade and simulations in "Play Retro Baseball Video Games In Your Browser" or take a deep dive into every franchise's minor league successes and failures in relation to their major league operations in "Minors vs. Majors". “Hardball Retrospective” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Supplemental Statistics, Charts and Graphs along with a discussion forum are offered at TuataraSoftware.com. In Hardball Retrospective, I placed every ballplayer in the modern era (from 1901-present) on their original teams. Using a variety of advanced statistics and methods, I generated revised standings for each season based entirely on the performance of each team’s “original” players. I discuss every team’s “original” players and seasons at length along with organizational performance with respect to the Amateur Draft (or First-Year Player Draft), amateur free agent signings and other methods of player acquisition. Season standings, WAR and Win Shares totals for the “original” teams are compared against the real-time or “actual” team results to assess each franchise’s scouting, development and general management skills. Don Daglow (Intellivision World Series Major League Baseball, Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony LaRussa Baseball) contributed the foreword for Hardball Retrospective. The foreword and preview of my book are accessible here “Hardball Retrospective - Addendum 2014 to 2016” supplements my research for Hardball Retrospective, providing retroactive standings based on Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and Win Shares (WS) for each "original" team over the past three seasons (2014-2016). Team totals from 2010 - 2013 are included for reference purposes. “Addendum” is available in paperback and digital (Kindle) format at Amazon.com. Contact me on BlueSky - @hardballretro.bsky.social

Indians Minor League Career Saves Leaders

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Indians (Minor Leaguers) Saves Lee Gronkiewicz 94 Preston Guilmet 90 Cory Burns 88 Mike Soper 81 Vinnie Pestano 77 David Riske 73 Scott Winchester 67 Steve Olin 62 Ian Doyle 60 Todd Pennington 58 Correctly answered by Patrick McGregor, Bryan Swank, Michael McConchie, Walt Koscinski and Mark C. Hagaman Select one of the four choices … Read more

White Sox Minor League Career Saves Leaders

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White Sox (Minor Leaguers) Saves Ehren Wassermann 86 Edwin Almonte 83 Brian Drahman 80 Jeff Bajenaru 72 Joe Valentine 65 Dwayne Pollok 56 Dewey Robinson 56 Mike Mongiello 55 Taylor Thompson 55 Fernando Hernandez 54 John Hudek 54 Chris Woodfin 54 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey Select one of the four choices then click Vote … Read more

Cubs Minor League Career Saves Leaders

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Cubs (Minor Leaguers) Saves Laddie Renfroe 104 Brian Schlitter 94 Blake Parker 91 Frank Batista 85 Steve Rain 81 Jeff Hirsch 55 Travis Willis 54 Adalberto Mendez 53 Heathcliff Slocumb 51 Justin Speier 50 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Michael Danes, Patrick McGregor, Neil Bush, Michael Murray, Erin Underwood, Bryan Swank, Matthew Bloss, Doug Snyder … Read more

Ball-Strike Outcomes: Gaining the Upper Hand

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Tony Gwynn

How do ballplayers fare in different ball-strike counts? Is there a substantial variation in batting and slugging percentages as one goes deeper in the count? In which counts does the batter or pitcher gain a significant advantage? Revisiting the Retrosheet Event Files after extensively utilizing them throughout the “Taking the Extra Base” and “BABIP by … Read more

Diamondbacks Minor League Career Saves Leaders

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Diamondbacks (Minor Leaguers) Saves Silvino Bracho 87 Jake Barrett 82 Matt Elliott 69 Jimmie Sherfy 66 Enrique Burgos 63 Reid Mahon 57 Daniel Stange 57 Jose Valverde 55 Matty Wilkinson 54 Brian Bruney 53 Zac Curtis* 53 Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Patrick McGregor, Brian Bohem, Matthew Bloss and Mark C. Hagaman Select one of … Read more