You open with a team question and then present individual leaders………which TEAM gets screwed the most?

What’s wrong bradford? You can’t just add them up? 

I don’t know how many player names the analytics program produces—top 50? 100?—but couldn’t you get a sense of which team has it the worst by tallying up how many players from each team show up on the list?

 I don’t think the umps have ever read the rule book. Those pitch zone overlays prove that some umps are just plain blind. The league should go over every game’s pitch zones and demote any ump with a failing grade.

Exactly. This was a waste

Unfortunately you can’t compile all the players on all the teams because it only lists the qualifying players. This is simply to get the conversation started …

They lead the league in runs scored.  I guess I don’t see how umpires are causing them harm.

 A couple observations:

1. Instead of merely looking at individual stats, what about collective TEAM stats? Do the Red Sox as a collective whole get more bad calls than most other teams, or are their players just more vocal about it? While the individual stats seem to suggest the latter, if the Red Sox as a collective whole were in the Top 3 (or #1 by a mile) it would tell a different story.

2. There’s curiously no mention of Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Robinson Cano, or any other key Yankees players in this study (with the lone exception of Bobby Abreu, who played for the Yankees in 2008). I’m not suggesting that the Yankees get the benefit of the doubt more often than most teams, though I would be curious to see how their “bad call numbers” compare with the Red Sox.

This is interesting, but I believe the data could be represented in a better way.  When you show totals, there is an obvious playing time bias, but also a plate discipline bias.  People that see and take more pitches will have more bad calls.  It is no surprise that someone like Abreu, who takes lots of borderline pitches, will have more borderline calls going against him.  This should be represented either as [bad calls / pitches] or, even better, as [bad calls / pitches taken].  If the data set allows it, ideally, you would limit it to pitches taken that are not too far out of the strike zone.

This data does confirm what my eye is telling me — that Aviles has been getting screwed.  He doesn’t take many pitches and is still near the top.  It is probably random, but maybe if an ump is being careful not to show a pro-Boston bias (as the Showalters of the world like to claim), then picking on a non-star like Aviles might be the result.  I doubt it — like I said, probably random, just a thought.

I don’t think the Sox are treated more poorly than the rest of MLB. However, I would like to compare the Yankees to the rest of MLB just out of curiosity.

Can we please get Alex Speier on this so we can get some real analysis?  Speier usually presents tables and numbers you can look at rather than generic stats that don’t even answer his original premise (DO THE RED SOX REALLY GET SCREWED BY THE UMPIRES MORE THAN OTHER TEAMS?)  

The mere publication of this story somewhat confirms the fact that the calling of balls ad strikes has substantially deteriorated.  It’s time for MLB to employ technology to call non-swinging strikes.  That will improve baseball by standardizing the strike zone that batters can better rely upon. 

I thought he broke it spiking the ball.

Obviously this kid is soft. Reminds me of Ellsbury of the Red Sox. Has a break out year then breaks down.Plus he just signed a megabucks contract.

Gronk played through a high ankle sprain that required surgery immediately after. Go troll somewhere else

Nothing but respect for vinatieri

Man was very well respect in New England. Even treated like a hero. He was in so many commercials and ads for a kicker that was crazy, but the time has passed. You will always be appreciated and were even cheered the first time you came back, but you are on a very hated rival and a AFC competitor. You are the enemy Vinny. We arent going to cheer a guy that can possibly  beat us.

He will always be a Patriot when his career ends. He misses those kicks at the end and we may not be boasting Super Bowl. At least he’s not a Jet and Adam we true blue fans love you man…just not the week you play us. :).

Adam Vinatieri’s departure to the Colts, NE chief rival when he did it, is why he is booed at Gillette Stadium. If he had gone anywhere else I don’t think it would be as big a deal. He signed for more money and I can’t blame him for that. Adam was a key player in NE Super Bowl wins. How can you not thank him for what he did for the Patriots. Booing in this case I feel is a sign of respect. Adam was a class act when he was with NE and he still is a class act.