What is a Free Agent?

A free agent in baseball is a player who is not under contract with any team, and thus is free to sign with any team he wishes. In Major League Baseball, a player can become a free agent if he has played at least six years without signing a new contract, or has been sent to the minors six times.

Additionally, an amateur player who is not selected in the draft becomes a free agent

How is the term Free Agent used?

Free agency gives veteran players the opportunity to earn more money and play on a team of their choosing. Early in their careers, player salaries are limited by minimums and the arbitration system. Once players reach free agency, teams have no limit on the amount of money they can offer. The open market creates more leverage for players to get large contracts.

Free agency only became widely possible following a decision by arbitrator Peter Seitz in the cases of Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally. The two had played the 1975 season without a signed contract and challenged the reserve clause that allowed teams to retain their services indefinitely in the absence of such a contract: Messersmith and McNally argued successfully that teams were limited to exercise this option for one year only, after which their contractual obligation should be considered to have terminated. Facing the prospect of masses of players becoming free agents in future years, major league owners set up rules to govern how free agency would take effect

Free Agent Examples

You can see a list of players signed as free agents in a given year on the Transactions page on Baseball Reference.

 What is the Competitive Balance Tax?

The Competitive Balance Tax, also known as the luxury tax, is a financial penalty for MLB teams whose salary crosses a certain threshold. Once payroll crosses the luxury tax line, the team must pay a certain percentage to the league on top of every dollar of salary over the line.

The tax has been in effect since the 2002 Collective Bargaining Agreement, but has become a major sticking point in negotiations between the owners and the Players Union in the last couple of CBAs. Ownership has increased the penalties for crossing the Competitive Balance Tax threshold without a commiserate increase in the tax line itself, leading to accusations that the threshold functionally serves as a salary cap.

How is the Competitive Balance Tax used?

The Competitive Balance Tax is meant to discourage wealthy teams from spending on salaries. Those teams have more resources and, without a salary cap, are free to spend however they want on salaries. For teams with less money or smaller markets, it can be difficult to hang onto their stars.

However, critics note that the smaller teams, who receive payouts from the Competitive Balance Tax, often choose to keep the money instead of reinvesting it in their own players.

In practice, the tax does not do much to discourage the wealthiest teams from spending, but does have an impact on the next level of teams. Additionally, teams have to plan around repeater penalties, that escalate if you pay the tax in multiple years. Lastly, payouts from the tax help smaller market teams re-sign star players and keep them from leaving for larger teams.

How to calculate Competitive Balance Tax? or, Formula for Competitive Balance Tax

For 2025, the Competitive Balance Tax threshold is $241 million, and the base tax rate is 20%. There are two sorts of escalators for the luxury tax: one is related to the amount of salary, and the other is related to how many consecutive years a team has paid the tax.

There are three additional surcharges for teams that exceed additional salary markers. If a team’s salary is over $261 million, they will pay a 12.5% surcharge. If it is over $281 million, they will pay a 42.5% surcharge (or 45% if they paid the tax last year). If it is over $301 million, they will pay a 60% surcharge.

Additionally, the base tax rate goes up based on how many years a team has been in the tax. If it is a team’s second consecutive season in the tax, the team will pay a 30% base tax. If it’s their third (or more), they will pay a 50% base tax.

Competitive Balance Tax Examples

So, for example, let’s say your team has a 2025 salary of $256 million, and it is your first year in the tax. The tax payment would be 20% of $15 million, which is the difference between your salary and the tax threshold. That’s $3 million in additional tax, bringing your total to $259 million.

To see how this adds up, let’s look at a more complex example. Let’s say your team has spent $321 million, and this is your third year paying the tax. That means you would be on the hook for every surcharge and escalator.

• For the first $20 million over the tax threshold, your tax rate would be 50%, meaning you’d owe an additional $10 million
• For the next $20 million, your tax rate would be 62.5%, adding the salary threshold escalator to the base tax. That’s an additional $12.48 million
• For the next $20 million, your tax rate would be 90%, good for an extra $18 million
• And for the last $20 million, your tax rate would be 110%, equaling another $22 million.

By hitting every escalator and surcharge, your team would be paying an extra $62.48 million.

Interesting Competitive Balance Tax Stats

According to Sportrac, as of this writing, the Dodgers owe $156,463,177 in luxury tax in 2025. That’s more than 11 MLB teams are paying in total payroll this season.

What is Tommy John Surgery?

Tommy John Surgery is a surgical reconstruction of the ulterior collateral ligament (UCL). The surgeon replaces a damaged UCL with a ligament from another part of the body (usually the forearm, hamstring, or foot).

How is Tommy John Surgery used?

Tommy John Surgery is used by pitchers who frequently suffer UCL tears due to the strain of the repeated motion of pitching. Prior to the surgery’s development, this injury was career-ending for pitchers. However, the surgery allows pitchers to return to the game after the procedure and an intensive rehab.

It typically takes around 12 to 15 months for a pitcher to recover from the surgery and return to pitching in the majors, and often pitchers throw even harder than they did before the procedure.

Tommy John Surgery Examples

Tommy John Surgery is named after the pitcher Tommy John, who was the first to receive the procedure in 1974. Dr. Frank Jobe developed the surgery after John tore his UCL. Though doctors initially placed his odds of returning to the majors at 1 in 100, John received the surgery and successfully returned to the majors after 18 months. He pitched for another 13 years as a pro after undergoing the surgery.

In today’s game, Tommy John Surgery is relatively common and routine. Dr. James Andrews is probably the most famous current practitioner of the surgery.

Interesting Tommy John Surgery Cases

One interesting case is John Smoltz. Smoltz underwent Tommy John Surgery in 2000, after many years as a successful starting pitcher. After his return, he was moved to the bullpen, where he notched over 150 saves as a very effective closer. Then, he returned to the rotation and finished his career back as a starter.

In 2015, Smoltz became the first pitcher to win election to the Baseball Hall of Fame after undergoing Tommy John Surgery.

What is the Pitch Timer?

The pitch timer, a.k.a. the pitch clock, is a clock that counts the amount of time it takes for a pitcher to deliver the pitch to the hitter, making sure that the pitch is thrown within a specific amount of time.

Currently, that amount of time depends on the situation. The pitcher has a 15-second timer with the bases empty and a 20-second timer with runners on base. Additionally, there is a 30-second timer between batters.

If the pitcher violates the pitch clock, the umpire charges a ball. Conversely, if a batter violates the rule by stepping out, the ump charges a strike. The timer resets if a pitcher steps off to throw to a base with runners on, but the pitcher is limited to two disengagements per plate appearance.

How is the Pitch Timer used?

The pitch timer is a new tool developed by MLB to increase the pace of play of games. For most of the 2000s, game times had been creeping up, as the emphasis on strikeouts and walks led to longer plate appearances and stretched the length of games.

MLB began seriously considering a pitch clock in 2014, when it experimented with one at the Arizona Fall League. In 2019, it was tried in Spring Training and in 2021, it was implemented in Low A to measure the impact over an entire season.

After a successful trial, the pitch timer was added to all the minor leagues in 2022 and has been a part of major league play since 2023.

How to see the Pitch Timer?

All ballparks now have a clock near home plate showing the pitch timer.

Pitch Timer Examples

Because the penalty for a pitch clock violation is a ball, it is possible for a team to win or lose a game on a walkoff pitch clock violation.

For one example, check out the end of this Rockies-Nationals game

 What is a Regulation Game?

A regulation game, or official game, is a rulebook term for a game that reaches a final result and is counted towards the MLB standings.

How many innings in a baseball game that is considered official? Although usually the answer is nine, there are some other answers. Obviously, games that go to extra innings can count as official, even though they have more than nine.

More importantly, a game can end early due to weather but still count as official. A game becomes “official” after 4 1/2 innings when the home team leads, after 5 innings if either the game is tied or the road team leads or, finally, upon the home team assuming the lead in the bottom of the 5th. No matter what happens after that point, the statistics accumulated and the result of the game will be counted

How is the term Regulation Game used?

Regulation games are used to determine the standings and statistics for a season. If a game is called before a game becomes “official,” then neither the final score nor the stats count. On the other hand, if it is called in the seventh, the stats enter the record and the game counts for the season’s standings.

The umpire has a great deal of discretion here, in terms of deciding whether to call a game and whether to count a game. Additionally, the umpire may rule a forfeit if they decide that the losing team is intentionally stalling to prevent an unofficial game from turning into an official loss.

When does a game officially become a Regulation Game?

As mentioned above, a game becomes “official” after 4 1/2 innings when the home team leads, after 5 innings if either the game is tied or the road team leads or, finally, upon the home team assuming the lead in the bottom of the 5th

Regulation Game Examples

Here is an example of a Regulation Game that ended before nine innings were completed:

Toronto Blue Jays vs Kansas City Royals Box Score: April 25, 2024

Interesting Regulation Game Stats

In many cases, a player could lose stats due to compiling them in a game that is not considered official. Our friends at Retrosheet have compiled an interesting list of home runs that were lost to games being called before becoming official.

See the list on Retrosheet.

What is a Starting Pitcher?

A starting pitcher (aka starter) is a pitcher who specializes in starting games. They usually pitch 6 or more innings. Then, the relief pitchers in the bullpen come in to close out in the game (although starting in the 2010s, this began to be put into question).

Starters don’t pitch every day. Instead, teams use starting rotations. Generally, the starting rotation is made of around 5 starting pitchers, so that each pitcher only has to start one of every five or so games.

Starting pitcher skills

Like all pitchers, starters benefit from having good stuff (qualities of a pitch that make it hard for batters to make contact) and control. Additionally, a starter must normally pitch deep into a game. This means that he must have the endurance to throw 100 or more pitches at or near maximum effort.

Because the starter usually faces the same batters several times each game, he also must have a wide repertoire of pitches. A reliever may be able to get away with just one or two good pitches. However, a starter is expected to have three, four, or even more usable pitches in his arsenal so that he can pitch differently to a batter each time he faces him. Knuckleball pitchers are the exception to this rule, as they can get away with throwing the knuckleball almost exclusively.

Starting pitcher examples

Best starting rotation in MLB history

Let’s look at the 1998 Atlanta Braves starting rotation, which is widely considered to be one of the best starting rotations in MLB history. The Braves’ rotation consisted of Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Denny Neagle, Kevin Millwood, and John Smoltz. Three of their starting pitchers are now in the Hall of Fame (Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz).

You may have heard of Greg Maddux because of the stat named after him. A “Maddux” is a start where a pitcher pitches a complete-game shutout in less than 100 pitches. Maddux had 13 such starts since 1988.

In fact, all five starters in the Braves’ rotation threw at least 2 complete games that season. This means that they each pitched an entire game without being relieved by the bullpen. It’s rare for a team to have one starter who can pitch a complete game. (Remember that most starters pitch around 6 innings.) So it’s even more unusual for a team to have multiple starters capable of pitching 9+ innings, much less an entire starting rotation that can.

What is a Shortstop?

The shortstop is a defensive position located between second and third base. This position is considered one of the most demanding on the field due to the range, arm strength, and quick reaction time required.

Shortstops are responsible for fielding ground balls hit to the left side of the infield, turning double plays, and acting as a cutoff man on throws from the outfield. They often cover the most ground of any infielder, especially on balls hit up the middle.

How are Shortstops used?

Shortstops are central to a team’s infield defense. They play a major role in preventing hits, converting outs, and maintaining infield communication. Many teams build their infield defense around the shortstop because of how often the ball is hit in their direction.

Offensively, expectations have shifted over time. Historically, shortstops were valued more for their glove than their bat. However, in the modern era, many shortstops contribute on both sides of the game — combining strong defense with speed and power at the plate.

Interesting Shortstop Facts

Among players who spent most of their careers at shortstop, Cal Ripken Jr. holds the record for the most home runs at the position, with 353.

Alex Rodriguez holds the single-season home run record for a shortstop, hitting 57 in 2002 with the Texas Rangers.

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In 2024, Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson became two of just 12 shortstops in MLB history to record a 9.0 WAR season.

https://stathead.com/tiny/zOjQz

What is a Walk-Off in baseball?

A walk-off (aka WO) is any event that ends the game by giving the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game. (This can be the 9th inning, any extra inning, or any other regularly-scheduled final inning.) The term “walk-off” comes from the fact that the teams walk off the field immediately afterward.

Typically, WOs are hits. The walk-off home run is the most famous kind of walk-off, but any hit can be a walk-off if it drives a runner home. Technically, a WO isn’t official until the winning run crosses home plate.

How are Walk-Offs used?

WOs are fairly uncommon, so they aren’t typically used to evaluate player performance. However, the rarity of walk-offs makes them exciting when they do happen. Walk-off home runs are especially rare, and therefore especially celebrated.

Walk-Off Examples

There have been thirteen major league postseason series that have ended in a walk-off home run, including two World Series. The subject of the most famous walk-off home run in the history of Major League Baseball is one that creates a great deal of argument:

• Bobby Thomson‘s “Shot Heard ‘Round the World” which gave the New York Giant a National League pennant-winning victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
• The home run hit by Bill Mazeroski of the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning the 1960 World Series, breaking the tie in Game 7, against the New York Yankees.
• The one hit by Carlton Fisk of the Boston Red Sox off the left-field foul pole in the 12th inning to win Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, featured for many years in video slow-motion on NBC’s Saturday afternoon Game of the Week broadcasts.
• Kirk Gibson‘s hobbled pinch hit 2-strike 2-out 2-run home run with his Los Angeles Dodgers trailing by one run and facing the Oakland A’s Cy Young Award-winning closer Dennis Eckersley to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.
• Joe Carter‘s three-run blast over the left field fence in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series gave the Toronto Blue Jays an 8-6 win, a 4-2 series victory and their second straight World Series championship.
• Aaron Boone of the Yankees hit an 11th-inning blast to left field off of Tim Wakefield of the Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS to win the American League pennant for the Yankees.

Interesting Walk-Off Stats

Jim Thome holds the MLB record with 13 career WO homers. Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Jimmie Foxx, Stan Musial, and Frank Robinson shared the record at 12 before Thome surpassed them. Mantle also hit one in the postseason, and Thome hit none. Musial also hit one in an All-Star Game. David Ortiz hit 11 career walk-off homers in the regular season and is the only player to hit two in a single postseason.

During a one-year stretch from 2002 to 2003, Alex Gonzalez hit five walk-off home runs for the Cubs. The record for a one-year stretch is unknown.