With disappointing television programming, I’m turning back to baseball and watching a lot of it. One thing particularly troubled me: I didn’t see a single intentional walk. Have the regulations been changed to prohibit this option?
Intentional walks are still allowed, but since 2017, it is no longer necessary to throw four balls out of the strike zone to the catcher who is standing. In particular to speed up the progress of matches, an intentional walk may be awarded upon a simple signal from the manager of the defending team. As before, this decision can be made even after at-bats have begun. So, with a count of two balls and no strikes, the manager can decide to intentionally complete the walk. The use of intentional walks is, however, decreasing and the arrival of the designated hitter in the National League has accelerated this trend, since teams can no longer choose to avoid the eighth batter in order to face the pitcher.
How much does the champion of the Quebec and Montreal cycling Grand Prix earn?
According to the financial regulations of the International Cycling Union, Briton Adam Yates received just over $23,000 CAN (16,000 euros) from the organizers of the Montreal Grand Prix for his victory on September 10. Pavel Sivakov (2nd) and Alex Aranburu (3rd) received $11,500 and $5,750 respectively. Canadian Michael Woods, for his part, won $575 (400 euros) for his 15th place, like all those who finished between 10th and 20th. The total purse for this WorldTour event is $57,500. Same for Quebec. Note that runners receive a salary from their team and sometimes from personal sponsors. Depending on the contracts, they are also eligible for performance bonuses. For comparison, the winner of Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders, two of the most prestigious classics, receives a purse of $28,750 (20,000 euros). Jonas Vingegaard inherited $719,000 (500,000 euros) for his final victory at the Tour de France. Typically, scholarships are shared among teammates.
How much does a goal and an assist cost in the NHL, on average? For example, if we calculate the total salary of the players divided by the number of goals?
Your question is difficult to answer with certainty, since many factors (e.g. players on the long-term injured list) skew the data. But for simplicity’s sake, let’s assume that all 32 teams hit the salary cap of $82.5 million last season, for a total of $2.64 billion. He has scored 8,248 goals, which gives an average of $320,078 per goal. The Habs, for their part, scored 227 goals and therefore “paid” for their goals more than the average, at $363,436 per unit. Our friends at CapFriendly compile each player’s cost per goal. Cole Caufield ranked 7th last season at $33,878 per completion. With his salary increase coming into effect, it will be harder for him to stay at the top of the list!
In hockey, what percentage of players selected in the draft reach the NHL based on their selection round? It would also be interesting to have the percentage of players who have played more than 100 matches.
These data fluctuate from year to year, obviously, depending on the strength of each vintage. In 2020, the specialized site Dobber Prospects compiled the figures for the drafts from 2000 to 2009. We learned that 37.3% of 1st round picks (positions 1 to 30) had played at least 100 games in the NHL, a figure which drops to 17.2% in the 2nd round (31-60), and to 5.5% in the 7th round (181-210). As for players who reach the NHL, HockeyDB is an excellent resource, since at the bottom of each draft page there are statistics. Thus, from the 2013 auction, 10 years ago, 106 players (50.2%) played at least one game in the NHL, a lower proportion than from the 2012 auction (51.2%).
After a strikeout, the catcher drops the ball. The batter runs toward first base and is declared safe. The pitcher has a strikeout recorded on his record. If the runner counts, how is this recorded?
A strikeout and a run scored are added to the batter’s record. For the launcher, it depends. If he is the one who made a bad throw on the third strike, the runner is considered responsible. So if he walks to the plate under normal circumstances – with no other errors – there will be an earned run. If the third strike is the result of a dropped ball from the catcher, there will be no earned run. This is the equivalent of a defensive error.
