Improved ERAs Due to the Special 3 1/2 Hour Rule

As mentioned on a previous Japan Baseball Weekly podcast, I've written an article for the Fall 2011 issue of Baseball Magazine (second 2 pages from the end). My original title was "Rise in Pitcher Quality," but that got translated to「統一球以上?に防御率向上に貢献している3時間半の時限特別ルール」("More so than the Unified Ball? the 3 1/2 Hour Time Limit is Contributing to Improved ERAs"). Wow! That's a mouth full.

Nonetheless, my original English manuscript can be found here [Google Docs].

I'm working on another article for the Winter issue. The magazine's theme this time will be "50+ Home Runs." With all the hysteria about how home runs are going down across the board this year, even prompting a public appearance by Nabetsune on the subject, I'm going to side step the main theme and look at how Tokyo Dome was supposed to kill the home run ball when it opened and how it eventually came to be a launching pad for home runs. The main premise is that hitters adapted then and they will do so again. I'll need to do some research to make sure that the premise is supported, of course. That's what fun about these assignments, the research and discovery.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this article.