Player Spotlight: Jacoby Podcast

Author: Erin Stille

The Crabs made a triumphant return to the Internet Blaseball League in Season 13 with a 3-0 sweep of the Postseason, and it’s easy to see why. The Rack Blessing from Season 12 made their defenses near impenetrable, they have a solid pitching rotation, and the 4th Strike let their middling lineup perform solidly. But if you look at their stats on Reblase a very notable aspect pops up.

Their pitcher, Jacoby Podcast, has the best Win-Loss total and best ERA of the rotation.

But he also has the worst Hits Allowed on the record. So what’s going on? Podcast is excelling in a way that only a team like the Baltimore Crabs could allow, and it’s an impressive idea if nothing else.

Jacoby Podcast is a solid player— 4-star Pitching and Defense is good, but not immediately impressive. They would be considered a reliable, but not groundbreaking pitcher.

So how are they managing a better W-L record than Brock Forbes and Finn James, two otherwise similarly starred pitchers, while allowing more hits than either? It’s pretty simple: Podcast doesn’t allow home runs.

Over the course of 25 games, Podcast had the best record when it came to denying the opposing team home runs. This paints a clear picture: the Crabs don’t need to strike out every batter, they just need to make sure the batter never makes it home. Preventing home runs let the Crabs’ considerable defense clean up every single baserunner instead. Of the 6 games Podcast lost last season, 4 of them involved the other team getting off a home run. This stung most in the Core Mechanics vs. Baltimore Crabs game on Day 58, where Core Mechanics batter Kelvin Drumsolo scored a home run in the top of the 13th.

In the upcoming season, I’d recommend every team to watch out for Jacoby Podcast at the mound, because any game against them is not going to be free.