✉️ PTB ICYMI
✉️ PTB ICYMI
What you might have missed at Plot the Ball over the last three months
In addition to the regular Saturday newsletter, every three months this year I’ll also be sending subscribers a brief recap of all the work that has recently been published at Plot the Ball — in case there’s anything you’ve missed.
🏀 Basketball
The current iteration of the squad is very close to that 30-point mark: through the end of the 2022 World Cup, they had won their last 30 matches by an average margin of about 29 points.
The Aces have won the last two WNBA championships — but their underlying performance has steadily declined throughout the 2024 season, such that the Liberty are now clearly the best team in the league.
⚽️ Football
Spain only moved inside the top 10 for the first time ever in 2021. They shuffled between seventh and fifth position in the rankings throughout 2022 and the first half of 2023, then jumped into the top two after their World Cup win.
🏉 Rugby
The team that South Africa will put on the field in this series is also much closer to their ‘peak’ side from the last World Cup cycle than Ireland’s is — and there’s an easy way to visualise this.
🏒 Ice hockey
When they are making decisions about how to construct their rosters, however, NHL teams don’t think that this guarantee of more playing time each night is enough to outweigh the inherent uncertainty and volatility of the core skill of goaltending.
⚾️ Baseball
No one who has recorded a similar stolen base percentage over the last two seasons comes remotely close to matching the rate at which he hits home runs, something he’s done in just over 7% of his plate appearances so far in 2024.
🥇 Olympic Games
What would the medal table have looked like in Paris if the only events which took place were ball sports, though? I was interested in the answer to this question — and thought readers of Plot the Ball might be too.
Also covered: ⚽ Unai Simón’s performance in net; Aitani Bonmatí’s shot creation; Brighton’s start to the season; Pedri’s work between the lines; 🏀 Jonquel Jones’ playmaking ability; Caitlin Clark’s first-half numbers; the Indiana Fever’s combination play; 🏏 Shafali Verma’s fast scoring; Phoebe Litchfield’s switch-hitting; 🎾 Carlos Alcaraz’s delicate touch; ⛳ Xander Schauffele’s Major success; and ⚾ Shohei Ohtani’s hitting approach.
The next edition of My Week In Sport(s) will be published on on Saturday October 5th.