Zach Crizer
WOKV News
New York, NY, United States
Contact Zach
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Zach:
NL East preview: Mets or Braves on top? Can the Phillies do it again? What to make of Marlins, Nationals?
Baseball season is right around the corner, which means it's time for divisional previews! Between now and MLB Opening Day on March 30, Yahoo Sports will be rolling out our thoughts on each division, including a quick recap of the offseason and best- and worst-case scenarios for each team. → Read More
2023 MLB Fun & Good Team: Meet baseball's most watchable stars, from Shohei Ohtani to Nestor Cortes Jr.
Baseball players are playing baseball. With some different rules this time. And with a World Baseball Classic tossed into the mix this month. But mostly, baseball players are playing baseball, as they will from now until late October. MLB's 162-game slate creates an overwhelming array of options, and so this is my second annual attempt to help you establish some priorities. → Read More
Back to the future: MLB's pitch clock is a triumph because it blasts baseball forward into a form from its past
"Baseball's time is seamless and invisible, a bubble within which players move at exactly the same pace and rhythms as all their predecessors." → Read More
What explains the Padres’ monster Manny Machado extension? A team owner’s commitment to winning, with fans in mind
When word came out this weekend that the San Diego Padres and Manny Machado had reached an agreement on an 11-year, $350 million extension to avoid opt-out drama, replace his existing deal and keep the superstar third baseman in San Diego for the rest of his career, the reaction felt a little like the villain's tagline in every Scooby-Doo episode. → Read More
Pitchers are adamant: MLB's pitch clock will give them an edge over hitters. Will spring training games prove it?
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Chris Bassitt waited all of two pitches before he turned the pitch timer against his new Toronto Blue Jays teammate, George Springer. On Thursday, in the very first at-bat of his live batting practice session against Toronto's heavy hitters, the veteran right-hander stared in with plenty of time left on the new countdown clock being implemented by MLB this season, then he held… → Read More
What can Aaron Judge aim for after 62 homers, $360 million and Yankees captaincy? 'We'll see'
TAMPA — What do you do the year after hitting 62 homers, winning AL MVP and securing a $360 million contract? Well, for one, you turn even the most routine outfield practice into a screaming frenzy, with fans calling for any baseball that so much as flies in your direction. → Read More
New MLB season, new main characters: Spotting this year's MVP breakthrough, surprise trade candidate and more
The Super Bowl comes, the Super Bowl goes. Then pitchers and catchers report, spring blooms, and the baseball cycle begins again. → Read More
'Natural' rivals? These interleague MLB matchups could use some Subway Series-style branding
With MLB's Opening Day less than two months away, fans are beginning to peruse a schedule that looks … different. The league is implementing a new "balanced" slate this season, shaving down the robust haul of division matchups to allow each team to play all 29 other clubs every year. → Read More
MLB breakout players 2023: Predicting the top hitters and pitchers ready to make the leap to household names
Hipsters get a bad rap for their snob tendencies, but everyone can appreciate the initial allure: Seeing a great band up close in a tiny 300-person room for $20 feels extremely gratifying when they start selling out basketball arenas. The same goes, in a lot of ways, for baseball players. Seeing a future star's potential — or drafting it in your fantasy league — before anyone else can be an… → Read More
The 25 MLB prospects you need to know in 2023: Gunnar Henderson, Corbin Carroll and more
There are so, so many baseball players. And a huge number of them matter a lot before they become household names. Now, nobody expects a normal fan to maintain a full mental catalog of MLB's prospect ranks, but knowing a handful each year can enrich your understanding of the sport. → Read More
Second basemen have been the face of an evolving game. Will MLB's infield shift limits transform the position again?
If we ever stop calling second base the keystone — or simply want to add a new moniker for the fielding position between first base and shortstop — perhaps we should consider the bellwether. Owing to the wide funnel that leads players to the position, second base has become a beacon we can follow as forces in the game pull teams' priorities this way and that. → Read More
Power ranking MLB rule changes for 2023: Will pitch timer, shift limitations or new schedule be most noticeable?
In baseball, the times really are a-changing after many years of … talking about maybe changing. The collective bargaining agreement that ended MLB's 2022 lockout installed some changes itself — such as the expanded playoff system and the universal designated hitter — and cleared a more expedient path for commissioner Rob Manfred and the league to implement future fundamental rule changes. → Read More
The Vikings' 13-4 record was an historic anomaly. Will their luck run out in the playoffs?
The Minnesota Vikings teamon the standings page doesn't seem to connect to the team on the stats page. But, as you know by now, it's not a computer glitch. Kept more than afloat by Justin Jefferson heroics, 61-yard field goals, huge Josh Allen mistakes and a record-setting comeback against the Colts, the Vikings enter the playoffs 13-4 despite all manner of metrics showing them to be a .500-ish… → Read More
Carlos Correa, Twins reportedly agree to new $200 million deal after Mets agreement stalls over physical concerns
Carlos Correa has reportedly agreed to his third free-agent deal of the offseason, this one a six-year, $200 million pact to return to the Minnesota Twins. The star shortstop previously struck tentative agreements with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, only to see the deals stall out and disintegrate over concerns that arose during his physical. → Read More
Three years later, the Red Sox pony up for a young star. Is Rafael Devers the right choice? Or the only one left?
Wednesday was the best day Boston Red Sox fans had seen in a while. The oft-infuriating front office run by Chaim Bloom — and installed with cost-cutting haste by team owner John Henry — finally agreed to sign a homegrown star to a long-term deal, finally sidestepped an emotionally draining quagmire instead of barreling into it. The effervescent third baseman Rafael Devers, a two-time All-Star… → Read More
The Dodgers, Yankees and Braves have obvious lineup holes. Will they spark MLB's trade market to fill them?
OK, it's 2023, and much of baseball's offseason business got done before the calendar flipped. While Carlos Correa's situation remains up in the air — he's theoretically in agreement with the New York Mets but again in limbo after questions about his physical — the impact players in this free-agent class are otherwise spoken for. With a little more than a month left before pitchers and catchers… → Read More
What's the price of hope? In losing Carlos Correa, Giants defaulted on years of big promises
If anyone is familiar with both the power and peril of hype in the 2020s, you'd think it would be denizens of the San Francisco metro area. If a couple of decades of Silicon Valley's travails have proven anything, it's that the right person making the right promise with the right presentation can get you a long way. → Read More
Carlos Rodón's two-pitch dominance mirrors Jacob deGrom's. Their contracts might reframe starting pitching.
The phrase "95 and a slider" has long been scout-speak for a pitcher who has the building blocks to become a major-league reliever. But as fastball velocity lurched up and up and up in MLB, the phrase became less and less complimentary. Where it used to be a ticket to a steady, prominent bullpen role, as Baseball Prospectus wrote last year, the label is now "simply generic — a qualifier to reach… → Read More
Carlos Correa agrees to record 13-year, $350 million contract with Giants after prove-it deal
Carlos Correa has found a long-term home. The superstar shortstop has reportedly agreed to a whopping 13-year, $350 million deal with San Francisco Giants. → Read More
Easy as AAV: What the numbers say about MLB's spending spree, new realities of free agency
If you like free-agent fireworks, the 2022 MLB Winter Meetings provided them in spades. Beyond Aaron Judge's historic deal to stay with the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Texas Rangers all went long to land the stars they wanted. Some teams reached surprisingly hefty agreements with pitchers who, crucially, pitch on a regular basis. And other… → Read More