Tuesday, August 2, 2022

The latest Dodgers trade has taught me a new term: the Three True Outcomes player

An article posted just before the trade:
Joey Gallo is ready for the next chapter of his life. He’s so ready. He’s been counting down the days. According to reports, Tuesday’s the day. The Yankees plan to break ties before 6 p.m., baseball’s trade deadline. By then, it’s a virtual guarantee that Gallo will be dealt or designated for assignment.

When it happens, Gallo will be free of New York, free of Yankees fans, free of fan abuse that’s hurt more than people realize. Wherever Gallo ends up, he’ll forget about falling way short of expectations late last year and all of this season after the Yankees traded four good prospects to the Texas Rangers for an All-Star slugger and Gold Glove outfielder who once was the prototypical Three True Outcomes player.
The "three true outcomes" in baseball are said to be a home run, a walk or a strikeout due to the fact that none of the three, with the rare exception of an inside-the-park home run or a strikeout with a dropped third strike, involve the defense beyond the pitcher or the catcher.

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Examples
Modern-day examples of this type of player include Joey Gallo and Miguel Sano, while Adam Dunn is among the more famed three-true-outcomes players in recent history.