Read: Feliciano, Stats, and his Daughter
On June 28 of this past season, Pedro Feliciano had a 2.92 ERA while opponents had been hitting just .154 against him.
…if you recall, he was being considered as the team’s MVP, 
with Billy Wagner referring to him as their best relief pitcher…
The next day, according to an excellent report by Peter Botte in the Daily News, Feliciano’s daughter, Josnelly, was born. However, in August, Josnelly was diagnosed with congenital heart disease, explains Botte. She underwent open-heart surgery in late October, and is now happy and healthy with the Feliciano’s in Puerto Rico.
Feliciano, as quoted by Botte…
“I know that everyone was very upset about what happened at the end of the season with (the Mets). But this was my little daughter, and when something happens like this, it changes how you think about everything.”
During July, August and September, Feliciano had a 4.44 ERA. Opponents hit .265 against him during his final 16 appearances.
…this is why i do not get bogged down in statistical analysis…stats are great, but they do not tell the entire story…i see this a lot during the regular season…i mean, i am certain even i pulled up feliciano’s splits, looked at the numbers and tried to figure out what was wrong with him in the second half…i recall writing about arm slot, not inducing enough ground balls, etc…meanwhile, his newborn daughter had congenital heart disease…last i checked, there is no stat that logs heartbreak or distraction, which is probably why i could not understand his inability to find the strike zone when only looking at the box score…
…thanks to Peter Wade, our resident eyes and ears, for the link…
