About

The term “Figure Filbert” was a nickname given to Ernest Lanigan as a more poetic way of saying “numbers nut.” Referred to as “the patron saint of SABR” by Fred Lieb, Lanigan was considered the premier baseball statistician and historian of his day. This site is a platform to use what little knowledge I have to bridge the gap of meaningless and meaningful with a main focus on the Tampa Bay Rays. I am always learning and ever evolving and I hope you will join me on this journey. Feel free to contact me at any time via email at figurefilbert@gmail.com

5 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Chris Reed  |  January 27, 2011 at 10:32 pm

    Good evening:

    I found your blog in my search for writers on the internet, and found your articles to be top notch. I was wonderign if you would be interested in writing for the SportsBlogNetwork, the site in which I am currently the manager of.

    If you would be interested, or have any questions, please send me a reply.

    Until then:

    Chris

    Reply
  • 2. zhila aghili  |  March 4, 2011 at 7:47 am

    Hi,
    My name is Zhila Aghili and I write for the website throughthefencebaseball.com. I love your take and incite on baseball as well as your contribution to MLBdirt. If you have time I would love to ask you a few questions and get your opinions on the upcoming season. Thank-you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

    Reply
  • 5. Dick  |  June 2, 2012 at 12:19 am

    Jonathan,
    It was serendipitous that I found your website. I came across the phrase “figure-filbert” while reading The Entitled by Frank Deford. Your website was listed in my Google search for the definition of the filbert phrase. Before I got to your site, I went to Wikipedia on Ernest Lanigan and quickly came across this sentence: [Lanigan] was also given the not-necessarily-flattering nickname of ‘Figure Filbert” (or “Figger Filbert”) by Damon Runyon [a writer of short stories], as a more poetic way of saying “numbers nut.”
    Living in Chicago all my life, I grew up a fan of the Cubs and was subjected to decades of disappointment. A long time ago I gave up on them and pretty much soured on baseball.

    Reply

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