Some thoughts on baseball - stats, heart, and luck.

over 2 years ago joet 5 comments 0 recs |

Comments

Good stuff

I have often wondered whether many of the hard modern stats people actually watch the games. Because you can’t sit and watch sabermetrics unfold before you on the field (or at the plate), right? I get emotionally invested in my team and in every game I watch (which is almost all of them and 4 or 5 a week at a minimum), and I’m more about the “grit” and “heart” of the game than anything else… do the new stats people feel this way too, when they watch a game?

by O Nina on Dec 26, 2009 7:47 PM EST reply actions

It is good to know

that I am not the only one who could give two cares about UZR and OPS+.

I like to see Nolan Reimold running out a routine ground ball with everything he has on a weak achilles.

I like to see Adam Jones scale the wall and take back a homerun, followed by the sour reaction of the hitter.

I am not saying that stats are useless, I just prefer the ones I grew up with and understand. Batting average, ERA, RBI, etc etc. Sure they might not be the best gauges of a player’s performance, but they give you a general idea as to who sucks and who doesn’t.

by sickuvitall on Dec 28, 2009 11:24 AM EST up reply actions

to be clear

i definitely see a ton of value in UZR and OPS+. i think those stats are great for projections and evaluating which players we might want to pick up or drop. i’m a stats guy at heart.

i simply don’t want to lose track of which team actually wins the games. we’re getting too close to a situation where what “should” have happened based on new metrics trumps what did happen. embrace the luck. embrace the odd outcomes that don’t necessarily fit the numbers. it’s entertainment. it’s supposed to be fun.

by joet on Dec 30, 2009 8:58 AM EST up reply actions