I've read Moneyball, I know what Sabremetrics are and how to use them.
I just disagree with the fact that they give no deference to intangible aspects which aren't able to be measured quantitatively.
Case in point: Nolan Ryan's stats over the course of his career don't do the man justice. Ask most players of his era who, of any pitcher, was the last guy they wanted to face, and they'd say Ryan. Ask the stat junkies, and they'll call him an overrated hack with a bad control and an unacceptable walk/strikeout ratio.
Perhaps the stat junkies don't take into account the fear of someone hurling a 95mph fastball at your head and what it does to the hitters psyche.
Perhaps the stat junkies just rely on the numbers, which leads to a locker room of guys who either don't know, don't care, or straight up don't like each other. This isn't conducive to winning, and regardless of whether you think baseball is a 1 man sport, it's NOT.
Now, this isn't to say that OPS and WHIP and all that aren't desperately important, but projecting player growth and how they will psychologically respond to the rigorous schedule and ridiculous pressure of the major leagues is incalculable.
So yeah, bring the young kids in. Go for it. But don't expect to win just because they had an .850 OPS for the BFE Stars.
It takes time, patience, development, LUCK, and a good atmosphere for players to mature.
Sure, Free Agency, the strike, steroid scandals, and increased conditioning may have changed the game, but dangit, it's still baseball. Give me the Oriole way, and Earl Weaver's multiple rings over Billy Beane's "Who can I get rid of next" ZERO rings any day.
You could win in the days before these convoluted statistics, though.
Quantitative research can't change the game, it can only describe it.
Go O's.
Thats all I got.
I know it's not THAT short but if i get one more neg rep that says I'm uneducated just because I disagree with the all-knowing Grand Poobah of Stat Masters, I'm going to flip my switch.
It's hard to root for a team when some obnoxious, arrogant *****s are wearing the same hat.
Short rants.
in Rants
Posted
I've read Moneyball, I know what Sabremetrics are and how to use them.
I just disagree with the fact that they give no deference to intangible aspects which aren't able to be measured quantitatively.
Case in point: Nolan Ryan's stats over the course of his career don't do the man justice. Ask most players of his era who, of any pitcher, was the last guy they wanted to face, and they'd say Ryan. Ask the stat junkies, and they'll call him an overrated hack with a bad control and an unacceptable walk/strikeout ratio.
Perhaps the stat junkies don't take into account the fear of someone hurling a 95mph fastball at your head and what it does to the hitters psyche.
Perhaps the stat junkies just rely on the numbers, which leads to a locker room of guys who either don't know, don't care, or straight up don't like each other. This isn't conducive to winning, and regardless of whether you think baseball is a 1 man sport, it's NOT.
Now, this isn't to say that OPS and WHIP and all that aren't desperately important, but projecting player growth and how they will psychologically respond to the rigorous schedule and ridiculous pressure of the major leagues is incalculable.
So yeah, bring the young kids in. Go for it. But don't expect to win just because they had an .850 OPS for the BFE Stars.
It takes time, patience, development, LUCK, and a good atmosphere for players to mature.
Sure, Free Agency, the strike, steroid scandals, and increased conditioning may have changed the game, but dangit, it's still baseball. Give me the Oriole way, and Earl Weaver's multiple rings over Billy Beane's "Who can I get rid of next" ZERO rings any day.
You could win in the days before these convoluted statistics, though.
Quantitative research can't change the game, it can only describe it.
Go O's.
Thats all I got.
I know it's not THAT short but if i get one more neg rep that says I'm uneducated just because I disagree with the all-knowing Grand Poobah of Stat Masters, I'm going to flip my switch.
It's hard to root for a team when some obnoxious, arrogant *****s are wearing the same hat.