Orioles Culture

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Sessh said:

I don't think BA is useless at all. It's incomplete and not as significant as it once was, but not useless. It's hard to hold a .300 BA. Most of Ichiro's hits were singles. Getting 200+ hits in a season isn't useless and it's fun to see hits.

I’m reminded of Jerry Seinfeld’s joke: “Why do the Chinese still use chopsticks?    I mean, they’ve seen the fork.     They know we have the fork.”

[MurphDogg]

1 hour ago, Going Underground said:

But they do stand up just as the ball is hit .They are  at the game to eat,take selfies. Wave to each other from 10 sections over.The most important thing is the Hot Dog race and Crab shuffle.

Don't forget The Wave! Especially in a close game in the 8th inning. Prime time for doing The Wave.

[DrungoHazewood]

 

2 hours ago, atomic said:

Everyone already knows this.  Slugging percentage and OBP have been around forever.  Everyone knew Reggie Jackson was a great baseball player even though his lifetime average was .262.  Plus so many people play fantasy baseball.  This is condescending stuff.  Tell us something we don’t know.

Condescending stuff?  Everyone already knows this?

I think you should go around OPACY and ask random people questions about these topics.  I'd bet half the people you talk to wouldn't know how to calculate batting average, much less have any idea what OPS is.  My children, the 12 and 11 year old children of the guy who has shelves full of Bill James and SABR publications, have asked me in the last few months what an RBI is.  A very significant percentage of baseball fans just go to see who hits a homer, who steals a base, and if the ol' team wins. 

Everyone here on the Hangout knows SLG/OBP/OPS/WAR/etc.  We are not the average fan.  And half the people in the stands have below-average baseball IQ.

[DrungoHazewood]

1 hour ago, Sessh said:

I don't think BA is useless at all. It's incomplete and not as significant as it once was, but not useless. It's hard to hold a .300 BA. Most of Ichiro's hits were singles. Getting 200+ hits in a season isn't useless and it's fun to see hits.

Almost no statistic is useless.  Batting average is fun, batting average has some correlation to runs and wins.  I'd be completely and totally into it if a major leaguer made a run at .400.

But if you're trying to figure out how many runs a team is going to score, and then how much they're going to win, we have about 87 tools more accurate than batting average.

[DrungoHazewood]

12 minutes ago, MurphDogg said:

Don't forget The Wave! Especially in a close game in the 8th inning. Prime time for doing The Wave.

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Bill Murray's St. Paul Saints and their No Wave Zone.

[scOtt]

3 hours ago, JMU_Birdfan said:

Follow that up with this type of fan interaction and it gives me faith in the leadership of the Orioles!

 

I got a phone call (voicemail) and an email from an O's rep several weeks ago saying the same thing. Like I said in another thread, at least they're trying to fill up the Yard.

[DrungoHazewood]

35 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

I just hope they don't release anything proprietary.

On scoreboard between top and bottom of 5th inning: "Fun fact: Red Sox pitcher Rick Porcello subconsciously rubs his fingers on his pants leg just before he throws each and every slider!"

[weams]

3 hours ago, Frobby said:

Gotta start somewhere for the fans.    I have to say, the Post routinely cites OPS+ and WAR in its baseball columns, and sometimes ventures further than that.  

Of course. He's just being  gnarly again. 

[weams]

35 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Bill Murray's St. Paul Saints and their No Wave Zone.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

57 minutes ago, DrungoHazewood said:

 

Condescending stuff?  Everyone already knows this?

I think you should go around OPACY and ask random people questions about these topics.  I'd bet half the people you talk to wouldn't know how to calculate batting average, much less have any idea what OPS is.  My children, the 12 and 11 year old children of the guy who has shelves full of Bill James and SABR publications, have asked me in the last few months what an RBI is.  A very significant percentage of baseball fans just go to see who hits a homer, who steals a base, and if the ol' team wins. 

Everyone here on the Hangout knows SLG/OBP/OPS/WAR/etc.  We are not the average fan.  And half the people in the stands have below-average baseball IQ.

[Tx Oriole]

7 hours ago, wd40 said:

They really don’t. The average attendees of a MLB game could not tell you what OPS even stands for.

I could not tell you without looking it up.

[atomic]

8 hours ago, makoman said:

People on this board, which is full of people smarter than the average fan, still often cite BA as meaningful. Not as much as 10 years ago, but it still happens. Heck at least one person was complaining because we sent out the guy who led the team in Spring BA. 

This isn’t for us. This is for the casual fan. There are a lot of them. So get over yourself. 

If everything else is equal the higher batting average is important.  Big differece between Alberto and Martin and that is batting average.

[atomic]

6 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

 

Condescending stuff?  Everyone already knows this?

I think you should go around OPACY and ask random people questions about these topics.  I'd bet half the people you talk to wouldn't know how to calculate batting average, much less have any idea what OPS is.  My children, the 12 and 11 year old children of the guy who has shelves full of Bill James and SABR publications, have asked me in the last few months what an RBI is.  A very significant percentage of baseball fans just go to see who hits a homer, who steals a base, and if the ol' team wins. 

Everyone here on the Hangout knows SLG/OBP/OPS/WAR/etc.  We are not the average fan.  And half the people in the stands have below-average baseball IQ.

But I think we all know what great players are.   Not one person in the 70s when I was in grade school thought Al Bumbry was a better hitter than Reggie Jackson because he had a higher average.  Everyone knew that Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, George Brett and Ozzie Smith were superstars.  Also so many many people today play fantasy baseball where OBP and slugging are typical stats.  

[oh-wee-ohs]

Lots of people play fantasy, sure. But a whole lot more don't. That's a 190 day commitment. Every day. For 190 days.  That's a lot for most people. Just like why this message board, while incredibly popular, only just scratches the surface of Orioles fandom. The vast majority of fans are very casual. It is what it is.

And, I love the idea of "analytics with Sig."  I lurk this board a lot. Once upon a time in my life I would have nerded out on stats and their meaning.  I see WAR, FIP, Woba (what else? There's lots more) quoted a lot here.  While I don't know, and frankly don't care to read up on the stats / math / scientific reasoning behind it, I get the jist enough by just reading this board and looking at the context. If I didn't read this board, I would have not one iota of an idea of what you were talking about if you threw stat ticks at me.   Communication is good for the fans. And this is engaging that casual fan and helping them understand the new age of baseball. I'd venture it'd be hard as a casual fan, in Metro Baltimore, in passing, to not have someone exciteably talking about the "analytical nature" of this regime. They might not know what it means.  But they heard that "analytics" word. And they heard it was good.

[oh-wee-ohs]

And just to elaborate a little further, I grew up in Arlington VA, lived in Charlottesville for 12 years (Go Hoos! Off topic? Who cares!) and now live in North Carolina.  I travel to Maryland a couple times a year for work. It doesn't matter where I go; Baltimore (Lexington, Fells, Little Italy), Cockeysville, Havre de Grace, Annapolis, Frederick, Cantlers (Every. Time.) I manage to find myself in conversation about the Os. Orioles fans are skeptical of me too especially when I tell them where I grew up and live.  I get quizzed all the time on; last world series win?  How many world series? Can you name the years?  Name our Hall of famers? Cal's streak number? Hell, last year I had someone quiz me on 0-21.  I'd bet, if I mentioned OPS to 80% of the people I had Os conversations with, they likely blink at me blank-faced.  One thing all of that makes me realize though, the blood of the locals bleeds black and orange very very strongly. Again, glad they are engaging the fan base in new ways