It is raining quite hard here today, so I am housebound and about to rant a bit.
I love baseball. I love the Dodgers. I am in love with minor league baseball. However, the game now frustrates me. Every little move on the field it seems is a pre-calculation (if that is a word), before something even happens. Dave Roberts is ready to come striding out briskly to take a pitcher out almost before he has completed his out pitch to his one batter. It makes no difference that the pitcher in question just destroyed his one batter faced. A hot hitter is primed to be removed because he hits from the wrong side of the plate. A pitcher can’t face a lineup for a third time although he has doused them twice already. Freaking platoons run rampant even though a hitter is hot and is a stellar fielder. Fortunately, such is not so, at least in the lower levels of the minor leagues. There, restricting innings pitched and getting reps at bat are the more predominant stats.
Baseball, among all of the major sports, is the one most closely linked to statistics. There seems to be a stat for just about every circumstance one can imagine. Each year the game becomes more and more saturated with statistics. The time may be approaching, and maybe has arrived, where the manager has a white board and is designing the next play with X’s and O’s as they do in football, basketball and hockey.
WAR!!! How can it be a creditable stat when it is so subjective and is not consistent in its derivation by different stats geeks? Whose WAR is correct – FanGraphs, Baseball Reference, Baseball Prospectus? WAR calculates the total number of wins that any player adds to his team over the course of a season by comparing the player’s performance with that of a fictitious replacement. A what – a fictitious replacement.? Of course, one player will have a greater impact on the game because of his skill set. He will also have a greater impact because of other conditions not so much related to his skill set – the stadium in which he plays his home games, the skill set of his teammates, the climatic conditions. Are his age, his physical health, his drive, determination taken into account? There is not, and cannot be, a standardized formula for WAR among all its proponents. With the present political climate in full view, I am going to declare WAR a fake stat.
The use of statistics in the greatest game of all is not new. The practice of keeping records of player achievements was started in the nineteenth century by Henry Chadwick. Based on his experience with cricket, Chadwick devised the predecessors to modern day statistics, including batting average, runs scored, and runs allowed. There is even a Dodger connection to the evolution of baseball statistics. During the early 1950s, Allen Roth (pictured), a statistician for the Brooklyn Dodgers, and Branch Rickey, developed the formula for on-base percentage.
We might say the modern era of statistics took off, beginning in the sixties. In 1964, Earnshaw Cook, a John Hopkins engineering professor, published, “Percentage Baseball”, one of the first sabermetrics essays. Then in 1977, the renowned baseball historian and statistician, Bill James, wrote his first Bill James Baseball Abstract in which he featured: “18 Categories of Statistical Information “That You Just Can’t Find Anywhere Else”. Moneyball followed in 2003 and FanGraphs in 2005.
So, what should we, as baseball fanatics, make of all this sabermetric invasion into the game we love? What are our own personal favorite statistics by which we measure players, one to another? I really don’t understand sabermetrics and have not read nor seen “Moneyball,” However, I do have a few favorite stats that I think predate the sabermetric invasion. Simplicity is the requirement for me.
On offense, my favorite is on base percentage (OBP). It is so simple. If you got on base, then you didn’t make an out. The sole purpose, the only purpose, of the hitter is to get to first base, hopefully beyond, but first base as a minimum. If the home run was the objective there would simply be a home plate and no first base. There is no other purpose to be standing at the plate. Every time the hitter gets to first base, he has the possibility of scoring a run. The greater his OBP, the greater chance he will score a run. In addition to that, being on base changes the dynamic for the pitcher. I understand that scoring a run depends on other factors on the field, but so do most, perhaps all other stat categories, so those factors are a constant with all statistics. They do not stand alone. I also really appreciate batting average with runners in scoring position and two out runs batted in (see Red Sox), but my top category is OBP.
On the mound I prefer ERA and WHIP as a measure of a pitcher’s performance. That is perhaps old school, but I think ERA is the more important. It demonstrates how a pitcher battles during his innings, with so much happening around him, and ultimately what kind of a chance he gives his team to win the game – the lower his ERA, the better chance the game will be won while he is on the mound, or when he is replaced in the later innings by a reliever. My favorite stat for a reliever is inherited runners stranded. Quite often that is when the game is saved. A game in which a closer comes in with no one on base and has more than a one run lead is not in need of a save because it is not in jeopardy. A one run game always is in jeopardy as the hitter may hit a home run.
WHIP is in essence a defensive statistic determined by a combination of walks and hits per inning pitched. Once again, it is simple. The fewer runners that the pitcher allows to get on base, the fewer possible runs there are to be scored against his team. WHIP too cannot stand alone, although the walks part of the statistic is about as close to standing alone as any statistic can be, since the walk is under the pitcher’s control (and/or umpire’s), or lack of it, as is the strikeout. WHIP naturally is affected by the defensive acumen of the team behind the pitcher.
In determining Cy Young awards, wins is a huge category. However, I submit wins is not a pitching statistic, but is a team statistic, garnered by a team, combining pitching, hitting, and defense. A win is arbitrary and can have very little to do with the pitcher’s performance. That is, a pitcher can pitch a gem and lose 1-0, or pitch very poorly and win 12-11. The win or loss is not a measure of either pitcher’s performance. That performance is more accurately measured by their ERA and WHIP. If wins are to be used as a pitching statistic, then a more accurate tally of wins would be how many wins the team secured in the games a given pitcher started. That would be a measure of how many games the pitcher gave his team a chance to win, depending on his ERA and WHIP, and they succeeded in doing so.
My least favorite stat in all of baseball is the strikeout. Don’t even start talking to me about home runs/ strikeouts ratios. A strikeout is totally useless with one exception. In the National League it may keep a pitcher from grounding into a double play. Otherwise it is a waste of a plate appearance if valued in the context of home runs. That is, an all or nothing scenario. It accomplishes absolutely nothing and doesn’t have the possibility of accomplishing anything. Put the ball in play. First base is only 90 feet away. Walking back to the dugout after being punched out seems longer than that. Give me a sacrifice bunt any day because it moves a runner up just as a “productive out” does in moving a runner up, especially to third base. Both are an out so why is a bunt not considered a “productive out”? It sure knocks the stuffings out of a “K”.
A quiz. Now I know I am cherry picking, but it is still raining here. Which team in 1965 had the fewest home runs in MLB (78), most sacrifice hits (103), second lowest slugging percentage (335) and had the fourth fewest strikeouts (891)? Of course, it was the World Champion Dodgers. Now I know there were other major factors like Koufax, Drysdale, Podres, Perranoski, Maury Wills but the least powerful offense in MLB still scored enough runs to win it all.
Discussion (89)
Disagree, not disagreeable
rumor that braves made serious offer for realmuto
What does Freidman do?
Now that is how we get to problem with the Dodgers!!
No, really we’ve addressed that numerous times!?!?
Do not let that deter you Wild Bill E., from continuing to share these pearls…
If it’s about the money and Segura, why don’t we let Dozier get healthy and sign him again???
I know I’ll get hit with comments closed, but here goes anyhow… AC, DC, MT, what about Kim Ng as GM??? Great experience with multiple levels with the Dodgers and the MLB FO…
Apparently, the Dodgers offered Puig for Harper when they tried to claim him on waivers. That’s opposite of any rumors that the Dodgers were just trying to block other teams from claiming him. Puig’s contract must have been close enough to a match to keep them under the luxury tax at the time . If not there must have been more offered unless they felt so strongly that Harper would have put them over the top. As hot as Puig got in September and as hot as Harper was down the stretch it would have been more fun to see them together. Harper has stated in the past that Puig is one of his favorite players to watch.
So officially, we’ve picked up the option of $1.1mil on Roberts’ contract. But both sides are still negotiating an extension.
the statistics in baseball are false because they fail in a basic principle: you must compare the same in the same circumstances. a left-handed hitter can hit a lot of home runs in the Yankees ‘little stadium while at the Dodgers’ stadium soloserian outs. It is not the same to hit and shoot in Colorado than in San Francisco. . each stadium has different dimensions. so they do not have any basis … the memeticists worship a false God
First “name” trade of the winter. Seattle traded defensively gifted catcher Mike Zunino and CF Guillermo Heredia to Tampa Bay for CF Mallex Smith. This has questions written all over it. Seattle now has 1 catcher on their 40 man, David Freitas, who is a backup at best. They will need a new catcher. But Seattle will get the CF they have wanted and can leave Dee Gordon at 2B. Smith is only 25 and cannot become a FA until after the 2022 season. This still plays in their strip down mode if they want to.
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For Tampa Bay, they get a good defensive catcher who is controlled for two more years. They need a good catcher to work with their young pitching staff. Smith was extra as Kiermaier is their CF. They lose Wilson Ramos’ bat but they have enough potential offense to offset that loss.
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It is not a trade for either fan base to get excited negatively about. The M’s get a good you CF , and the Rays get a good defensive team controlled C. Both teams can now look at other needs.
Some random thoughts:
1 – JD Martinez got 5 years/$110MM after the Sox waited him out. No way Machado or Harper get $300MM contracts. I personally wouldn’t try to sign either of them.
2 – There is a long parade of players leaving Colorado who didn’t have good numbers after leaving there. (Think Vinnie Castilla for example – there are many others I could mention.) Given DJ LeMahieu’s road splits, I wonder how well he’d hit. A guy with bat to ball skills would be great at 2B, but I wonder if he’s the guy.
3 – The Dodgers absolutely have to do something at catcher. I expect a placeholder though, someone to play until one of the wunderkinds are ready.
4 – I have read at least 1 article saying that Zaidi was very involved in constructing lineups and batting orders. Some of these have openly wondered what Bruce Bochy will do when Zaidi tries to tell him whom to play.
5 – I still expect the Dodgers will probably trade one or more OFs, and maybe sign a rehabbing reliever but I really don’t expect any great splashes.
6 – The Dodgers have won 6 straight division titles and have been in 2 straight Series, so why would anyone think that Friedman is going to make big changes to the roster? They will bank on 1 or more of the kids in the minors coming up and making a difference. Maybe this is Verdugo’s year, or Urias’, just as Seager, Bellinger and Buehler have been difference makers the past 3 seasons.
7 – Other than Realmuto, there are probably no difference makers out there at catcher. I think the Dodgers are looking at a placeholder there. At 2B, the question is whether a rotation of Kike, Taylor and Muncy will get the job done and get it done the way the Dodgers want it (ie., hitting HRs). I would be surprised in light of recent experience if the Dodgers sign or trade for a new 2B. I like Segura a lot too but he would be costly.
8 – Look at Baseball Reference.com. They don’t like Sal Perez’ defense – he ranks 42nd in overall defense, 112th in pitch framing, but 1st in stopping the running game. Given the Braintrust’s emphasis on framing, I doubt he’s a fit although I’ve always like him.
9 – I don’t expect any new GM will be less committed toward a statistically-oriented approach to building a baseball team. That’s how Friedman is wired. Whether he will be inclined to micromanage as Zaidi is reputed to have done is another matter.
“Folks see Ryu as possibility to take 17.9M qualifying offer. Grandal, Pollock seen as not as likely. Harper, Kimbrel, Keuchel, Corbin will decline QO.”
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) November 7, 2018
What does Freidman do? Clarity might come after he knows if Grandal stays or opts out. 2nd base is a need, but it seems catcher is the biggest issue. But beyond obvious needs will Freidman be serious about adding some major talent? He already has stated he likes the present team. Has ownership put some restrictions on what he can and cannot do? If Freidman is already talking to DJ (rumors) possibly that is a portent of more to come.
My preference would also be Segura, simply because I remember how impressed I was with him in 2016 when he played 2B for the DBacks. But like AC noted, Segura comes at a high cost in prospects, and DJ costs only money. And I firmly believe that DJ would adjust to playing the vast majority of his games at sea level.
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And depending on cost, I’m all in on Harper. Of course, I am not privy to the Dodgers finances, so all I can say is that I hope the Dodgers can find a way to get it done without compromising the team.
Regarding DJ LeMahieu. First let me preface that I would not sign LeMahieu to anything more than a 2 year deal. But for those that are concentrating on last year’s numbers, you might just miss out on a very good player. Here are his CAREER stats:
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RHP – .292/.343/.391/.734
LHP – .313/.369/.445/.814
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Home – .330/.387/.448/.835
Away – .264/.311/.362/.673
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No change from 1st half to 2nd half, so he is very consistent.
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Career RISP – .291/.348/.398/.746
Career RISP w/2 outs – .275/.349/.361/.710
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There is nothing similar to what Logan Forsythe put up career wise or as a Dodger. Not even close.
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Neither CT3 or Kike’ have that offensive ability, or at least they have never shown it, and neither are 3 time GG winners who had 18 defensive runs saved last year at 2B. I have seen FA contract projections of 2 years at $16MM and 2 years at $18MM for LeMahieu.
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He turns 31 in July. CT3 turn 29 in August, and Kike turns 28 in August.
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Yesterday Mark remarked about Verdugo, what if he hits .300 with a .360 OBP? Well DJ has done better. In 2016, he hit .348/.416/.495/.911. I agree with Mark that Verdugo may in fact be that hitter, but so is DJ.
I read this elsewhere and don’t think I’d do it:
Kemp for Sal Perez straight-up no money changes hands.
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Dodgers save some money this year (3y/$36m for Perez vs. $21.5m this year for Kemp) but are on the hook for two more years of financial obligations.
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I personally don’t us in a money pinch for this year. Maybe if the money is made even . . . Kemp for Perez & $14.5 mil.
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But why would KC want that?
On the MLB Channel they just said, Harper turned down the Nat’s offer, because the Nats wouldn’t give him any opt outs.
That offer by the Nats was not a serious offer, it was more about making themselves look good with their fans, because they already knew Harper wouldn’t take that 10 year offer, with no opt outs.
But now the Nats can tell their fan base, that they offered Harper that contract.
Bryce Harper rejected a 10/300 deal with Wash. That tells me Boras is quite confident he can get more, or that Harper really doesn’t want to return to Wash unless it comes with a massive payday.
I do NOT want to offer him 10/300. He can make a lot more endorsement money in LA so if he really wants to be here, take a bit less, help us win rings, and make your money as one of the few faces of baseball.
As far as Lamaheiu, I don’t like his splits whatsoever. I see more Forsythe and less All Star if he comes here. Let Kike or CT3 take 2b for now, unless Lux is the wunderkid come spring training.
Bottom line in life, moderation is probably the healthiest way to approach life, and right now in baseball saber metrics can be over used to the extreme.
And that is understandable with the A’s and the Rays, that are having to work around the margins just to be competitive with all the big market teams.
But why would a team like the Dodgers, that have so many resources to work with, only have a one dimensional approach, like these above teams?
I do have hope because of the way both the Astros and the Red Sox, are now playing the game.
Because obviously, what these two teams are doing is working, and these two teams do use saber metrics, but they use saber metrics more as just another tool.
Because they have not forgotten how the game has been played in most of baseball’s existence.
And because of that, they do use the smart things that have been used in baseball for sometime, that has made teams successful, along with saber metrics.
And not only did both of these teams have historic regular seasons where they went so far ahead of the rest of the teams in their division, they have won the last two World Series too.
And both of these teams won the last two World Series against a Dodger team that seemed to use saber metrics as an all in compassing way to manage the team, instead of using saber metrics as just another tool, like the Astros and the Red Sox.
And in both of these World Series, it seemed like the Dodger management had their heads in the numbers, instead of looking up and watching what was happening in the game, that same day.
Because it seemed like there was no feel, or common sense used, when the Dodgers made big moves, or even made out their line ups, for that day.
And because of all this history, I think teams will be looking more at the way the Astros and the Red Sox are playing the game now, so I think there is some hope here, that baseball will have some balancing out, in the next few years.
Because there is nothing like success, that brings imitation.
AC just as I am writing this now, the guys on Hotstove on the MLB Channel, are talking about all the constraints Roberts has been working under from some,
in the front office.
So now that Zaidi is gone, and we have lost another World Series, hopefully the Dodger’s management might take another look at their process, and take in, what has not worked, in the last couple years, like the team’s inconsistent offense, and especially in the last couple World Series.
Change is inevitable. Combat is optional.
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When change occurs, the pendulum swings from one extreme to another. However, it usually swings back… somewhat.
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JD Martinez, Justin Turner and many others have had success in re-tooling their swings with “launch angle” being critical. However, that doesn’t work for everyone, nor should everyone try it.
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I do know that Zaidi was a micro-manager who was the link from the Front Office to Roberts. He has strong opinions (not all of which are shared by Friedman) as to matchups, etc. I’m sure Roberts will be pestered less with any new GM, than he was with Zaidi.
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With Turner and Zaidi leaving, I am sure we will see somewhat different philosophies at play. How much different remains to be seen, but if LaMahieu is truly being courted, then that is a philosophical change.
Free agent market seems a little slow to get started. What will spark it up? Q.O. offer decisions? Management/coaching openings? GM meetings ending?
Not everyone is Mike Trout and I don’t necessarily like Mike Trout. But I do know when he plays he is skilled enough that coaches and managers basically let him play his game because he is so good that he should be allowed to express himself on the field. Obviously he needs to follow positioning and obey hitting directions but for the most part he is a talented ballplayer playing the game as part of a team that has a shared goal: winning. When the managers and front offices get too involved in pushing data to the forefront of what players should do, it takes away the human element. It’s like players have become cogs in a vast wheel of bureaucracy. Sometimes I’m not even sure they know what to do because they are trying so hard to DO something instead of flowing and letting the game come to them. The best sports (Mixed Martial Arts, college basketball) have a distinct element of “anything can happen”–baseball is slowly losing that aspect. It’s about systems and philosophies rather than performance and individual excellence. I don’t know whether to quote Ayn Rand or Terry Gilliam to cap off this rant but we’re getting stuck in an endless loop of feedback. To think that all DJ LeMahieu amounts to is the sum total of his batting average against LHP somehow lessens the game for me. We can search through all that data and it still can’t tell us, “Is he a ballplayer?” I don’t need to look at a single stat to know Jose Altuve is or Nolan Arenado or Max Scherzer. Those guys ooze baseball and that’s why we watch the sport after all, because we enjoy the game itself.
Today’s game might be new school but all I see is today’s baseball players becoming less and less skilled in the fundamentals of the game. I’ve said a few times that this year watching the Dodgers play, for me was not much fun, but it was very frustrating. The game is changing and at this time it is not for the better.
Very nice DC.
Hasn’t this already been discussed and written about (538, ESPN, FanGraphs…) Daniel Murphy and Justin Turner are very good reads on this subject matter.
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The motivation behind this is two-fold.
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Pitchers are so talented, and defenses are so reactive that in modern baseball it is extremely unlikely that you will string together three consecutive hits in order to manufacture a run.
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Because pitchers and defense are so refined outs are at an extreme premium. That’s why bunts and steals are never seen, they are too close to giving away 1 of 27 outs.
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Shifts, and positioning data have made ground balls (or classically struck balls) exceptionally difficult to escape the infield.
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So, as a batting coach or a hittter how do you counteract this?
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Rather than swinging on a downward plane looking to hit the top-half of the baseball and drive a ball through the middle, batters are attempting to hit climbing line drive that will be extra-base hits (doubles, triples, home runs).
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I’m sure AC’s son is perplexed, I know many “old-school” coaches/fans/players (not that AC’s son is old-school, he’s a young chap!) cannot stomach the idea that their hitting philosophies are wrong (wrong is probably the wrong term, how about disincentivized) . After all, if you invested decades of your own blood, sweat and tears into refining your craft, would you feel useful if that theory was proven inefficient and out of favor?
I nominate Dale Murphy for Dodgers hitting coach.
My wife and I spent yesterday with our two sons, celebrating their October birthdays. And as we often do when we get together, I got a chance to talk with my oldest about baseball. It was the same day that I read the Dale Murphy article in The Athletic that Dodgerrick alluded to and posted some salient snippets from. It was the same day as the Dodgers Chief Analyst/algorithm nerd/GM moved to the Giants as President of Baseball Operations. It was the same day that I heard Al Leiter make comments that were not flattering with how the game is evolving.
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I want to repost what Dodgerrick posted yesterday from Dale Murphy with a couple of other paragraphs with respect to launch angle:
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From Dale Murphy, “But the obsession with launch angle has got to go, if for no other reason that it’s teaching bad fundamentals. These days, seemingly every pitcher throws gas. Well, if you’re trying to hit a faster pitch, you shouldn’t lift your swing; you should flatten it. You should get on the same plane with the ball to make more consistent contact.
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Do me a favor. Watch Mike Schmidt’s 500th home run. Watch Hank Aaron’s 714th. If you watch closely, they didn’t swing up. They swung down and through the ball with a high finish.
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You see, launch angle isn’t created by swinging up; it’s created by where you make contact on the ball. If you make contact with the center of the ball, you’ll hit a line drive. If you get too far under it, you’ll pop up.
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Launch angle is a result, not a technique. If you want to hit fastballs, you need a flatter, compact swing.
Alex Bregman and Mookie Betts have two of the best swings in the game. Twenty-seven players hit 30 or more home runs this season, and Bregman and Betts were two of only three to have fewer than 100 strikeouts. José Ramírez, who also has a good swing, was the other.
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Your players can do that, too. But first, you need to assess your organization’s hitting philosophy. Odds are, you’re overvaluing home runs and undervaluing making contact. High-strikeout teams typically aren’t suited to the playoffs. The Red Sox had the fifth-fewest strikeouts in baseball this year. The Indians had the fewest, and the Astros had the second-fewest.
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Focus on swing path and end the obsession with launch angle. Please.”
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But what does Dale Murphy know about hitting?
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My son did not read the Murphy article, but he said the exact same thing when it came to fundamentals. Most on here know that my son played MLB and was with the Red Sox in 2004. My son could hit, and it was recognized by his playing peers and management. He has been asked by former teammates to help them with their swing when they were in slumps. He has been offered multiple hitting coach jobs at the professional level, including from a manager who has won a WS.
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He says today the kids are learning incorrectly. They are not learning how to hit, they are learning how to uppercut with their lead forearm going up instead of level. The bat flight to the ball is much more difficult. Too many youth hitting instructors today are not former players but are smart people with a love of baseball who teach what is preferable today…launch angle. And parents who want those scholarships and potential professional careers want their kids to hit the way that gets them noticed. He told me that he does not know how to teach that way. He believes he will become obsolete as a hitting instructor. He believes the reason there is less situational hitting is because most of the hitters do not know how to hit. They can no longer control the bat to the ball. They have one purpose in mind when going to the plate…hit a HR.
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He played with Turner Ward while they were both with the Phillies. He said that the way the Dodger hitters were approaching hitting was not how he remembered Ward. He also said that this was not how Dave Roberts learned how to play the game. It is his contention that field management is being handcuffed by directives from above “on what works”. He does not have any evidence of that being true, only that his memories of Roberts, Ward, Woodward, Lombard (all former teammates) did not include launch angles, multiple lineups/platoons, defensive shifts, overuse of the bullpen…He started to get upset and stated very loudly in a restaurant, that there is no way that Doc Roberts put Kike’ Hernandez batting third in Game 5 of the WS. He was told to. But he said it much more colorfully, and again with no proof, just conjecture. Baseball was the love of his life, and it has taken a huge bite out of him physically. He now has a medical condition in that we do not like for him to get agitated, so we ended the conversation. His final comment on that subject was “Pop, the game is not fun anymore. I do not enjoy it.” And he knows how that hurts me.
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Mark alluded to the loss of viewers from the 2018 WS compared to others, and suggested the game needs to be changed in some fashion to get the viewers back. Some of us dinosaurs are not going to be around forever, and the owners who are paying billions now to own and operate a MLB organization need to keep the pump primed with younger viewers. You can have an electronic strike zone, add 1 or 2 to the roster, make the DH universal…The problem is (IMO) that the game is being run by computer geeks and not baseball people. I believe that the money people believe by making the game more analytical it will entice today’s computer generation to love the game. But those kids are not getting out and playing the game, they are playing a computer version. It was very telling to hear Al Leiter comment on what he would change. He said that he would require GM’s and Baseball Operations people coming up with these schemes to go down to the after-game pressers and force them to say why the manager had that lineup and strategy, because it was not the manager’s idea. Without saying it specifically, he was saying that Farhan Zaidi should explain why Kike’ was batting third in Game 5 of the WS, because it was his directive and not Doc’s.
Too bad Anthropoulos went to Atlanta. I always thought highly of him.
And who the hell labeled 6 IP/3 ER a “Quality Start”???
I think player’s agents came out with it…
Could you imagine, as a manager going out to the mound to take the ball from Bob Gibson or Don Drysdale because they reached a QS and the 3rd time thru the lineup???
Better call Sgt. Joe Friday..
P.S. I’m a OBP and RBI guy…
OPS also drives me crazy, but it is the go to that I use to evaluate a hitter. The problem is that it considers a walk as good as a hit, which it isn’t, and that’s one of the problems with our current Dodgers. The problem with a walk is that you have no chance to advance a base runner beyond one base. Also, you are rewarding a player statistically for setting up a double play with first base open. Would you rather have an 800 OPS player with a 330/470 or a player with a 380/420? I would trade 2 walks for a double any day of the week. As such, I think batting average is currently devalued much more than it should be. No one cares or talks about batting average these days. Guys that make a ton of contact move runners along. 1978 Bill Russell wouldn’t have a job today with an OPS of less than 700. But, he was a World Series SS, batting second all year. You know what team had a bunch of guys with high batting averages? 346, 330, 290, 288 yep, the Red Sox.
Imagine how large baseball cards would have to be to list each player’s individual stats.
ERA,WHIP, BA, OBP, RBI are enough for me. Thank you DC for your rain-soaked wisdom.
Good stuff. I dont have much to add other than the two things that for me are affecting my enjoyment of the game: strict platooning and taking the starting pitcher out early.