Slobbermetrics, How Sabermetrics Nearly Destroyed Baseball

[jloos19]

Funniest Article Ever?

 

Yeah, so this guy on Foxsports.com writes this hilariously atrocious article on why Sabermetrics almost destroyed baseball. I got this from firejoemorgan.com and I'm so glad I saw this. Enjoy.

[sbrylski]

I don't get it.

 

A.) Is he being sarcastic?

B.) Is it suppose to be funny?

C.) A few big words are canceled out by really bad punctuation.

[jloos19]

I think he's not being sarcastic. Plus, it's only funny because it's so poorly written and he doesn't make any valid points, not because of his poorly constructed jokes.

[rluzinski]

How come NFL fans eat up any statistical analysis of their sport but MLB fans are threatened by it? Is it because football fans realize that everything hasn't already been figured out?

 

I have to say, Moneyball certainly didn't help foster goodwill between the two factions, though.

[endaround]

It does always amaze me that people take the QB rating on faith when its really just a made up thing but can't believe that there is more beyond batting average.

[Brian the Automator]

The article's rather ridiculous. There's so much anti-SABR propaganda out there because people don't realize that sabermetrics are meant to _supplement_ traditional scouting, not eliminate it.

 

It's like saying you need to have either mustard or ketchup on your burger, but never both.

[TheCrew07]

If it makes you feel any better, QB ratings have always irked me too, not just VORP... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

 

Actually, VORP is a much better concept in my opinion, as it attempts to compare players against a league average of sorts. The QB rating weights individual statistical elements and eventually caps out... how can a rating cap? Anway, I digress.

 

Most of what baseball statisticians are doing makes good sense; some people get lost on the presentation, some just don't understand it, some just don't see why BA, ERA, and Wins could be misleading (if it's not broke don't fix it). I don't want to beat the issues to death anymore than we already have, but I think generally speaking both sides could learn something from one another. There's a happy middle ground here someplace, we just haven't found it yet.

[TooLiveBrew]

Doug Melvin has. His burgers always have ketchup, mustard, tomato, lettuce, AND pickles!

[Thurston Fluff]

That article is the sort of thing that people have to resort to when they have no legitimate response to somehting. Ridicule sort of puts them above the stats. I think some fans hate hard evidence in general. It interfers with thier preconcieved notions or ideas of how the team should be built. It's very similar to people who always hate a manager or coach. (I'm not talking anyone on this site specifically just in general terms) It makes them feel knowledgeable.

[RightFieldCoder]

My head hurt even worse when I read the comments down below. Only political conservatives don't believe in Sabermetrics? Believing in God is like believing Sabermetrics isn't any good? Yikes. I don't want to debate those statements, but those are pretty bold absolute statements to make from a Sabermetric guy.

[rluzinski]

but those are pretty bold absolute statements to make from a Sabermetric guy.

 

I wouldn't assume that he actually knows anything about sabermetrics, other than he likes them.

[Fike85]

The author is correct in that is it people, not calculators, that play baseball.

[gregmag]

I second that. In fact, many tabletop items and pocket electronic devices don't play baseball, at least not very well. I'm reliably assured, however, that the iPhone can cover some serious ground in center field.

 

Greg.

[Brian the Automator]

[ The author is correct in that is it people, not calculators, that play baseball. ]

 

On cloudy days, those solar calculators are completely unreliable.

[mothershipconnection]

Another idiot. I love how people who are too dumb to understand numbers say that all of us who use stats are nerds who never played sports. I for one, was both co-captain of my football team and tested out of college math. Another of our captains is now a lawyer, and I used to box with a PhD candidate (I believe it was in chem). You don't need to be an illiterate boob to play sports.

[rluzinski]

I for one, was both co-captain of my football team and tested out of college math. Another of our captains is now a lawyer, and I used to box with a PhD candidate (I believe it was in chem). You don't need to be an illiterate boob to play sports.

 

On several occasions, I've had to explain that I in fact have played organized sports in high school and didn't just hide behind my programmable calculator. It really seems to confuse people that you can actually do both!

[brettac1]

My favorite is just the title:

 

How Bill James and Math Nearly Destroyed Baseball

 

Damned math.

[Diskono]

This article makes no sense. After reading through it twice, I still have no idea what point he's trying to make.

[davego]

I'm against all learning.

[HebrewHammer]

. I for one, was both co-captain of my football team and tested out of college math.

[mothershipconnection]

I tested out of the required college math courses, to be clear. You couldn't test out of anything beyond that, though I probably wouldn't have anyway.

[rluzinski]

Wait, you didn't test out of every math class offered at your college? How dare you mislead us all!