High school softball statistical analysis

[statsguy04]

Hey everyone, just joined here and decided this was the best sub-forum for my question.

I have been working with my alma mater's softball team since my senior year there. I mainly do scoring and statistics now. As an avid baseball fan, I follow the advanced statistical analysis MLB teams use.

After seeing how that has helped the MLB, I am wondering if there are people who have done the same for softball. Has anyone done anything like this or know someone who has? I'd like to, but I have absolutely no clue where to start (or how it would help exactly, as a lot of the analysis done by MLB teams is to determine who to acquire or keep, something you can't really do with a high school team).

Thanks.

 

[Carty]

I dont keep advanced stats on my teams but maybe I can help you get started. You'll need to do a couple things to get going. First, write a list of what qualities you wish to chart. You will need to be fairly detailed on what it is that you want to describe so you dont track a bunch of numbers and realize it isnt what you want. The ask yourself if the stats you will produce really answer any questions that you have of it - is it really worth it? Next, look at the formulas that are used for these descriptions, and then what data is necessary to collect inorder to complete each formula. Who is going to record this data? Most bookkeepers are fairly general, so you may need to have someone seperate to collect the data.

I am looking at a few stats software packages that produce some of these numbers easily, but it still gives the problem of someone to put the data in real time.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

I use iScore on my droid. It keeps very detailed stats on players and a team if you want it to.

PM me if you have questions

 

[CoogansBluff]

How many games does your high school team play? And what ''very detailed'' stats do you have in mind?

In MLB, you have 162 games, not mention career histories on each player. Many of the detailed stats that MLB uses wouldn't be useful in a short high school season because of small sample. If you have a program that keeps those stats, then they're worth looking at and making a judgment about their meaning. But not sure I would go to the extra trouble of compiling too many detailed stats manually.

 

[ElmoBlatch]

I recently heard about the application called GameChanger for the iPad. It looks great and keeps statistics on every pitch during the game. You can then slice and dice the stats any way you like.

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

Elmo,

GameChanger and iScore do essentially the same thing. It is a fabulous program for keeping very detailed stats!

 

[Ken Krause]

I also use iScore. It's a little tougher to do than a paper book, especially if you screw up, miss something, or a play is fairly complicated. But it's great for seeing the stats afterwards. At first I tried having girls not in the game keep the iScore on my iPad, but more often than not I'd have to go in and fix it or finish it. Ultimately, I just had someone keep a paper book and filled it in on iScore afterwards. It was less accurate but easier to do -- no pressure. For next year I'm thinking I'll try training a parent or two to do it.

As for overall stats, I agree the sample size is too small for HS. In addition, performance can vary a lot, and hitting off a pitcher throwing 52 mph will yield different results than hitting off one throwing 62. From what I've been exposed to, most college and other high-level coaches tend to follow the big picture MLB stats. In other words, they look at the outcomes of different situations for general strategies. They then use their own charts for specific coaching tendencies, and some player tendencies if they have the data.

For you, knowing what count an opposing coach likes to bunt on, steal on, etc. would probably be helpful. Knowing whether he/she will sac bunt with a runner on first every time will be good. If you're tracking pitchers, knowing whether a particular pitcher throws first pitch strike, what locations she likes, the pitches she throws well and any patterns she has would be good.

 

[rowdy]

We have been using gamechanger for a couple of years. I would agree that they are better than a traditional scorebook but as far as slicing and dicing, it simply isn't that good. For one thing you can't look at stats for a particular tournament or date range. Don't get me wrong I like gamechanger but it isn't perfect.

 

[InTheCrowd]

I used iScore this last high school and TB season. It was cool and worked well. It can get hairy sometimes when a play get complicated but it makes stats real easy. I don't even know what half the stats are myself. After each game or tournament, I email the stats to the coach. I really like that you can get the stats per kid, per game, and/or per team. That was pretty cool.

I used Pointsreak by K-force previously and it was slick as well but different. It was a lot easier to correct mistakes than iScore and let's you see the "book" as you input. It kept stats as well but I don't think you could break it out in the different ways like the iScore.

Both were cool.

 

[jkburns95]

Our team uses GameChanger as well. It keeps track of about every stat you could think of, and since we have been using it, they have made several updates and improvements, and continue to add new features. You can look at individual, team, and specific games. I'm pretty sure that they are working on the "slicing and dicing" to single out particular dates or tournaments as well. It's easy to use, and we have trained several parents on the team to use it, but only if I'm not there! I love using it, and this is coming from someone who hated to keep books before! At first we were keeping a traditional paper book along with it, but now it's the main book. You can see the game stream and the "scorebook" while you are inputting as well. There is also the bonus that others can follow the game with the online game tracker. For an absolutely free app, it's awesome, and no more work than a paper book, and no need to manually figure out your stats!