How important are stats?

[Traps71]

The opposite happens, too. You pitch your butt off but the defense can't seem to hang. The stats only show that if it's errors. Stats don't show lack of effort, or mental errors, or this-kid-is-only-playing-for-her-parents.

That is for sure. Just happened to my DD while she was pitching during a quarter final game on Sunday. Up 3-1. Tight game. She's getting ground ball after ground ball in the infield and, between poor play and errors, the score quickly became 8-3. One of the most frustrating things I've seen and she takes the "loss" and several of those "hits" get recorded as singles even though stronger defensive play would have had us out of the inning giving up no runs. AAAARRRGGGHHH!!

 

[RichK]

As a counter to any Moneyball references, I just read the book Astroball (timely, given they're in the ALCS again) and while they're front-office is extremely data-driven they've tried to build observations into their algorithms, their acronym is STOUTS, stats+scouts. If they combine both at their level seems worth doing at our more developmental level as well....

 

[Westwind]

Rich, I really like that.

In our world, observations are really important when evaluating players.

Home to first time vs. base running skill come immediately to mind.

Another one: I have a player on my current team that has risen to the top of the heap on every team she’s ever been on. Statistically she is currently 8th or 9th in hitting but she hits the ball hard and it’s getting caught. I see her constantly making adjustments and she’s still scoring a third of our runs because she is dynamite on the bases. She stays at the top of a fairly stats driven maybe (“stats considered”) lineup.

I’m sure there are better examples.

 

[Northern Dad]

Stats can lie. I pitched on the weekend and my team won 5-3. I had 9 hits against me vs 5 for the other pitcher. I threw 4 more strike outs, but also 2 more walks (and annoyed at myself because one of those walks SHOULD have been a K but nerves got the better of me in a higher grade)

we both had 3 earned runs.

just because my team won doesn’t mean I pitched better

Actually the stats don't lie you are just looking at the wrong ones, or not at enough of them. In the example you give your WHIP would be higher than the other girl and your Batting Average Against would also be higher than the other girl.