Pitch F/x data: For geeks or baseball fans?

So, I’ve really gotten into Pitch F/x data lately. If you don’t know what in the hell I’m talking about, then you should click here.

Ok.. So, obviously when you start checking that out or if you know what it is, you’re going to naturally think: “Yeah, I can watch baseball games & I know that Johan Santana has a nasty changeup”.. This is true. However, what you may not know is exactly what makes that changeup so nasty. You can’t tell me how many inches of movement he has on it both vertically & horizonally. The next thing you might say to me is: “Why do I need to know that? It’s obvious that he strikes out alot of batters with it, it’s a good pitch”. Again, you would be right. But, if the announcers didn’t tip you off, could you tell me if his changeup was working really well that game & also why it was/wasn’t working as well?

At this point, you’ve either clicked off of this page or you’re sitting there stroking your chin in thought & wanting to learn more about this & figure out all of these things. You may be heading off to analyze all sorts of pitchers right now, which you can with that Pitch F/x tool that I linked you to at the beginning of this post. Or maybe you’re going on & thinking: “Why should I worry about this stuff?”

I have the reason why: Whether you are a baseball fan or a geek, Pitch F/x data is for YOU. This is the future of baseball stats. You can look at all of the ERA, WHIP & baseball games that you want & you can’t get a better grip on how a pitcher is or what makes him good than checking this out. Not to mention that analyzing pitchers this way is fun & interesting! Whether you’re old school or you’re always up for something new, you should check out Pitch F/x data & check out the difference between a day where Zack Greinke throws a complete game, 1 ER gem & a day where Greinke gives up 6 ER.

Pitch F/x gives you insight like NEVER before, I just don’t see how that can be denied. Do you really HAVE to know this stuff? Ofcourse not. But, it’s the wave of the future. It’s what more than a few baseball fans & geeks alike will be talking about before too terribly long & I say jump on the bandwagon. Knowledge never hurt anyone. Hide from knowledge at the expense of your own fun.

MLB Sweep Offs.. I mean, Playoffs?

First of all, I’d like to say that I really can’t get into the MLB Playoffs.. The World Series is by far the best & the leadup to it is just a bore…

This year, it’s even worse than usual… The Angels had a VERY long time to prepare for the playoffs.. What’s  happening? Boston isn’t nearly as good as they were last year.. What’s their problem? I thought the Angels would make the World Series, I was wrong.. How are they ever going to win another World Series if everytime they get into the playoffs they start looking like the worst team in baseball?

How ’bout them Cubs? I feel so sorry for Cubs fans right now.. You waited all year for this, it looked like you had the best team out there at times, you all thought: “Ok, this is it.. This is OUR year” & what do you get? Dreams crushed AGAIN, atleast, it looks like that.. This team owes their fans more than this.. You mean to tell me that they couldn’t get up for the playoffs? I believe that if it bothered them nearly as much as it does their fans, especially THIS Cubs team, they would win the World Series in a sweep.. Obviously, Cubs baseball is more important to Cubs fans than the team itself.. That’s sad, folks.

Looks like I may have been a year too early on those Phillies.. Last year, I liked them to win the World Series.. This year, I tossed them aside like yesterday’s news.. I’m sorry that I did that now.. Oh yeah, wait.. They’re playing the Brewers.. Gosh, how overrated is the top of the NL Central looking now? Too bad my D-Backs couldn’t beat out the Dodgers, I have no doubt that they’d be well on their way to making the World Series already..

Let’s end on a great story though.. The Tampa Bay Rays!!! What a team, what a year, what a story.. I can’t tell you how excited I am for this young, outstanding, excellent TEAM.. I’ve got to say this & I think many people will agree with me even if they aren’t a Rays fan…. If you’re a baseball fan, a TRUE baseball fan & your favorite team is not in the playoffs, then you should root for the Tampa Bay Rays! Why? Because, you know what they do? Do you know why they are in the playoffs & doing great? Well.. It’s not because they’re the most talented team.. No way.. It’s not because they have the best pitching, NAH AH!! It’s not because their lineup is stacked, nooooppee.. You know what it is? They play BASEBALL!!! That’s what they do well & they do it well as a TEAM because they are the definition of TEAM right now in baseball! The Tampa Bay Rays ARE MLB!!!!

*Takes a breathe..*

Thanks for reading,

Your very excitable sports blogger

RBIs & Wins Have Their Place In Baseball…

Just not as a great measure of how good a batter or pitcher is. Both are far too reliant on what other people on the team does. You put any great RBI hitter or winning pitcher on a bad baseball team & those numbers take a dive. So, under no circumstances should these two stats ever be put into any calculation that is supposed to suggest who is a better batter or pitcher.

RBIs & wins DO have their place in baseball & are useful, though. They aren’t “worthless” as some would like for you to believe & here’s why:

For RBIs, since 1990, well over 500 players in a single season who had atleast 100 RBIs were above average hitters according to OPS+ (on-base percentage + slugging percentage, it’s the percentage above the league average in that stat).. While only approximately 12 were below average. OPS is an accepted stat for measuring how good a hitter is.

As far as pitchers go, 15 wins is the number we’re looking for here.. Since 1990, yet again, approximately 370 starting pitchers who had atleast 15 wins were above average pitchers according to ERC+ (which is component ERA, the percentage above the league average, 100 is average).. Only 64 pitchers (again approximately) were below average.

So, what can we gather from this? Well, we can gather that anomalies happen, but, it is a general rule of thumb that if a hitter has 100 RBIs or more or a pitcher has 15 wins or more, that they must be pretty good.

Weird things are going to happen, but that doesn’t make these two stats “worthless”.. It just makes them flawed. I want someone to find me a stat that isn’t somehow flawed & that measures a player’s talent perfectly.. Once that happens, I will be the first to deem RBIs, wins & every other stat 100% worthless besides that one.