What a great piece! If I remember correctly, there were 7 or 8 stats that you used as your guide to a player's contribution (referenced above). I can't find the list that I copied years ago. Would you be able to post them again sometime? Thanks in advance!
John, unfortunately there were a lot more than 7 or 8 stats I was keeping and I was spending tons of time on it, but very few readers wanted to look at them. So after a couple seasons we dropped the system and I just concentrated on the writing.
Also unfortunately, I'm out in California (that's not the unfortunate part) and don't have a copy of that form with me, but maybe sometime I can write about it after I get back to KC.
I couldn't say. Some fans have the reputation for being informed (St. Louis fans are on the list), but even though I was a baseball fan I didn't appreciate situational hitting (which I still haven't really written about) until I started hanging around professional ballplayers.
That was fun. Your article brought me down memory lane as baseball was THE activity (watching, playing, playing catch, games) for every summer. As a fan of non-professional baseball (as a person behind the backstop, I loved the sound and chatter of baseball), this would make a lot of sense to young players, who may understand situational baseball. I used to watch my Dad coach 3 & 2 baseball for over 30 years and he was terrific at situational baseball, such as squeeze bunts, double steals, hiding the ball in the glove to capture a player off base, rearranging defensive positions and knowing baseball rules more than the umpires did at times! That's baseball. Thanks for a trip down memory lane. I also kept score for Ban Johnson Baseball for years.
'and a left-handed hitter also needs to hit a groundball to the right side (he wants a pitch he can pull and something off-speed or a fastball middle-in will work)'
Please excuse my ignorance, but why is something off-speed a pitch a left-handed hitter can pull? I'm guessing breaking balls are easier to pull because they break towards the hitter when thrown by a right handed pitcher. But I was under the impression, hitters were taught to wait on the ball when hitting an off-speed pitch. What pitches would you classify as off-speed? If I remember correctly,
Trevor Bauer refers to a cutter as an off-speed pitch. How do you successfully pull an outside pitch? Is it due to the hitter's position in the batter's box (close to the plate)?
Off-speed pitches are easier to pull because they have less velocity; Clayton Kershaw's fastball averages 93.3 MPH, his curve is 73.8. Off-speed generally refers to anything that isn't a fastball, although some guys throw their cutters and sliders so hard, they come close to their fastball velocities.
And pulling an outside pitch with authority is difficult (the reasons are fairly technical which would take a lot of time to explain) so most guys can't do it and if they pull an outside pitch are going to hit a weak grounder which is why teams feel comfortable shifting the infield; some guys pull everything, even outside pitches.
Every serious little league Mom would say go for the numbers. Those Mom's are dead serious about their kids' stats and are ready to jump ship to another team if the current "team spirit" gets out of hand. Or wait, you were talking about the pros. In that case I vote team first.
Since the vast majority of kids will never play professionally, the best thing they can get out of sports are lessons like: show up on time, be prepared and put the team first. Since parents are completely unrealistic about their kid's athletic skills and want to let the coaches know they're screwing up by not letting their kids do whatever the hell they want to, the lesson the kids actually learn is that when things don't go your way it's OK to act like a jerk.
What a great piece! If I remember correctly, there were 7 or 8 stats that you used as your guide to a player's contribution (referenced above). I can't find the list that I copied years ago. Would you be able to post them again sometime? Thanks in advance!
John, unfortunately there were a lot more than 7 or 8 stats I was keeping and I was spending tons of time on it, but very few readers wanted to look at them. So after a couple seasons we dropped the system and I just concentrated on the writing.
Also unfortunately, I'm out in California (that's not the unfortunate part) and don't have a copy of that form with me, but maybe sometime I can write about it after I get back to KC.
And thanks.
Not to be selfish, but I'm glad you had insomnia today - great article!
Thanks. I've already taken two naps so it's working out OK.
Fascinating! Thanks for the great info. I will attempt to use it in a bar😀
You're welcome. And good luck in that bar.
I am curious. Do you think that "back in the day" more fans in the stands knew about, and appreciated, situational hitting?
I couldn't say. Some fans have the reputation for being informed (St. Louis fans are on the list), but even though I was a baseball fan I didn't appreciate situational hitting (which I still haven't really written about) until I started hanging around professional ballplayers.
That was fun. Your article brought me down memory lane as baseball was THE activity (watching, playing, playing catch, games) for every summer. As a fan of non-professional baseball (as a person behind the backstop, I loved the sound and chatter of baseball), this would make a lot of sense to young players, who may understand situational baseball. I used to watch my Dad coach 3 & 2 baseball for over 30 years and he was terrific at situational baseball, such as squeeze bunts, double steals, hiding the ball in the glove to capture a player off base, rearranging defensive positions and knowing baseball rules more than the umpires did at times! That's baseball. Thanks for a trip down memory lane. I also kept score for Ban Johnson Baseball for years.
Louanne
'and a left-handed hitter also needs to hit a groundball to the right side (he wants a pitch he can pull and something off-speed or a fastball middle-in will work)'
Please excuse my ignorance, but why is something off-speed a pitch a left-handed hitter can pull? I'm guessing breaking balls are easier to pull because they break towards the hitter when thrown by a right handed pitcher. But I was under the impression, hitters were taught to wait on the ball when hitting an off-speed pitch. What pitches would you classify as off-speed? If I remember correctly,
Trevor Bauer refers to a cutter as an off-speed pitch. How do you successfully pull an outside pitch? Is it due to the hitter's position in the batter's box (close to the plate)?
Off-speed pitches are easier to pull because they have less velocity; Clayton Kershaw's fastball averages 93.3 MPH, his curve is 73.8. Off-speed generally refers to anything that isn't a fastball, although some guys throw their cutters and sliders so hard, they come close to their fastball velocities.
And pulling an outside pitch with authority is difficult (the reasons are fairly technical which would take a lot of time to explain) so most guys can't do it and if they pull an outside pitch are going to hit a weak grounder which is why teams feel comfortable shifting the infield; some guys pull everything, even outside pitches.
Every serious little league Mom would say go for the numbers. Those Mom's are dead serious about their kids' stats and are ready to jump ship to another team if the current "team spirit" gets out of hand. Or wait, you were talking about the pros. In that case I vote team first.
Since the vast majority of kids will never play professionally, the best thing they can get out of sports are lessons like: show up on time, be prepared and put the team first. Since parents are completely unrealistic about their kid's athletic skills and want to let the coaches know they're screwing up by not letting their kids do whatever the hell they want to, the lesson the kids actually learn is that when things don't go your way it's OK to act like a jerk.