Quote:
Originally Posted by Palaaemon
After looking at your posting of the hitting and pitching team statistics there is, from what I can see, a significant offensive increase across the board.
We will have to go more in depth once the season is done and the numbers are all in. Also when the time comes try to gather what stats you can from last year to compare (what year was last year based on?).
Have a great rest of the 4th!
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So, thinking about this last night it dawned on me that it would be helpful to track annual league statistics in a spreadsheet.
But then when I went into the spreadsheets I keep for the WPK I discovered that this was not a new idea for me. I think I'm a little too young still to be having these kinds of memory problems.
Anyway, I updated the spreadsheet I already have and then compared it to the 1973 stats thus far and how they project out for a full season.
The first thing I should note is that the previous season, 1972, was one of the lowest scoring in WPK history. The overall runs per game was 3.4. Only the 1968 season, with its anemic 3.0, was lower. It was the third lowest in hits per 9 innings. And second lowest in HR/9, again behind only 1968. 1972 also tied with 1968 for the highest K/9 rate at 6.49. Overall batting average of .235 was the third lowest, just barely higher than 1965 and 1968.
Historically the SJL has been the better hitting league. (Or lesser pitching league, however you choose to interpret it.) So this years SJL league ERA of 3.92 isn't even the highest in league history as 1970 had a league ERA of 3.93. There are 3 seasons in SJL history with ERA's in the 3.60's. The league batting average this year of .259 would be the historical high for the SJL, but not by that much. 1966, 1969, and 1970 all saw league BA's of .256. And in 1971 it was .255. While the SJL is on pace for a record number of doubles, they are actually behind the pace of HR's seen in 1970 and 1966, by a good margin even. And as far as runs per game, 1973 is basically on pace to equal 1970, which saw 4.4 runs per game.
The MGL is historically a lower scoring environment. The MGL this season has an ERA of 3.98 and the previous highest was 3.63 set in 1966. The league batting average currently is .264. The best ever for a season in the MGL was also set in 1966 at .250. While the MGL is on pace for the best OBP and 2nd best slugging in its history, it is not yet on pace to see records in double, triples, HR's, walks, etc. Although this season is on pace for the lowest number of strikeouts in MGL history. And if the current pace continues more bases will be stolen than any other season.
Some overall historic trends for the WPK:
1) Walks were up considerably for 3 seasons- 1969-1971- before they came tumbling back down in last season's low offense environment. This season they are pace to return to the five digits again as they were from '69-71.
2) While complete games pitched have stayed fairly stable over time and should be well within norms this year, shutouts shot up in 1972 to 331, 2nd only to 1968's 405. The pace this year would lead to 203 shutouts, just 3 more than the low point of 200 in 1966.
3) Probably the most static stat in WPK history is the save. At the highest point is the 701 of 1968, while the fewest ever recorded in a season was 668 in 1965. This year might prove an outlier as we are pace for just 604 saves.
So overall, while the 1973 season is a good year for the hitters, it isn't quite the historic offensive outlier some predicted. And the feeling of an offensive upswing is probably intensified due to it coming on the heels of one of the more run suppressed seasons in WPK history.