|
Was in Barnes & Nobles and started to read "Smart Baseball" by Keith Law, so I went ahead and ordered it on Amazon(cheaper of course), and just got it today. I read over a good deal of it in the store, and it is an excellent read. And agree or not with him, he makes some excellent points, with the stats to back it up.
Law, was for four and a half years, the Special Assistant to the GM of Toronto. After that, he wrote for Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, and now The Athletic. He really puts into perspective how ridiculous some of the stats that we as fans, broadcasters, and even Managers and GM's cherish. A great perspective on the whole "Moneyball" wave, and I just started perusing the book, and came across this paragraph. This is after he addresses the "pitcher win", "RBI", and right before "fielding percentage."
"The save just isn't necessary." It tells us nothing we couldn't already glean from the box score, and gives people the illusion of meaning by its mere existence, which has contributed to overspecialized relief usage and a perverse system where teams often reserve their best relievers for the 9th inning even if those aren't the toughest outs to get. It deserves its own plot in the stat graveyard, along with the pitcher win, the RBI, and one of the most useless stats baseball has ever seen, fielding percentage."
I can attest to the last one by just looking at the Phillies and watching them play. They are ranked 8th in MLB, and have one of the worst defenses on the planet.
|