I do not really read a lot of other blogs, but I do watch MLB Network a lot and one of their frontline shows has a strong emphasis on advanced metrics. Clubhouse Confidential with Brian Kenny takes an in depth look at baseball from a purely statistical standpoint. Kenny uses metrics such as WAR (wins above replacement), OBP (on base percentage), OBPS (on base plus slugging), and UZR (ultimate zone rating) to rate hitters and fielders, and statistics such as ERA (earned run average), BABIP (batting average on balls in play), K/9 (strikeouts per 9 innings), and K/BB (strikeouts per walk) to analyze pitchers. Clubhouse Confidential examines all of these statistics to project performances for the following season for both players and teams. Baseball statistics conglomerates such as PECOTA, Fangraphs, Baseball Reference, etc. all contribute and feature writers on Clubhouse Confidential to discuss stats and projections. While most other sports shows such as Sportscenter or MLB tonight use "old school metrics" to rate players and discuss their performances, Clubhouse Confidential uses more accurate predictors of performance and has moved to the forefront of baseball analysis.
The main problem with sabermetrics and these other metrics is that a lot of older analysts, General Managers, players, announcers, etc. have not really accepted them as main stream statistics. This brings me to the purpose of my 20% project, I think that these statistics have been extremely accurate and have proven to help smaller market teams to remain competitive in divisions dominated by teams like the Yankees and Dodgers. Also, statistics such as these have been increasingly accepted in other predictive forms (see Nate Silvers 365 blog). That is why I believe that shows such as Clubhouse Confidential should be viewed with a higher degree of respect and statistical analysis should be taught more in schools and respected more for its predictive ability.
1. I really liked the amount of effort you spent detailing the different ways in which statistics are used in baseball--it was very helpful for someone like me who has very little knowledge of bball.
ReplyDelete2. Other than the fangraphs page I commented about earlier, maybe check out baseballprospectus.com, it seemed to have a decent amount of information.
3. It seems like you're gravitating away from your driving question a little bit? In the beginning it was to convince teachers to teach stat, or to drum up more support for it in academia, and now it seems like you just want to convince baseball predictors to pay more attention to it.