Importance of Stats IV

quote:

Originally posted by fillsfan:
I know this topic has been beaten to death a few times but I just wanted to relate my son's experience regarding stats that might help clarify their importance regarding recruiting.. This coming from a guy, me, who never put much weight in them and never knew his statistics. I would evaluate him by how his swing looked and making solid contact.

My son just started attending a D2 school in South Carolina. We never heard of this school until his coach told him they were coming to watch him this past season. He spent the last two years at a local juco that has a good reputation and a respected coach. The D2 coach came to a game and spoke to my son and I after the game. I asked him how he found my son.

The recruiter grew up and played in this general area and knew of the juco. He said from time to time he will go to websites of jucos he knows of to see if any stats catch his eye. My son's numbers did and he called his coach. Coach vouched for my son, recruiter came to see him play and the result is he is at a school he loves with a coaching staff he really likes.

My point, after this experience, is that stats do matter. They probably aren't a true indicator of how much talent a player has or doesn't have, but they can play a big role in the recruiting process. They can at least cause a recruiter to make a phone call.

The problem is how accurate the statistics were kept. Also how good was the competition?

My son had a .230 batting average in select ball but a .800 batting average in league play.

First of all, congratulations to your son! How great that things worked out like that!

I think most of the references to stats here over the years have related specifically to those coming from high school leagues. JUCO stats would tend to be thought of as having somewhat more integrity. Kudos to his current coach who took the extra step to consult them.

High school stats tend to be virtually universally disregarded by recruiters and scouts as meaningful factors in their interest in a player; certainly in their decision-making process. They're simply too fraught with inaccuracies and often are attained against insufficiently challenging opponents to be considered pertinent.

quote:

Originally posted by bostonbulldogbaseball:
The problem is how accurate the statistics were kept. Also how good was the competition?

My son had a .230 batting average in select ball but a .800 batting average in league play.

IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW ACCURATELY THE STATS WERE KEPT OR HOW GOOD THE COMPETITION WAS!

The numbers only get someone noticed, not chosen. That’s why there are follow-ups to investigate a little deeper into what’s going on.

Stats4Gnats, exactly! You beat me to it.

That part of the equation comes during the initial phone call. The stats, regardless of how they were attained, get the phone call. If the player is not legit the process ends there.

Thanks Prepster. The thing is though that while at a juco the players experience the same recruiting process, evaluation and heart burn as they do in high school. Playing at a juco is an extension of entire process.

quote:

Originally posted by Prepster:
…I think most of the references to stats here over the years have related specifically to those coming from high school leagues. JUCO stats would tend to be thought of as having somewhat more integrity. Kudos to his current coach who took the extra step to consult them.

High school stats tend to be virtually universally disregarded by recruiters and scouts as meaningful factors in their interest in a player; certainly in their decision-making process. They're simply too fraught with inaccuracies and often are attained against insufficiently challenging opponents to be considered pertinent.

“SOMEWHAT” is a great description. While the integrity of the numbers does get better the higher the level, they’re far from perfect at any level.

HS stats aren’t disregarded at all, but they aren’t used to make decisions any more than at the professional level. The meaningful decisions are made by “eye” and “evaluation”, not by numbers, but without the numbers there’s very little context to what is seen.

In the end, the numbers are just another tool like an ax. Sometimes its sharp and easily cuts through a limb, and sometimes its dull and cases more problems than it solves. The trick is in learning to distinguish which it is before carrying out to the woods.

There is another issue as well. The “standard” metrics one sees when looking at HS or even college numbers don’t really show a player in much “depth”. Comparing the “old style” everyday metrics one sees at any amateur lever to what’s seen at the pro level is like comparing a horse and buggy to the space shuttle.

There are always exceptions, but high school stats are basically of very little worth because they are unreliable and because of the dramatic differences in levels of competition. This will never change.

My son must be the odd one. Four different coaches from 3 different levels of college ball have asked him and talked to him about his stats in high school.

Here in St Louis, the local paper, the "St Louis Post Dispatch" has a prep sports section that has schedules, rosters, results and stats and such.

http://stats.stlhighschoolspor...ll/stats/default.php

All four coaches mentioned his stats seen on this web site. A local D-2 school seemed to check them every day last season and would email him on certain days making sure it was his turn in the rotation. And later, they emailed him congratulating him the morning after he pitched a shutout.

Thing is, the stats arent everything, there has to be more to it. But they are used. You could look at my son's pitching stats and realize that he is a pitcher, who throws a ton of strikes, but probably not a high velo guy based on having less then 1 K an inning.

I always joked that the ones who say stats dont matter either have really great stats, so they dont want to seem to be bragging; or the ones with bad stats.

Stats are very important if used the right way and analyzed the right way imho...

For starters, stats offer an interesting paradox. Good stats don't necessarily mean exceptional talent but talented players almost always have good stats - at least over the long haul such as over the course of the summer. Thus, imho, it behooves a coach to verify that the stats are at least a reasonable facsimile to the quality of player they believe they are scouting.

My son and I always discussed stats but maybe in a different way from other parents. If he hit 3 ropes in a game that were caught, then he was 3-3 for that game. We didn't keep a running tally of that, but each game we kind of analyzed things that way. Also, looked at other things like getting on base and scoring runs and playing great defense and yes, winning. Probably when we both heard Steve Springer's philosophy on hitting, it made so much sense which is basically focusing on the quality of an at bat rather than the ultimate result. Focusing that way usually provided the best mental framework however for producing quality stats as well even in the face of failure that all kids face sooner or later.

I remember specifically that there were many parents who were convinced their kids were superior players based solely off their stats. I would see kids nub and bloop their way on base and someone would try and argue they were the best player on the team. Similarly with pitchers, I'd see some kid with an unorthodox delivery or throwing below the hitting speed have some success and people would equate that to pitching talent. I never would argue with these types but in the back of my mind I would say silently "Lets just see what happens to the batting averages when we come across someone who throws at higher velocities!" Invariably, the bloop/nub hitters almost always failed to show up. Many of them were afraid to even stand in against the harder throwers let alone produce stats yet all their parents would hang their hats on were the "stats" i.e., my kids batting average is higher than yours.

I've seen stats guys and talented guys at every level of baseball. Talented guys are usually good stats guys but the opposite is certainly not true.

If I were coaching, I would certainly look at the stats and use them as one part of the equation for the overall picture.

Stats can be a calling card or a brochure. The player still has to sell the product since the stats may not tell the entire story (weak league, biased scorekeeping).

In high school one at bat my son hit a shot to the seocnd baseman's right. The 2b dove and knocked it down on the trap home. The ball got away from him. The 2b scrambled on his knees to the ball and threw to first. My son was safe. The scorer called it an error. he said the ball hit the second basemen right in the glove.

Another year when I was scoring a parent got in my face because of my scoring call. He proceeded to call the coach and the AD. On a ground ball to second the 2b took too long getting the ball out of his glove. He never bobbled the ball. It should have been an easy third out. But it wasn't an error. The next hitter cranked a granny. This pitcher lead the conference in ERA because his father got the call reversed from a single and three earned runs to an error and four unearned runs by complaining to the coach and AD when I wouldn't change my call. I would have liked to make the call in favor of the pitcher. But I can't cheat. The father, coach and AD cheated another player on another team out of top ERA.

Good points ClevelandDad and I agree.

Stats don't tell everything and if fact, a player's stats just doesn't say much out of context (e.g. batting .600 in a weak league vs. batting .300 in a league full of the best pitchers in the country).

Stats is probably a good starting point for recruiting, but the recruiting is most influenced by what is actually observed on the playing field where things like attitude and playing approach can be observed.

A recruiter perusing websites for potential recruits is like looking for a date on line or from pictures. You see a picture of a woman and you think 'wow she looks interesting'. So you set up a date and find out the picture was photo shopped and 10 years old. No second date. But if she looks better in person and has a traits you are looking for the courtship begins.

A recruiter sees stats that catch his eye. Makes a phone call to verify and/or goes to see in person if possible. He finds out the stats are overblown against bad competition, and the player has the bat speed of a sloth. No second look. But if the player looks good and shows talents the coach is looking for the courtship begins.

quote:

Originally posted by fillsfan:
A recruiter perusing websites for potential recruits is like looking for a date on line or from pictures. You see a picture of a woman and you think 'wow she looks interesting'. So you set up a date and find out the picture was photo shopped and 10 years old. No second date. But if she looks better in person and has a traits you are looking for the courtship begins.

A recruiter sees stats that catch his eye. Makes a phone call to verify and/or goes to see in person if possible. He finds out the stats are overblown against bad competition, and the player has the bat speed of a sloth. No second look. But if the player looks good and shows talents the coach is looking for the courtship begins.

Good analogy. Send me a pm and let me know which South Carolina school or post it here if you don't mind. Good stuff!

CD he's at Newberry College. A small school about a half hour from Columbia. The coach is Russ Triplett who played at Clemson. My son really likes him. A young, no nonsense players coach.

Knucklehead is finally starting to see the light. He's very fortunate to have landed at Newberry with coach Triplett and his staff.

quote:

Originally posted by fillsfan:
CD he's at Newberry College. A small school about a half hour from Columbia. The coach is Russ Triplett who played at Clemson. My son really likes him. A young, no nonsense players coach.

Knucklehead is finally starting to see the light. He's very fortunate to have landed at Newberry with coach Triplett and his staff.

Good stuff. I see that Lander is on their schedule - perhaps you and Coach May can hook up for a game someday. Sounds like a fine opportunity for him!

fillsfan,
I agree with Prepster about the importance with stats after the HS level.

Many programs have to rely on JUCO programs for providing them players that they need while their freshman develop. I can definetly see why they would consider stats at that level.

I have heard really good things about RT, best of luck to your son.

Here is another funny stat story. It is second hand from my son who played with this kid in the CCL this summer, so I may mess up some of the facts but the story is funny.

This player is a JC player who lead the California JC league in hits, and I believe is one of the all-time leader in some stats, I don’t remember exactly what my son said he was clearly one of the best hitters in Ca JC play. So the JC coach gets a call from a major D1 in the South East who typically goes to the College World series and wants to offer this kid a scholarship, sight unseen. He talks to the JC coach and the coach vouches for him saying more or less “yes this kid is the real deal and can swing it”. The player gets an offer, never goes to the college just accepts it so the coach and the player have never seen each other.
Fall comes along and the player shows up on campus and the JC coach gets a call from the Coach and says something like “are you sure this kid can hit?”…. Turns out he is smaller in stature, and does not look very athletic, I am sure the other Coach is thinking “what the heck have I done.” The JC coach just says “give him a chance coach” nothing more. Fall practices start and the JC coach gets another call from the coach. “your right coach this kid can hit”. The player went on to be a solid contributor for the program and started a significant number of games last year…. he just did not look like it.

TPM,
I told my son he is very lucky to get a coach who is on his way up the coaching ladder. I won't be surprised at all if he is offered a job at a top 20 school in the next 5 years or so.

Your son's stats got the coach to inquire about him. They got his attention so he talked to your son's coach. He came to see him play because the stats got his attention. You can bet that the fact his coach vouched for him and he liked what he saw when he saw him play is what punched the ticket. So yes stats can be very important. But it's not the stats alone that got your son this opportunity as you well know.

This topic comes up a lot. Look a kids HS stats can get him looks and many times do. But the coach is going to want to actually see the player play. He is going to talk to not only his coach but other coaches as well as other college coaches that have seen the player play. They are going to talk to scouts that have seen the player play. They are going to talk to current players on their roster that may know the player. Former players that may know the player. In other words every source they have that they trust to give them input. And most importantly their own eyes.

Stats are important. But they are only one piece of the puzzle. And coaches understand there is a big difference in HS stats from program to program and college stats. And they also understand that stats can be misleading as well. So they inquire from the coach and coaches and talk to as many people they can. And they watch the player actually play the game. In this case it all pointed to the same thing. This is a very good player and we need him in our program. Congrats to your son.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_May:
… And coaches understand there is a big difference in HS stats from program to program and college stats. …

Would you mind explaining that in more detail?

quote:

Originally posted by Stats4Gnats:

Would you mind explaining that in more detail?

In HS the players parents do the stats, in college they do not......

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
In HS the players parents do the stats, in college they do not......

Well, I can guarantee you this much, there are some HS teams where the players keep score. In general that’s more likely to happen on either the Fr and JV team, but there are some V teams where it happens as well. Having said that, I don’t know for sure but I’d bet it was very very rare that the players did the stats.

And having said that, I can tell you this from experience, limited as it was. Many college teams have someone scoring home games for them, the same way they have announcers and scoreboard operators. But very few teams drag those people to away games, so the scorer very often becomes a player.

Of course that varies greatly with the program, but to make a broad statement such as you made is just hogwash and is the cause of so many misconceptions people have. In the 4 years my son played HS ball, no player or coach ever scored one game and I was the only one doing the stats. Since 2007, that’s been true as well for the team I score for, and my son certainly isn’t on the team.

Your implication is that all parents who score games or input the stats cheat, and I find that very offensive.

[/QUOTE]

quote:

And having said that, I can tell you this from experience, limited as it was. Many college teams have someone scoring home games for them, the same way they have announcers and scoreboard operators. But very few teams drag those people to away games, so the scorer very often becomes a player.

Of course that varies greatly with the program, but to make a broad statement such as you made is just hogwash and is the cause of so many misconceptions people have. In the 4 years my son played HS ball, no player or coach ever scored one game and I was the only one doing the stats. Since 2007, that’s been true as well for the team I score for, and my son certainly isn’t on the team.

Your implication is that all parents who score games or input the stats cheat, and I find that very offensive.

In my four years of college baseball experience, I have never seen anyone except an SID or something working in the SID's office score a game, from the press box.

I don't know why you continue to try to stir the pot when it comes to stats. All anyone has ever said here is that stats can be important, but are often times inaccurate at the high school level. No one has said anything negative towards you or your stat keeping skills.

quote:

Originally posted by J H:


In my four years of college baseball experience, I have never seen anyone except an SID or something working in the SID's office score a game, from the press box.

Well, I have to show my ignorance and admit I haven’t got a clue what “SID” means. But it makes no difference because my point was that it varies from program to program.

quote:

I don't know why you continue to try to stir the pot when it comes to stats. All anyone has ever said here is that stats can be important, but are often times inaccurate at the high school level. No one has said anything negative towards you or your stat keeping skills.

Stir the pot? Why is it that when someone takes issue with broad statements that simply aren’t true, they become some kind of “pot stirrer”, the implication being “troublemaker”?

If anything, for over 15 years I’ve been someone leading the charge against the relatively poor state of HS scorers, which translates into the relatively poor state of HS stats. But that doesn’t at all mean to imply ALL or even MOST HS stats are lousy. Likewise, because college scorers compared to HS scorers are superior which translates into college stats being more valid than HS stats, it doesn’t mean that college stats are perfect. More valid than HS numbers maybe, but certainly not perfect.

Stats, even rotten ones are still useful. To the coach, since they’re generally done equally bad or good for all the players, he can use them to help him make many decisions. Where people get goofy ideas, is when they try to compare players between different teams. That’s a rotten idea because they can be so different. But even at that, there are some things that can be used to compare players between teams or even divisions that are INDICATORS to higher level onlookers.

FI, a batter having a 5:1 BB:K ratio isn’t subject question because both are objective things a scorer can’t screw up by poor judgment like a BA. The same goes for HRs. Iff the ball goes over the fence it’s a HR. No judgment there. The same thing happens for pitchers. There’s no subjectivity in BB, Ks, HBPs, HR’s Runs, B:S ratio, 1st pitch strikes, or number of pitches. The only way those things can be affected by the scorer is if s/he forgets to mark something, not they their judgment might be in error.

Higher level onlookers aren’t so stupid that they bother paying much attention to those things that are subject to the judgment of the scorer, so whether the scorer was good or bad more often than not doesn’t make a great deal of difference. However, to ignore even investigating a HS player with great numbers because HS numbers are subject to being invalid, is patently stupid.

quote:

Originally posted by jemaz:
There are always exceptions, but high school stats are basically of very little worth because they are unreliable and because of the dramatic differences in levels of competition. This will never change.

Yes, I agree and why I posted BA. of my son. He faced stiffer competition in travel ball but that doesn't mean he was a bad player. I could tout his league B.A. but to what purpose?

I guess that is why recruiters like to visit and see prospects in action. Stats can't measure the hustle or attitude in a player.

quote:

Originally posted by bostonbulldogbaseball:
Yes, I agree and why I posted BA. of my son. He faced stiffer competition in travel ball but that doesn't mean he was a bad player. I could tout his league B.A. but to what purpose?

One of the problems with stats is, they’re often taken out of context, but that doesn’t mean they’re useless. Your son’s BA means nothing, whether you quote the league BA or his TB BA because you didn’t give it context by listing the BAs of all the other players on his teams, or at least the team’s composite BA.

If your boy batted .800 and all the other players had similar numbers, one could conclude their competition was rather weak, and the same could have been done if you’d have posted all the other players from his travel team. But without that context, I know nothing.

quote:

I guess that is why recruiters like to visit and see prospects in action. Stats can't measure the hustle or attitude in a player.

What is it that brings the recruiters to look? Is there some kind of secret web site I don’t know about where players who have the ability to move on are listed with absolutely no stats what-so-ever to? No age, no height, no weight, no numbers that indicate power, velocity, or other things that indicate competence?

quote:

Originally posted by Stats4Gnats:

quote:

Originally posted by BOF:
In HS the players parents do the stats, in college they do not......

Well, I can guarantee you this much, there are some HS teams where the players keep score. In general that’s more likely to happen on either the Fr and JV team, but there are some V teams where it happens as well. Having said that, I don’t know for sure but I’d bet it was very very rare that the players did the stats.

And having said that, I can tell you this from experience, limited as it was. Many college teams have someone scoring home games for them, the same way they have announcers and scoreboard operators. But very few teams drag those people to away games, so the scorer very often becomes a player.

Of course that varies greatly with the program, but to make a broad statement such as you made is just hogwash and is the cause of so many misconceptions people have. In the 4 years my son played HS ball, no player or coach ever scored one game and I was the only one doing the stats. Since 2007, that’s been true as well for the team I score for, and my son certainly isn’t on the team.

Your implication is that all parents who score games or input the stats cheat, and I find that very offensive.

SID = Student Information Director.

I don't think that JH was dispelling HS stats, just that one should take into consideration that they may not be accurate or correct and of course, if done by a parent, then it's biased. I know of one situation where the mother of a player, kept stats, her son was a top draft pick out of HS and she insisted on keeping them, people resented that, I don't see where it mattered one way or the other, it is what it is.

Not that way in college, like any other game, home team keeps official stats, but the visitor keeps theirs as well. And it's not a parent. Regardless, I have seen stats favor the home team. Again, it is what it is.

We had an official scorer who had no player on the team that we paid for every home game. Because of that (not having a parent do it) we knew it was legit and not in anyone players favor. It cost us money but it prohibited parents from questioning him about scoring.

The importance of stats HS IMO, is for county/state awards, other than that, no coach ever asked. PG's ranking and rating had more weight.

It is what it is.

quote:

If anything, for over 15 years I’ve been someone leading the charge against the relatively poor state of HS scorers, which translates into the relatively poor state of HS stats.

Leading the charge? Where are you leading the charge? I don't believe the charge is leading anywhere. Would it be nice if high school games had competent scorers? Sure. But there's no guarantee there's one in the house. Most high schools aren't going to pay for a scorekeeper. It's not that important. What matters is the final score of the game is accurate.

The reason someone from the SID's office is often the scorer is the office is responsible for reporting the score and updating stats.

quote:

What is it that brings the recruiters to look? Is there some kind of secret web site I don’t know about where players who have the ability to move on are listed with absolutely no stats what-so-ever to? No age, no height, no weight, no numbers that indicate power, velocity, or other things that indicate competence?

The player's coach, word of mouth from someone relevant observing the player or the player makes himself visible via showcases and camps.

HS stats mean squat. Even all-conference and all-state selections don't always tell the story. A player from our school never made all-anything until his senior year and was a starter since his sophomore year. His batting average was very pedestrian until his senior year. However, the talent evaluators had him as the top player in the state and got drafted in the second round of the 2011 draft. It was his 5-tools, his relentless work ethic and maniacal rehab work from a devastating ankle injury in the area code games his junior year that almost ended his baseball career but ended up coming back stronger and better than ever and spoke volumes of the type of player he is. He was back on the field three months ahead of schedule. It's obvious that those who scouted him were well aware of this. Watching him play in HS, it wasn't hard to see he was a legitimate pro prospect despite the stats. If they actually looked at his stats and his all-this-and-that awards but not the player, there's no way he'd be playing pro ball. No way...Throw out the HS sat book..Too many variables to accurately evaluate talent such as who does the stat book to the level of play high schools are involved in.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
SID = Student Information Director.

Thanx. Is that some kind of coach’s assistant or team equipment “manager”? I’m just not familiar with it, but it sure sounds like what I’ve tried to get HS baseball coaches to create.

quote:

I don't think that JH was dispelling HS stats, just that one should take into consideration that they may not be accurate or correct and of course, if done by a parent, then it's biased. I know of one situation where the mother of a player, kept stats, her son was a top draft pick out of HS and she insisted on keeping them, people resented that, I don't see where it mattered one way or the other, it is what it is.

No matter who keeps score or generates the stats, there is some degree of bias. Bias isn’t necessarily bad though. Its when that bias is conscious that there’s problems.

quote:

Not that way in college, like any other game, home team keeps official stats, but the visitor keeps theirs as well. And it's not a parent. Regardless, I have seen stats favor the home team. Again, it is what it is.

Not that way in some colleges and maybe even most, but to say it never happens is just wrong. And what’s the difference between the way college teams keep official stats with the other team keeping their team’s stats, and HS teams doing it the same way?

quote:

We had an official scorer who had no player on the team that we paid for every home game. Because of that (not having a parent do it) we knew it was legit and not in anyone players favor. It cost us money but it prohibited parents from questioning him about scoring.

That sounds like me, other than I don’t’ get paid other than a leftover hotdog and a soda, and that I go to all the games, not just home games because having the players or a coach doing the away games makes the stats inconsistent and subject to being just as invalid as having some biased parent doing them.

quote:

The importance of stats HS IMO, is for county/state awards, other than that, no coach ever asked. PG's ranking and rating had more weight.

That’s your experience. I doubt seriously many recruiting coaches bother to ask players or their parents for stats, but neither players nor parents know what the coaches are asked, and in today’s world its fairly simple to find player stats online.

quote:

It is what it is.

That’s correct, and neither you nor I could possibly hope to be able to speak for every recruiter or scout. I’ve talked to many who say they never look at stats, and many who say they’re a great tool that helps them separate the wheat from the chaff.

zombywoof ,

Yours is a pretty typical way of thinking about the numbers, and its typically ignorant. Your assumption is that recruiters and scouts aren’t smart enough to know that stats at any level shouldn’t be used as the only basis on which to make decisions. But don’t ever kid yourself, they all use stats to some degree, just not the way you think they do.

SID stands for Sports Information Director at most colleges. The office handles public relations for the sports teams including statistics and therefore often does the scorekeeping.

Here's another example of HS stats and honors not meaning much. A pitcher from our league, which is considered one of the top leagues in the nation, was far and away the best pitcher in the league. He led the team to a CIF-SS championship at the top level. His stats were phenomenal to say the least as was his makeup. He was a sidearmer who didn't throw that hard but wasn't slow by any means. He ended up signing with a mid level DII school and then pulled out of that to go the JC route. He wasn't drafted and got little or no D1 interest. HS stats and honors, even at the highest level mean very little.

Sorry but the main stat a scout looks at for a pitcher is a radar gun reading. Another kid out of our league signed with a major D1 after playing JV as a junior and before ever playing varsity baseball. So much for HS stats.

No one asked about my son's HS stats until the SID needed info to fill out a bio for him. The same thing happened after he transferred to a JC and back to another D1. Not saying your experience will always be same as my son's.....

At my son's HS, the book was kept by one of the coaches in the dugout, and stats were never published anywhere until the end of the season.

I always had a general idea of what my son's numbers were, but nobody ever discussed stats. Not even the parents.

SID, right, sports information director.

Stats,
We've been over this so many times, it's ok if you place much importance on HS stats.

Baseball is a game of stats, so they are important, but after son going through HS, college and now at the pro level (where they now have all kinds of stats for everything you can imagine) the only stats that may have significance for HS, IMO maybe W-L, BA, ERA. I don't think anyone recruiting son asked or cared. The first time he was asked for stats was just as everyone else, by the SID for their biography.

Please tell us how scouts and coaches use stats at the HS level. Have you ever supplied stats to them?

Don't MLB scouts use their own set of stats?

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
Stats,
We've been over this so many times, it's ok if you place much importance on HS stats.

I’ve never placed MUCH importance on HS stats! All I’ve ever done is argue that they are not as many portray them as being totally useless.

quote:

Baseball is a game of stats, so they are important, but after son going through HS, college and now at the pro level (where they now have all kinds of stats for everything you can imagine) the only stats that may have significance for HS, IMO maybe W-L, BA, ERA. I don't think anyone recruiting son asked or cared. The first time he was asked for stats was just as everyone else, by the SID for their biography.

Like so many others, your narrow definition of statistics keeps you from understanding much more about the numbers than those pretty much worthless items you listed. A player’s height is a stat as are his birthday, weight, GPA, 40 time, what hand he throws with, and a gozillion other things.

quote:

Please tell us how scouts and coaches use stats at the HS level. Have you ever supplied stats to them?

I don’t pretend to know how ALL scouts everywhere use HS stats, but yes, I have on occasion supplied some pretty in depth numbers to them. But usually they grab them off of MaxPreps or the coach, and both of those sources get them from guess who?

quote:

Don't MLB scouts use their own set of stats?

And pray tell, where would they get that information?