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Do teams pay attention to these numbers? Have Sabermetrics found a true following in pro ball, or is it just "fun with numbers" for geeky fans?
Sabermetrics have definitely found a following in pro ball at least at the ML level especially when arbitration cases are argued or Scott Boras has one of his 75 page brochures of a key free agent printed up. Some of the stats discussed such as the pop up rate of Joey Votto are more "fun" than important. The fact that Derek Jeter is hitting in the .320's while setting new standards of ground ball hitting while not being all that speedy shows that he has been extrodinarily lucky on balls put in play. Knowing this with a younger player might lead a team to not give as much credit for a high batting average in contract negotiations.
Some teams don't pay enough attention apparently to sabermatic numbers that are screaming at them as the case of playing Jeff Francoeur while leaving monster hitter Will Myers with his .311/.389/.603 line along with 35 HRs in the minors illustrates. This kind of management is nothing new for the Royals and is just one reason they have losing season after losing season.
Some teams don't pay enough attention apparently to sabermatic numbers that are screaming at them as the case of playing Jeff Francoeur while leaving monster hitter Will Myers with his .311/.389/.603 line along with 35 HRs in the minors illustrates. This kind of management is nothing new for the Royals and is just one reason they have losing season after losing season.
quote:Originally posted by floridafan:
Do teams pay attention to these numbers? Have Sabermetrics found a true following in pro ball, or is it just "fun with numbers" for geeky fans?
Yes, some pay a lot of attention. Some teams draft on stats as well as promote on stats.
I thought that stats played a big role in draft selection until a few years ago when the number one pitcher (calculated by the Baseball Cube) in the Ivy League didn't get a glance.
Another surprise was a few years back three kids tied the high school home run record. The only one drafted was noticed because of a high profile player on his team. One signed on in college under an unsigned senior showcase.
I used to tell kids to play hard, put up high numbers and they will be rewarded. I can't tell them that anymore.
The one stat that seems to have the highest bearing on the major league draft today is who is related to whom.
Another surprise was a few years back three kids tied the high school home run record. The only one drafted was noticed because of a high profile player on his team. One signed on in college under an unsigned senior showcase.
I used to tell kids to play hard, put up high numbers and they will be rewarded. I can't tell them that anymore.
The one stat that seems to have the highest bearing on the major league draft today is who is related to whom.
quote:Originally posted by Three Bagger:
Sabermetrics have definitely found a following in pro ball at least at the ML level especially when arbitration cases are argued or Scott Boras has one of his 75 page brochures of a key free agent printed up. Some of the stats discussed such as the pop up rate of Joey Votto are more "fun" than important. The fact that Derek Jeter is hitting in the .320's while setting new standards of ground ball hitting while not being all that speedy shows that he has been extrodinarily lucky on balls put in play. Knowing this with a younger player might lead a team to not give as much credit for a high batting average in contract negotiations.
Some teams don't pay enough attention apparently to sabermatic numbers that are screaming at them as the case of playing Jeff Francoeur while leaving monster hitter Will Myers with his .311/.389/.603 line along with 35 HRs in the minors illustrates. This kind of management is nothing new for the Royals and is just one reason they have losing season after losing season.
Actually, that part about Jeter is wrong. His career average on balls in play is .355. This year's average on balls in play is .352. So no, he's not been "extraordinarily lucky." He's been doing it his entire career.
Also, I think the draft is a completely different argument. Teams draft based on projection and tools for the most part.
This is a ridiculous statement. It doesn't happen other than the last rounds of the draft where any player is unlikely to make it past A ball anyway. Please list all the players you believe were drafted in the first thirty-five rounds who are related to someone in baseball and shouldn't have been drafted. I'm using thirty rouonds since the draft was recently cut from sixty rounds to fifty and now forty. The friends and relatives used to be drafted in rounds 50-60.quote:The one stat that seems to have the highest bearing on the major league draft today is who is related to whom.
While it's true Jeter had high averages on balls in play throughout his career, he also wasn't near as much of a ground ball hitter as he is now. Actually no one is. In 2010, his batting average on balls in play was below .300 as he hit grounders at a rate second only to this season. I would be willing to be that he has a large decline in batting average next year if he continues to set new standards in ground ball hitting. Most of his career, he hit a lot of line drives and flyballs. I don't feel he'll be able to keep finding holes in the infield forever.
quote:Originally posted by Three Bagger:
While it's true Jeter had high averages on balls in play throughout his career, he also wasn't near as much of a ground ball hitter as he is now. Actually no one is. In 2010, his batting average on balls in play was below .300 as he hit grounders at a rate second only to this season. I would be willing to be that he has a large decline in batting average next year if he continues to set new standards in ground ball hitting. Most of his career, he hit a lot of line drives and flyballs. I don't feel he'll be able to keep finding holes in the infield forever.
His line-drive % this year is significantly higher than his career average. Highest since 2006, when he hit .344.
So he's hitting more line drives than usual, and less fly balls than usual. For a guy with not a lot of power, that sounds like a formula for success, not failure.