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Recently, subjective vs objective stats came up and it got me thinking about something I’ve done some years now, where I list baseball hitting and pitching stats that are objective rather than subjective. I suppose I ought to define what I see as an objective statistic so there won’t be confusion. Remember, this is MY definition.

 

An objective statistic comes from data points that aren’t affected by scorer interpretation. FI, a run scored. Yes, there are times when there could be an argument as to whether or not a run scored, but that’s not up to the scorer. Its an umpire function. Same with a BB or a K. Yes, there may be a question about the umpire’s judgment, but it makes no difference to the scorer. S/he has to record what the umpire has judged to have happened. Those things are different than a hit or an error which are(or should be) completely up to the judgment of the scorer, making everything that comes from them like BA or ERA subject to be affected by the scorer’s judgment.

 

What’s the difference? It depends. Every coach makes decisions based on metrics of some sort. Whether its choosing who will be on the roster, setting a lineup, choosing who plays what position, who pitches, who gets a green light on the bases, or any of a hundred other things, its metrics that are the basis for making administrative decisions, whether the administrator realizes it or not.

 

Some believe a coach can watch players, say catchers, and make a determination about which one is the superior blocker without having someone actually count them. That sounds logical, but no matter what anyone believes, even though there’s no formal count being done, in the coach’s head there’s some kind of accounting going on. The only real difference is, one is a perceived count and the other is an actual count. The perceived count and the actual count will “normally” be the same at the time the play takes place, but the more time passes, the wider the gap between the two will become. The reason is, the actual count will never change, but the perceived count will change because events will affect how it is remembered.

 

The following are the stats I’ve come up with that I believe are objective within the above definition. Are there others? BTW, I used HRs because all the HRs I’ve seen at the level I score, have gone over a fence, leaving out all judgment other than the umpire’s. Does anyone have any other OBJECTIVE stats or question any of those listed?

 

http://www.infosports.com/scor...mages/objbatting.pdf

 

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