I was getting ready to make a change to my program that I’ve contemplated for many years. That would be using pitcher and batter “handedness”. It might seem a little strange that someone who loves to mine data as much as I do wouldn’t have been tracking that all along, but every time I’ve begun making it possible, I’ve always talked myself out of it, and it looks like that’s happened again.
When I 1st began tracking game data, I was scoring LLI games. When I set up the stats and what I’d be tracking, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me to spend the time getting that info on every player. The reason wasn’t that it was meaningless data, but rather that even if the coaches had that data there wasn’t much they could do with it. In venues where the roster size is so small it isn’t realistic to carry players specifically to use in righty/lefty situations, it seems like a lot of work for nothing. In LLI where the “normal” team had 11-13 players seemed to fit that bill.
Up to HS it seems that was more the rule rather than the exception. Even in HS where there aren’t any limits on roster size, what’s “normal” is that there isn’t the depth of talent to warrant specialty players like I’m talking about. There might be enough players on the roster to make it possible, but it’s not very often a player who had made the regular starting team would be replaced just because of his “handedness”.
I know it sounds strange coming from me, but I honestly don't see any purpose for giving it any amount of thought. Maybe some helicopter parent who constantly brags about his children would want the splits for his perfect kids so he'd have another way to brag on them, but there's too many other things more important to consume mot people's time. 
Thoughts?
