By Dalton Del Don – Senior Writer
I was talking with a couple of Giants fans the other day, and it occurred to me just how oblivious the average baseball fan can be. One of these guys watches San Francisco play every single night yet had never heard the term OPS. When I described the statistic to him, he responded with, “I don’t like that stat because it punishes the little guy.” Well, he’s right, but that’s because the little guy just isn’t very valuable in real baseball. While stats like OPS could do a better job of incorporating stolen bases – they can’t be completely ignored – far too many teams, let alone casual fans, view the speedy leadoff types with too much fever.
My fellow Giants fan went on saying how much he missed Mike Matheny, because he was a “gamer” and a “great team and locker room guy.” I couldn’t change this guy’s opinion, as the false notion of team chemistry clearly outweighed the lifetime .637 OPS. Now, defense and the ability to handle a pitching staff need to be accounted for, but whether the person is likeable or not shouldn’t be. In an ideal world, players wouldn’t be threatening the lives of their wife and kids, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t sign Barry Bonds purely because he’s a prick.
It’s no coincidence winning teams often deemphasize stolen bases. This happens not necessarily because the coach rarely gives the green light in fear of giving up an out, but rather because the roster is devoid of the “gritty speedster” who is such a good locker room guy. Steals can wreak havoc and effectively distract a pitcher on the mound, but employing a poor on-base guy simply because he’s fast happens far too frequently (see: Duffy, Chris). There’s some evidence to back up these claims that fly in the face of traditionalists: the teams with the three best OBPs this year – Boston (.363), Cleveland (.361) and the Mets (.349) also just happen to have the three best records in baseball.
I guess I shouldn’t chastise the casual fan when the media is as guilty as anyone else, continuously rewarding players with MVP trophies based on the most unimportant criteria. It happened last year with Ryan Howard and Justin Morneau, with RBI totals apparently the deciding factor. And it happens almost every year with pitchers, as win totals often decide the Cy Young winner, with the second worst depiction of pitching, ERA, being the next factor. I don’t know about you, but I like to use stats that the player had more control over when evaluating their performance.
So the next time you hear someone say “he plays the game right” (think Joe Morgan), do me a favor and slap them across the face. We need to move past anecdotal baseball and into an era of the informed. Please join me in the cause.
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