Stats Defined

Nothing annoys me more than
sports analysts and sports writers who continuously use the most
overrated stats in baseball to judge players, like Batting Average
(BA), Home Runs (HR), Runs Batted In (RBI), Wins (W), and so on. So, in
this blog I will use a different approach to judge baseball players.
Some of you might consider this a form of, if not just simply, Sabermetrics.

This
post is intended as sort of a prologue, an introduction of stats that I
feel you should know now in order to understand future posts. As I
continue to post, some other stats may arise that might seem new to
you. That’s a good thing. This blog is intended to make you think
objectively and outside of the box instead of echoing the thoughts of
some baseball analyst on SportsCenter or the idiocy of some columnist
in the daily newspaper.

Though
I can make no promises, I will try to, at the end of each month, post a
blog defining any stats I may have used that are not discussed here.  I
will try, however, to keep my analyzing as simple as possible.  For
now, I feel you should know the following stats:

On-base Percentage (OBP)-
(H + BB + HBP) divided by (AB + BB + HBP + SF). As opposed to Batting
Average (BA), this stat measures how many times a batter gets on base
in general, instead of just how many times a batter gets on base via
the hit (H). While a good BA should be around .300, a good OBP should
be around .400.

Slugging Percentage (SLG)-
Total bases (TB) divided by at bats (AB). As opposed to Home Runs (HR),
which is a very respectable stat, and Runs Batted In (RBI), this is the
truest measure of a players power. A good SLG should be around .500.

On-base Plus Slugging (OPS)-
OBP + SLG. Obviously, this stat measures a players ability to get on
base and hit for power. If you refuse to look at any other stat, this
stat tells all. A great player will score around 1.000.

Value Over Replacement Player (VORP)- The
number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player at
the same position would contribute if given the same percentage of team
plate appearances. VORP scores do not consider the quality of a
player’s defense.

Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP)-
W+H divided by IP. While for a hitter OBP measures how many times a
batter gets on base, WHIP measures a pitcher’s ability to keep hitters
off base.

Next time, when watching a baseball game try to
replace BA, RBI, and HR with OBP and SLG and for a pitcher replace W,
L, and ERA with WHIP. I guarantee that you will be able to pick out the
boys from the men.

I hope this blog will be as enjoyable for you
to read as it is for me to write. And I certainly hope that my
arguments for or against players will inspire some good bar and coffee
shop talk for the future.