Stat-Head - Stats All Around Us!

What is the obsession with stats to the baseball fan?  I think baseball fans like stats because the stat paints a picture or tells a story.  Let's take a  look at a simple stat like batting average.  In 2011 Jacoby Ellsbury hit .321.  That will tell us that he got a hit 3.21 times out of every 10 at bats.   When fans look at .321 they see that ratio.  They also see a frame of reference.  .300 or above is very good.  Below .280 is average (actually .272 was the MLB average for BA in 2011).  Below .250 is considered pretty bad.  When we look at stats in this blog I'll try to "paint that picture" and also give you a good frame of reference by providing the MLB averages, leaders and bottom dwellers of that stat.  I'll also show you where on the inter-webs  you can find this stat.

I'll create a handy dandy stat-reference that will have all of my favorite stats with the description, leader, MLB avg and formula.

 

There is a plethora (it's on my word of the day calendar) of stats out there.  It's mind-boggling how many stats there are. If you look on fangraphs or baseball-reference you'll see what I'm talking about.  Out of the four big sites - baseball-reference.com, fangraphs.com, baseballhq.com and baseballprospectus.com there are over 200 stats - and that's with eliminating duplicates and like-stats between sites.  Some of these stats aren't even  called stats.  They're called "systems".

 
All of these stats can be a little overwhelming.  In this blog, I'll take a stat or two every once in a while and analyze them.  If you're of the breed that just likes his/her batting average, RBI's, ERA etc, then so be it.  Who am I to sway you otherwise?  I'm a firm believer that watching baseball and comparing players is a personal preference.  Do it your way!  But, on the other hand if you want to get into some of the newer and more complex stats then join me in my journey.  It will be fun.

In some upcoming blog-entries about stats I'll write about what some pundits are calling "bogus" stats and in another - OBP, SLG and wOBA

Thanks for reading

-Tom