Baseball Purity: A Thing of the Past
In this new era of baseball, it seems as though the purity and romanticism of the game have taken a backseat to the “corporate” approach of sabermetrics and statistical projections.
Baseball is so complex and intricate; It’s so easy to get lost in the details. As incredible as it is to produce and analyze data to an almost microscopic degree, the “intangibles” of baseball are what make this classic game so historically loved.
It’s a mistake to consider these players as only statistics – Proudly wearing the names of our favorite teams to play the greatest game of all time – It takes away from the sentiment. They are so much more than WAR. Analyzing the game of baseball through only numbers diminishes the value of what it means to you entirely.
Are You a Fan of the Game – Or Just Sabermetrics?
As a “contributor” and not just a spectator, it’s evident to me now more than ever just how emphasized sabermetrics are in baseball today. Bill James, the founder of sabermetrics (and “godfather of modern baseball analytics”) agrees that the extreme focus on the smallest measurements has made the game more difficult to watch. Speaking of using analytics as a supplementary approach,
“My goal in starting sabermetrics was to use measurement and logic to address basic, large-scale issues about baseball and sports.” “Why do teams win? What are the characteristics of a winning team? How are runs created? What elements of an offense are most important,” “What is the aging curve? When is a player’s prime? What types of players (and what types of skills) age well? What is a player’s economic value? Why do franchises succeed or fail? What is the relative importance of the draft vs. trades vs. payroll?”
My goal in starting sabermetrics was to use measurement and logic to address basic, large-scale issues about baseball and sports. Why do teams win? What are the characteristics of a winning team? How are runs created? What elements of an offense are most important?
— Bill James Online (@billjamesonline) July 2, 2024
“The vast proliferation of (and fascination with) small measurements (exit velocity, pitch counts, pitch movement, launch angle, etc.) represents not the success of sabermetrics, but its failure. We have fallen back into details. It is like our clothes have been caught in the machinery,” James wrote.
I’ve come to realize in this particular offseason with fans of all teams stating their cases as to why they feel their favorite organization should or shouldn’t pursue certain free agents or trade targets with veteran-scout-level statistical reasoning; and that we’ve strayed from highlighting championships and individual awards won to comparing scoop percentages. Even weirder, fans of a particular team feeling the need to “rationalize” the loss of a generational-talent to free agency, and having to mathematically “make up” in the “loss of WAR” with three additional sub-par/past-their-prime players – Which is a little bit sad.
The Downfall of Baseball Romanticism
Especially with an “emotional” view on baseball, I feel like a cut-and-dry, “look at the stats” behind all reasoning with respect to players and the game itself makes it too easy to let go of why we love baseball so much. Only comparing and “shopping” players based on stats beyond the “he gets on base” of it all leaves out the value of class, chemistry, idolization, and leadership. Where’s the analytical data on a team’s performance when every fan in the park flips their cap inside out if they’re trailing in the 7th inning or lower? It’s like a downfall of the romanticism of the game. No kid in any neighborhood has ever said to their buddies while playing wiffle ball in the street that they wanted to grow up to have “more WAR” than any player, ever. To take FanGraphs as the be-all end-all – Comparing percentiles and projections thinking that’s what the principles of “Moneyball” are solely founded on is hypocrisy.
When you’re spending more time clicking through FanGraphs than you do at the ballpark, you’re adding degrees of separation from the game.
Baseball is a “love at first sight” kind of thing, you really don’t need all the numbers to hold it so close to your heart. If anything, being caught up in data makes it too easy to forget what it’s like to enjoy or even play baseball.
Let the analysts, the executives and coaching staff, the trainers, and the players determine the value of things through numbers.
“I Don’t Believe in Quantum Physics When it Comes to Matters of the Heart”
Ballparks are places of worship – You can’t really measure heart with analytical data. Sure, you could consider me a baseball “purist” by today’s standards – I like to think I have a philosophical view on the game of baseball like that of Bull Durham’s Crash Davis.
Like “the hanging curveball,” and a “Constitutional Amendment outlawing astroturf and the designated hitter” – There are things I wholeheartedly believe in when it comes to baseball, and certainly baseball etiquette:
I believe in the underdog – And that “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” is to be sung with your arms around those beside you. I believe that MVPs should play both sides of the game [offense and defense]. I believe in clapping and cheering when your team is winning and continuing to cheer when they’re struggling or even losing. I believe you shouldn’t ever boo your favorite team, and certainly not in their own park. I believe in crackerjacks, rally caps, and $2 hot dogs. I believe a homegrown star-player staying with their team throughout their entire career.
I believe in the magic and purity of the game of baseball.
— Gab (@gabrauc) October 21, 2024
