MLB: Are advanced metrics ruining baseball?

[Rabbuk]

Really? In what way?

The prevalence

 

[runbikeswim]

I think baseball dug its own grave with some of the issues brought up here.

If I can bring up two related to the size/shape of ballparks...

Over the past century, major league stadiums have progressive acquired shorter fences, less "weirdness" and idiosyncrasies in their outfield configurations, fewer unique nooks and crannies, and less and less foul space in-play behind home plate.

The upshot of this?

.....

I always disliked that the Royals shortened their field. They used to play to that strength with speed, both in the outfield, and at the plate. Nothing was more exciting than watching Willie Wilson hit an in the park home run. And all the doubles, triples, etc...George Brett --- talk about players that could place the ball when they hit.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I always disliked that the Royals shortened their field. They used to play to that strength with speed, both in the outfield, and at the plate. Nothing was more exciting than watching Willie Wilson hit an in the park home run. And all the doubles, triples, etc...George Brett --- talk about players that could place the ball when they hit.

Yep. Sounds like a lot of exciting plays there.

Why screw around with all that when it is so much easier to swing for the fences and fouls go into the stands instead of being caught behind home plate or in front of a dugout?

 

[runbikeswim]

I guess I always thought MLB hitters were so good that was why we didn't see shifts, because I grew up watching them in softball so much. Infield shifts, shortstops dropping to shallow left, right fielders playing right behind second....Maybe of course, hitters now focus so much on home runs, and not placing the ball as much, that it is more feasible and relevant now.

Heck, I remember a lot more strategy in baseball too, weakest outfielder plays left, what if the right field wall is the closest/shortest?

Remember how we used to have a lot more switch hitters?

I think one of the best things MLB could do, is limit the number of pitchers a team can use in a game, unless injury.

 

[Cydkar]

I think being long and boring is ruining baseball.

 

[MK24Cy]

Long time lurker, first time poster...Advanced metrics are hurting baseball from the standpoint that scouting has been turned on it's head. For position players, scouts are looking at speed, athleticism, exit velocity, etc. because defense and home runs have become much more valuable in their minds and being able to make consistent contact and bat .400 doesn't matter if you aren't fast or strong enough. Kyler Murray was a top 10 pick and he hit .296 with a metal bat at Oklahoma last year. Guys that bat .300 at Triple A have a hard time hitting .250 at the major league level so how do you expect someone that can't even hit .300 in college to become a prolific hitter? You've got guys like Billy Hamilton being coveted as prospects and I think half my college teammates had a better swing than he currently does. Unfortunately this shift in scouting permeates down to the college and high school level and instead of developing a swing that allows you to spray the ball to all fields and hit for average, kids don't care if they strikeout and just go to the plate swinging for the fences, so the lack of "small ball" is only going to get worse as batting average and other traditional stats become more devalued.

 

[heitclone]

It's not the stats like WAR or ORtg that kill it for me. It's the analytics that leads to the in-game decision making. I don't watch baseball hardly at all anymore, but there's little variation in strategy outside pitcher/hitter battle. Manager's are pretty much out there to wear their uniforms and do what their analytics department tells them is optimal. Prospects are ranked on exit velocity and launch angles, not dingers.

Basketball is moving the same way into a very controlled environment where teams stick guys in the corners and try to turn it into an optimal two or three man game.

My suggestion is to create a sport where the parameters are constantly changing. A basketball court where the dimensions are a changing, where point values are changing. Keep the teams on their toes and make them play a variety of styles.

Kids nowadays like watching people play video games rather than baseball. I don't think it's because the kids are stupid, it's because they're smart. They are watching more complex things than we did as children.

Then why aren't they watching the most complex sport? Baseball changes every pitch, out , run, inning etc...I think its too complicated for the casual sports fan. Most don't think about the strategy that went in to each pitch or how every ball and strike influences the next pitch, it changes the hitters approach, fielders adjust, base runners adjust, its a game that is constantly changing. There are hundreds of at bats over several years that could be influencing all of those factors and all of those factors can be completely different for the next batter. It can be overwhelming for some people, they can't really grasp all of it. So they think its boring.