What are some of baseball's dumbest aphorisms? Let us educate ourselves: RBI
OK, it’s been several decades since the RBI statistic was completely discredited, yet it’s still being used by the members of the media and many fans.
Listen up people, an RBI is the product of the people around the hitter who gets the RBI. The hitter has no control over whether there are people on base or not when they have plate appearances. Let’s use OPS instead, it’s simple, it’s intuitive, and it actually correlates to run production.
“Speed never takes a day off”
Fair enough, but even when speed is working hard, it’s barely making any impact on the result of the game. Yes, a stolen base has value. Unfortunately, getting caught trying to steal a base once will wipe out the gains from successfully stealing two bases.
OPS, which has nothing to do with baserunning, predicts the number of runs a team will score with 96% accuracy.
“Innings eater”
Anyone can eat innings, if you don’t care about results. Even in home run derbies, guys will miss balls. There are hundreds of competent Triple-A pitchers who could fill the role of “innings eater.” We should be interested in the quality of the innings, not the quantity.
“He’s a Clutch Hitter”
The clutch hitter belongs in the same category as UFOs and Bigfoot. The burden of proof is on those claiming it exists. Simply saying someone is a clutch hitter based on a small sample size of at-bats doesn’t meet the requirement. Sabermetricians have been searching for the beast “Clutch Hitter” for a long time and have yet to find it.
“Force the defense to make the play”
The most precious thing a team has in a baseball games are its outs. A team is given 27 outs to score as many runs as it possibly can. Sacrificing those outs in an act of bravado is stupid. Only late in close games should you be willing to risk outs trying to gain an extra base.
“He Handles the bat well”
You know what, I don’t care how someone handles there bat, can they hit?
“Get your cuts”
This normally said to someone as an encouragement when they’re hitting. Well, I don’t want to see my guy flailing away at the plate “getting their cuts.” A disciplined approach at the plate should be what is encouraged, though yelling “plate discipline” doesn’t have quite the ring to it.
“Pitch him high and tight, then low and away”
Pitching is about deception. A pitcher is there to try to fool a batter. A batter who is fooled generally doesn’t hit well. Unfortunately, pitching someone high and tight doesn’t fool anyone. Pitchers who are effective generally have great breaking stuff which entices batters to swing as the ball takes a dive out of the strike zone.
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3 months ago
Great article, great picture.
Only quibble I've got is the last one; generally, working the four corners of the zone is a good idea. Yeah, maybe not in such a predictable fashion, but compared to "clutch hitting" it's sure valid.
2 months ago
i do love speed, but overall i have to agree that these cliches need to go.
Also, my old baseball coach would always say "Hum Now..." over and over again followed by a player's name as a sort of encouragement. I know it's not normal, but if anyone out there is still saying that (I'm sure my coach is) they should really stop.
I've always hated the term "innings eater" for the reasons you state above, and whenever someone says "He handles the bat well," it makes me think of one of those girl baton-twirlers in college marching bands.
2 months ago
This article is completely wrong. These sayings are true and helpful, and cause games and championships to be won and lost. I'll go through each one and give examples
"Speed never takes a day off" - having fast players is important, although they can get thrown out, getting a stolen base in a clutch moment can determine a win or a loss. For instance, if there are two outs and a runner on first, the possibility of getting two base hits is very unlikely, so make the runner at first steal second. Now the percentages go up that the runner will score. Like everything stealing a base has a risk, but in percentage baseball a runner closer to home means they are more likely to score which is important.
"Innings Eater" - these guys are important to a team. They come in get the job done, but are never going to be stars. They do a decent job, keep the team in games, do not blow opportunities, and many teams need them. The reason why they are in the Bigs and all those guys in triple-A are not is because the guys in triple-A probably can not come in there and be consistent. Innings eaters live off consistency.
"He's a clutch Hitter" - although your idol, Sabermetricians can not find the clutch hitter, it does not mean they do not exist. Its the guy who is hitting over .350 with runners in scoring position, its the guy who comes up to bat with the game on the the line in the playoffs and delivers over and over again. sure he fails, everyone fails, baseball is failure. But then you got guys like Mr. October. OK fine you are right he is not a clutch hitter. I mean its not like he was a machine in the playoffs or anything.
"Force the defense to make a play" - This is one of the most true statements in all of baseball. If the defense has to make a play there is more of a chance for an error. It is not dealing with taking an extra base, but not striking out. You want to put the ball in play to force the defense to make an out rather than strike out. Again this is percentage baseball, if you strike out, there is no way of getting on base. Put the ball in play and you can still get on base no matter how bad the hit is , there is a chance.
"He handles the bat well" - Dude handling the bat well means he can hit. He can hit anywhere. He can pull, slap, lay down a bunt, hit and run, sac fly, all when he needs to. An example is David Eckstine, who one day in batting practice at spring training told his hitting coach, "I will hit five ground balls in the four hole." (that is the whole between where the second baseman plays and the first baseman plays) and he did it. He then said, " I will hit five line drives over the second base." and he did it. he handles the bat well
"Get your cuts" - It means do not just watch the ball. It does not mean flail at the ball, but do not just stand there and watch it. Again it is percentage baseball to swing and put the ball in play.
"pitch him high and tight, then low and away" - have you ever watched a baseball game? I am a pitcher and we practice setting guys up for strike outs. Some go as follows Fastball up and in, breaking ball low and away. Fastball up and in, change up low and away. If you watch any major league game you see people moving in and out, up and down, fast and slow, because that is how you pitch. Up and in even gets people to swing and miss.
Here is a hint, play baseball past high school before you decide to talk bad about sayings that are true when you really understand the meanings behind them. They are not wrong you just do not know what they mean. Baseball is a lot of statistics and percentages behind how to play, but as these saying show there is a lot more to baseball than Sabermetricians. I've talked to big leaguers, pro scouts, former pro-managers, college coaches, and college players. They all use these terms because they are true.
from 2 months ago
Adversus solem ne loquitor
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