Monday, January 30, 2006

Let's get some things straight

Ok everyone, this is pretty much the post to help all posts in the future. Here I will be explaining some of the key terms of baseball writing in today's day and age. Since forever, baseball historians and statisticians have been trying to come up with ways to judge a player's performance on the field. First came the basic stats: Batting average(BA), runs-batted-in(RBI), keeping track of homeruns(HR) for hitters... For pitchers: Earned run average(ERA), and win/loss record's were the original stats.

However, nowadays is a little different, and here is why: In the past, as technology has gone up, so has the need to for better knowledge, and in the sport of baseball, that is no different. Reading scouting reports and stat-sheets in today's age can be as difficult as a three-year-old child trying to read transcripts of the Nuremburg Trials... it just isn't easy. VORP, PECOTA and pythagorean win expectancy; they all are out there, as goofy as they sound. However, reading the next few portions of this blog should bring you up to date.

VORP- Value Over Replacement Player, or, VORP, is one of the most common uses to determine how valuable a player is to his team. When it refers to "Replacement Player" the theory is taking in to account how a minor league player without any experience in the majors would fare. Examples are always good, so here is one: Albert Pujols, one of the best players in the National League has a VORP of 98.8 which is to say Pujols would create about 99 more runs than a minor league replacement, in the same number of at-bats.

PECOTA- One of the greatest inventions of baseball statisticians is PECOTA. PECOTA is a system that combines every imaginable factor into one simple translation of talent. Each year around late-January, the PECOTA rankings are released. These rankings attempt to predict how a player will perform in the upcoming season. Along with the predictions, PECOTA also attempts to show the reader who the player compares to in baseball history in terms of talent, age, and other factors.

Pythagenport- Also known as Pythagorean Win Expectancy Percentage, Pythagenport is a way to show if a team is playing over or under their talent in regards to how many games they have won. With a complex mathematical equation (I will spare you the details, but lets just say, its complicated.) the statisticians that put out this number can decide what a team's record should be by looking at many factors, but most importantly, runs scored for their team, and runs scored against their team. The greater differential between the two (in a positive way) the better the PWE% will be.

So those are the major components that I will be using throughout the duration of this blog, if anymore terms come up that are essential for use, I will explain them as need be. Enjoy!

--Mr. Mariner

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