Dodgers Struggle With Advanced Analytics
The Los Angeles Dodgers are 97-54 on the year. They have already clinched the NL West, hold the potential NL MVP on the roster in Cody Bellinger, and could be on track to win the World Series for the first time since 1988.
The team has been very successful this year, but be careful not to attribute any of their accolades to the players’ knowledge of a handful of advanced analytics as displayed on ESPN.
I loathe ESPN’s coverage on principle but this… THIS is good. More of this. pic.twitter.com/fL9Ny5YYlC
— Jess ????????????????? (@seawitched) September 15, 2019
FIP? Nope. WOA? Guess again. WRCPlus? Not a chance.
For ESPN’s coverage of Sunday Night Baseball, both Dodgers and Mets players were asked what these terms stand for in terms on advanced stats.
When asked what each of these acronyms stood for, Kenley Jansen, Cody Bellinger, Max Muncy, and Kiké Hernandez all generally struck out along with other New York Mets players.
Got no clue. — Jansen when asked what FIP means.
Amongst the players in this video, Walker Buehler was lone Dodger who quite easily named each statistic.
Some of the better attempts came from Hernandez who at one point sheepishly responded with…
Whatever Walker said. — when defining wRC+
…And his response to WOBA…
I know it’s ‘Weighted On-Base Average,’ but I don’t even know what it means — I just know it’s really important for arbitration.
So there it is. It’s apparently not necessary for the players to know these advanced statistics in order to lead the NL.
After watching that video, can you name each one? Let us know below!
Only acronym I care about is WS!
When you don’t play pro sports, you play fantasy sports. Reality sometimes gets in the way of fantasy, and that’s why the Dodgers lost in 2017. Have they learned?
You don’t need a weatherman, to know which way the wind blows.
The only analytics, advanced or otherwise, I care about are who reaches the number 4 first in the 2019 World Series. Some of these acronyms are so off the wall as to be comical. Go Blue!!!
I like all the “xxx+” stats, where the “plus” relates a statistic to the league average — set to 100. so an “ERA+” of 120 is 20% above average, and 80 is 20% below average; same with OPS+. “FIP” adjusts an “ERA+” to account for the fielding prowess of a team. I like “WAR” a lot less, as it is the most challenging to figure out — but it does somehow include defense + offense.
Off topic, but why do the Dodgers allow YouTube to broadcast any of their games?
The not too smart Scott Braun may be the worst announcer there is and the picture quality is horrible, when the feed doesn’t cut out.