Reducing players to their WAR is dehumanizing, stupid and bad. These are HUMAN BEINGS. Stop treating them like numbers.
Player A: .281/.359/.444 17 HR 68 RBI 9 SB 69 R 5.12 WAR
Player B: .313/.353/.459 15 HR 66 RBI 38 SB 86 R 4.49 WAR
Going by the analytics, it seems pretty obvious that Player A is the better of the two players, which is exactly why analytics are killing the game. You see, Player A is 2015 Logan Forsythe while Player B is 2015 Jose Altuve. I do not think there is a single GM in the game who would rather have Forsythe than Altuve (no offense to Logan, but be real here people).
Player A: .263/.298/.420 10 HR 40 RBI 18 SB 62 R 7.38 WAR
Player B: .250/.377/.536 40 HR 114 RBI 8 SB 108 R 5.09 WAR
In this example (both players with right around 500 AB’s BTW), Player A is more than two games better than Player B in WAR. By all rights, there is no way you should want Player B over Player A. That is of course until I tell you that Player A is Kevin Kiermaier while Player B is Jose Bautista. Now tell me which one you would rather have?
Player A: 13-8 3.32 ERA 1.08 WHIP 147 K’s 50 BB 5.62 WAR
Player B: 16-6 2.62 ERA 1.20 WHIP 118 K’s 45 BB 4.38 WAR
These stats are taken from the 2002 season, and it seems pretty obvious that Player A should be the pitcher you want, I mean his WAR is almost 1.5 games higher than Player B. According to all those great Sabermetricians, there is no question who is the better pitcher. That is until you find out that Player A is the ageless wonder Jamie Moyer and Player B is Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. All of a sudden, Player A doesn’t seem so appealing does he?
I'll never understand this "all or nothing" attitude people have toward sabremetrics. Yes, they're useful in evaluating talent. Yes, they don't tell the whole story regarding intangibles. They're not the be all/end all, and they're not garbage.
Nobody cares about WAR as a Baseball statistic. Makes No sense and it's very very difficult to explain to fans who watch the games. This absolutely ridiculous. The fan today of the modern era is smart enough to know when they watch a ball player play the game, they know how to separate the good players from the Great players. You don't need subjective methodology like WAR to determine if a player id a great player. Its stupid
I totally understand Chris Russo, Brain Kenny , stop with the Stupid stats. The common fan doent care about the stupid stats you come up with. Watch the Games
Kenny was a big WAR idiot from Day One and he can't afford to back down regardless of the facts.
I assume everyone here is smart enough to recognize that WAR is a random BS number ultimately based on guesswork that probably shouldn't even be dignified by being called a "statistic."
The thing the Kennys of the world don't realize is that their micro numbers are often pretty accurately reflected in the larger, more traditional statistics. It's fine to have your splits, breakdowns, etc., for the situational stuff, but do I need to know a guy's OPS (I know, not really that esoteric, but fine for this example) to know that his 40 HR, 120 RBI and .320 AVG make him a guy I'd likely want hitting 3-5?
I love the comments. Russo is taking heat for being ignorant, while Kenny is the perfect example of the dumb person's smart guy. WAR is ridiculous, based on guesses and is deduced in many different ways. Friends don't let friends be as dumb as Kenny.
War is a stat designed by ppl who refuse common logic. A 300 hitter 100 years ago and a 300 hitter today ate comparable. Give me hr, rbi, avg, ops…..war is shite
20 Comments
Chris Russo has his gig because of his antics. His knowledge is average at best
Reducing players to their WAR is dehumanizing, stupid and bad.
These are HUMAN BEINGS. Stop treating them like numbers.
Player A: .281/.359/.444 17 HR 68 RBI 9 SB 69 R 5.12 WAR
Player B: .313/.353/.459 15 HR 66 RBI 38 SB 86 R 4.49 WAR
Going by the analytics, it seems pretty obvious that Player A is the better of the two players, which is exactly why analytics are killing the game.
You see, Player A is 2015 Logan Forsythe while Player B is 2015 Jose Altuve.
I do not think there is a single GM in the game who would rather have Forsythe than Altuve (no offense to Logan, but be real here people).
Player A: .263/.298/.420 10 HR 40 RBI 18 SB 62 R 7.38 WAR
Player B: .250/.377/.536 40 HR 114 RBI 8 SB 108 R 5.09 WAR
In this example (both players with right around 500 AB’s BTW), Player A is more than two games better than Player B in WAR.
By all rights, there is no way you should want Player B over Player A.
That is of course until I tell you that Player A is Kevin Kiermaier while Player B is Jose Bautista.
Now tell me which one you would rather have?
Player A: 13-8 3.32 ERA 1.08 WHIP 147 K’s 50 BB 5.62 WAR
Player B: 16-6 2.62 ERA 1.20 WHIP 118 K’s 45 BB 4.38 WAR
These stats are taken from the 2002 season, and it seems pretty obvious that Player A should be the pitcher you want, I mean his WAR is almost 1.5 games higher than Player B.
According to all those great Sabermetricians, there is no question who is the better pitcher.
That is until you find out that Player A is the ageless wonder Jamie Moyer and Player B is Hall of Famer Greg Maddux.
All of a sudden, Player A doesn’t seem so appealing does he?
Analytics is killing the game.
WAR is the QB Rating (where a Tony Romo is better than a Dan Marino) of MLB.
I'll never understand this "all or nothing" attitude people have toward sabremetrics. Yes, they're useful in evaluating talent. Yes, they don't tell the whole story regarding intangibles. They're not the be all/end all, and they're not garbage.
Carlos Beltran is a hall of famer.
Cabrera over Trout? 2014 was a very different world.
Mad dogs hall of fame consists of 6 guys who died before he was born!
Nobody cares about WAR as a Baseball statistic. Makes No sense and it's very very difficult to explain to fans who watch the games. This absolutely ridiculous. The fan today of the modern era is smart enough to know when they watch a ball player play the game, they know how to separate the good players from the Great players. You don't need subjective methodology like WAR to determine if a player id a great player. Its stupid
I totally understand Chris Russo, Brain Kenny , stop with the Stupid stats. The common fan doent care about the stupid stats you come up with. Watch the Games
This doesn't age well for Mad Dog
Kenny was a big WAR idiot from Day One and he can't afford to back down regardless of the facts.
I assume everyone here is smart enough to recognize that WAR is a random BS number ultimately based on guesswork that probably shouldn't even be dignified by being called a "statistic."
The thing the Kennys of the world don't realize is that their micro numbers are often pretty accurately reflected in the larger, more traditional statistics. It's fine to have your splits, breakdowns, etc., for the situational stuff, but do I need to know a guy's OPS (I know, not really that esoteric, but fine for this example) to know that his 40 HR, 120 RBI and .320 AVG make him a guy I'd likely want hitting 3-5?
I love the comments. Russo is taking heat for being ignorant, while Kenny is the perfect example of the dumb person's smart guy. WAR is ridiculous, based on guesses and is deduced in many different ways. Friends don't let friends be as dumb as Kenny.
This really was First Take (2016-21) before First Take (2016-21)
Ricky Henderson was a really good center fielder
5:24 LMAO
How Do You Calculate Wins Above Replacement???…Just Curious…I Like Statistics That I Can Actually Calculate!!!
Lol Beltran. Dude rigged the game in every possible way. Foh with Beltran.
Mad Dog is the Lewis Black of baseball
War is a stat designed by ppl who refuse common logic. A 300 hitter 100 years ago and a 300 hitter today ate comparable. Give me hr, rbi, avg, ops…..war is shite
I love russo but he's so irritating