AnalyticMerchant

How data shapes the game

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@uncle_mafell @FoolishBB @AndThatsBB This is referring strictly to stuff, not command.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@FoolishBB @AndThatsBB The problem with this is many aren’t capable of this. The faster your stuff is, the better. When a guy has mediocre stuff at his best, that then becomes below average. Hitters today ambush pitchers when they don’t have their best stuff, so this would impact pitcher performance.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@under2catching Because those guys wanted to fight. Dibble, Clemens, Ryan, Gibson, and more intentionally picked fights. Back then, that’s intimidating. Now, it’s frustrating. Pitchers can’t afford to give up free bases cause hitters capitalize, so they attack hitters in zone, not their heads.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@under2catching Tyler Philips, Alex Vesia, Chase Burns to name a few. I don’t agree with the jerk part, but they’re a little crazy. Just cause guys don’t head hunt anymore doesn’t mean they let hitters “punk them”.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@C_R_Enn Can’t go on a losing skid nowadays

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

This dude would genuinely vaporize any hitter in history. Doesn’t matter if it’s Bonds, Williams, even Gwynn. Best pitcher ever.

[Codify @CodifyBaseball]

Jacob Misiorowski threw 66 fastballs today. All of them were over 100 MPH and the average velo was 102.8 MPH.

AND LOOK WHERE THEY WERE

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

Why did guys do this back then? Clemens throwing the broken bat at Piazza, pitchers headhunting, frequent scuffles on field. People call it “killer mindset”, I call it immature, unnecessary, and reprimandable. Stop justifying this behavior as “competitiveness”.

[Codify @CodifyBaseball]

ROB DIBBLE WAS AN ASSASSIN

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

I have a big problem w/ what Harold is saying: he makes these claims that “the eye test is the best evaluator” but came up in an era where Mike Piazza and John Smoltz were super late/overlooked picks. Analytics is our second set of eyes that see the things we can’t.

[Perk @CoachPerk]

Harold Reynolds on “Analytics and the Death of the Eye Test” from @atsbaseball_ (All The Smoke Baseball).

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@batcluberik Absolutely. There are people all the way on the analytic side of the spectrum that see players as just numbers, but they’re not. Everything has a bit of nuance, it just takes a little investigation to see what numbers can and can’t capture.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@batcluberik It’s a good way to understand how much a player brings to the team when on the field. Not perfect, but definitely more encompassing than BA or ERA.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@batcluberik Actually many people don’t see WAR as perfect, b/c it’s not. It doesn’t take factor in situational baseball (moving runners over to get in scoring position) and it can’t evaluate intangibles like leadership. It’s used as a rudimentary number to show a players on-field production.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@VandyonTigers Also, the website explains the adjustment in velo going from PITCHfx to Hawkeye tracking systems

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@VandyonTigers This is readily available information you can look at on baseball savant.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

What’s insane is that there has never been a player in MLB history that has eclipsed the 7 foot mark. To see a guy of this stature standing on the mound makes me really want to see someone with extreme height (7+ft) play in the MLB, pitcher or position player.

[MLB @MLB]

UC Irvine’s Olivier Rioux is 7’9” 🤯

He threw the first pitch at Angel Stadium last night!

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

BREAKING: Old head’s go to guy for the “stop throwing hard!” argument just said to throw hard.

[Baseball Is Dead @baseballisdead_]

“You gotta throw hard to get drafted. Bottom line.” - Greg Maddux

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

“You can’t block with 1KD cause you can’t move!” Says all the baseball traditionalist in unison

[Jerry Weinstein @JWonCATCHING]

Premium lateral block. “Lead with your glove.”

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@camarcano @UnrealizedPains Here’s the thing: we don’t need to hyperbolize Ryan’s legacy. He is already a legend and a HOF. Inflating his accomplishments actually hurts his legacy more than it helps b/c people know how to cut through tall tales.

[AnalyticMerchant @AnalyticMe99276]

@camarcano @UnrealizedPains Ryan was an outlier for his time. Incredible velo compared to his contemporaries, but unverifiable compared to today. We have no solid data base to confirm nor deny claims of extreme velo, so it would be silly to present this as complete fact.