My venture into Baseball Prospectus

Big league baseball is a little more than a month away, and Im hoping that in that small amout of time I'll learn, and understand, something new about baseball analytics. 



Thanks to the awesome folks at Turner Publishing , who sent me a free copy of Baseball Prospectus, I'm jumping...into the shallow end at first, the world of analytical baseball, hoping to learn how all the numbers they've created can help fans who love the greatest game ever invented, the game of baseball.

⚾ Here's how I'm going to study my Baseball Prospectus book...

...first, I'm an old school baseball fan who believes in the Holy Grail of batting average, home runs, runs batted in, pitching wins, earned run average, walks, and strikeouts. 


Now, I do understand some Sabrmetrics and analytical baseball stats, such as WHIP and OPS, and find others, like BABIP, FIP, and WAR, mostly ridiculous.


My main problem with the  baseball analytics community is that they want the analytical stats to replace traditional stats, instead of taking the new statsand adding them to the traditional stats that have been used for over 100 years.


I can tell you this...Hall of Fame and 12 time batting champion Ty Cobb has a WAR of 150...but to me, it's nowhere near as important as a .367 lifetime batting average or 4,191 base hits.


I just don't understand why baseball analytics cares more about a pitchers FIP...Field Independent Pitching, instead of his ERA and WINS.


I love the analytical passion their community has, but it seems to be contrived analysis most of the time.


I'm hoping that the Baseball Prospectus book will teach me how to understand the analytical baseball statistics. 

⚾ I've picked the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, and Tampa Bay Rays as teams I'll focus on the most...the Cubbies are the most popular young team, my Tigers...I've been with them all my life...the Dodgers, well, I've been a fan of the old Brooklyn Dodgers, and I've been a fan of them as my National League team since the early '70s...with the Cubbies as well...and I live on Florida,  and have the Rays and Marlins on my TV every day during the season.



It's gonna be a long baseball season, and a very, very long year of me reading Baseball Prospectus and trying to apply it to my baseball understanding.



⚾⚾⚾ Thanks again to Turner Publishing for sending this book too me, I sincerely appreciate it and look forward to reading it.



⚾⚾⚾ Thanks also to all those who contribute to the book and their undying love and passion
for our National Pastime.



Play Ball! ⚾⚾⚾⚾