Stats vs. Scouts

Time for a change of pace. Talking about losing is a loser.

Ghost found and shared a great article Statistics Level Baseball’s Playing Field that talks about how Santos Saldivar was discovered with the help of stats. There are almost certainly lots of players who never get a chance, because no one ever sees/discovers them. Nats fans may know about the story of Jordan Zimmermann – he was discovered by the Nats when they went to see another player. Likewise, Shawn Kelley was discovered when he pitched against David Price in a high-profile college game.

There is always a lot of debate about stats vs. the eye test. This is a great story that makes the point that both are important – and they need to be used in concert. Stats allowed Saldivar to be discovered, but someone had to go see him to make sure.

The movie Trouble with the Curve makes a similar point – but from a different perspective. You can’t just look at stats.

So lets talk about something else for a few hours!

And BTW, how many of you know that Clint Eastwood discovered Dusty Baker.

This entry was posted in Analysis, Sabermetrics. Bookmark the permalink.