From: doctor8@jhuvms.hcf.jhu.edu (Jason Abner Miller)
Subject: Re: Eck Wins MVP in Horrible Voting
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Organization: The Johns Hopkins University - HCF
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Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1992 04:03:00 GMT

In article <GRABINER.92Nov23193452@birkhoff.harvard.edu>, grabiner@math.harvard.edu (David Grabiner) writes...
>Let's look at the difference:
> 
>BATTERS        BA   SLG   OBP   G  AB   R   H  TB 2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO SB CS
>DEVEREAUX,M  .276  .464  .321 156 653  76 180 303 29 11 24 107  44  94 10  8
>HENDERSON,R  .283  .457  .426 117 396  77 112 181 18  3 15  46  95  56 48 11
>difference                     39 257  -1  78 122 11  8  9  61 -51 -38-38 -3 
> 
>The value of that bottom line, is the difference between Devereaux's
>value and Henderson's value.
> 
>Now, the meaning of an extra -51 walks is hard to understand, so let's
>change the 51 walks to 40 singles and 11 outs, which have about the same
>value to the team (Linear Weights or Runs Created).  Likewise, use the
>three extra CS to cancel six stolen bases, and turn the other 32 into
>16 extra bases on hits (possibly an underestimate of their value).
>Ignore the strikeouts.
> 
>BATTERS        BA   SLG   OBP   G  AB   R   H  TB 2B 3B HR RBI  BB  SO SB CS
>difference   .184  .320  .184  39 206      38  66 11  4  7       0   0  0  0
> 
>The runs and RBI columns are blanked out because they don't make any
>sense in a comparison between leadoff and middle-of-the-order hitters.
>(If you want the numbers, it's -1 run scored and 47 RBI, neither one of
>which is reasonable.)  Would you like to have a player with this
>offensive line on your team?  I wouldn't.
> 
>If Rickey could have played an extra 206 AB hurt and put up these
>numbers, would that make him a better player?  It would make him as good
>as Mike Devereaux.  But such play would reduce the number of runs his
>team scores; I'd rather have Eric Fox playing instead.  And since
>Rickey's job offensively is to maximize the number of runs the A's
>score, not the number of runs he scores or drives in, I conclude that he
>was a more valuable offensive player in his 500 plate appearances than
>Devereaux was in 700.

	To reply to all this number theory, allow me to tell my favorite
baseball story.
	This was during spring training in the 1930's, when Joe McCarthy
was managing the New York Yankees.  A beat reporter asked him who his
favorite Yankee player was, or something to that effect, and he replied,
"Joe Gordon", the Yankees' 2B at the time.  
	When asked to explain why, Marse Joe called Gordon over, and asked
him, "Joe, what's your batting average"?
	Gordon answered, "I don't know".
	"Well, how many home runs do you have?"
	"I don't know"
	McCarthy then said, "That's what I like about Joe.  He doesn't 
care about his numbers, he just goes out there and beats you any way he
can."

	I feel baseball has definitely lost something since the time of
this anecdote.  When Vince Coleman and Jose Canseco learn to play like
this, I'll have more faith in true baseball again.

> 
> 
>--
>David Grabiner, grabiner@zariski.harvard.edu
>"We are sorry, but the number you have dialed is imaginary."
>"Please rotate your phone 90 degrees and try again."
>Disclaimer: I speak for no one and no one speaks for me.


							Jason Miller
Organization: Senior, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA