, 1923-01-21
PROCESS
NEEDED TO KEEP
RECORD
Difficulty of Determining
What Pitcher won" Game
Calls for Revision.
BY I. e. sANBORN.


What has become of the agitation
for reformat on in the pitching aver.
rEes of professional baseball, starte|
something less than a yea ago? Def
tC action" then was promised IN
lie matter of determining a better
Process for Credluing or charging slab
zen with victories or defeats Tho
me for ruic revisions is slipping
'ay into the start of another sprinp
aiming SEASON.. but nothing has been
me to improve the pitching records
Nearly everybody probably has for
often all about 1t and would not re
ember It again until some particul
trly laughable incident was added t.
the long list of jokes with which ma
n league statistics have been sprink
ID in the past. largely because nc
fauge has been made in the faulty
-stem OF Official scoring hat has
''tnlned for years.
There is net and never has been
ny definite rulU or set Of rules. o
ing the situation that arises SO fire
uently when two or o pitchers
e used ly one team in the same
me-, AMI the fans demand to be to
rich slabman won or lost SAID
7me.
Rate According to Efficiency.
Nthough the ranking of pitchers
= games won and lost was abe
he'd many years ago in favor o
e more rational and fair methoT
rating them according TO efficlencN
large quantity OF rooters sttll var
know which pitcher in a league
~ .-faa- = 81 .aaNsA- WvvN,
ng games in a season. md the dope
n'ths still try TO cater to that fol
wing after n fashion.
But the ,nck OF any uniform rules
1r system for deciding doubtful cases
nd the frequency with which four
r five pitchers are used in n game
On one side, have made the won and
lost columns Of n slabman's record
% much OF n joke TO be taken ser.
.ously by the wise fans. And there
s no real authority by which they
an decide their bets.
II Smith starts pitching and IS
taken out with his team one run
ahead then Brown works a couple OF
innings, during which the opposing
tenn takes the lead by two runs.
nfter which Brown is taken out for
u pinch hitter who makes q home
IL with the bases full, and Jones
hen goes on to pitch with n margin
Of two runs in his favor. and holds
It to the end Of the game - who
"wins?"
OF course. the guy who made the
Dagger with tho bases loaded
really won tho game. but as no was
,,4 g., rtt,bnr che d,po ftapaa dor,apd
to know whether Smith, Brown, or
Jones 'won" that game. There isn't.
anything but personal opinion by
which to decide 1t. and opinions differ
as widely as individuals. Some say
1t belongs to Smith. because he WINS
ahead whom taken out, nobody can
prove tha Brown would not have
won" II no had been left IN the game,
ana many claim tho victory" does
belong to Jones because his team
was ahead when no went in. And
there you arc with no answer that
he made to stick because there
s nothing but mere opinion TO use
as mucilaEe.
Instead Of taking that matter up
ut their meetings this winter md
some arbitrary rule by which
cases could be decided, the club
spent most OF their time try
to beat tho minor leagues in the
for control Of the player mar
Set. That's something which is OF
vital interest TO their pocketbooks but
u small interest to the pubic. Aver
don't interest the magnhtes who
their unimportance. but fail 10
lake nccoun OF the interest the fans
in vital statistics.
The club owners owe the public
At least an earnest effort TO iron put
OF the idiosyncrasies of base.
pail averages by adopting a uniform
which can be applied by Off.
c!al scororB. II the maEnhtes have
no time for such fipporios they might
It over to a committee OF base
bail writer's M then put their stamp
or official approval on tho result.
That would not affect the pocket
books of the owners and Il could
not produce any thing worse than
the chaotic metho6s by which pitch.
ers' won" and lost recorGa are
compiled at present. They ara worth.