This morning I found myself reading a piece on Jayson Werth and how he feels that data analytics have ruined the game of baseball. The article in question can be found here: http://www.sj-r.com/sports/20180808/jayson-werth-on-dropping-his-agent-and-mlbs-super-nerd-problem
While on a podcast, he states that "..super nerds...are killing the game. It's to the point where just put computers out there." This all of course coming after he dropped his agent for supposedly not doing his due diligence for him during the offseason which helped lead to his retirement.
I have always been interested with this debate as to whether analytics take things too far in baseball.
On the one hand, you have teams like the "Moneyball" Oakland Athletics who rely on advanced stats to find undervalued players in order to keep their payroll low while still competing. Other teams also use analytics to precisely "shift" their defenders based on percentages of where the batter should hit the ball. This can obviously lead to fewer hard-hit balls turning into hits.
On the other hand, these analytics can't account for intangible factors such as locker room chemistry, momentum and even nerves. The players themselves have a feel for these because they have the experience and many players, such as Werth, believe there is a disconnect between analysts, who have never played professional baseball, and the players that live for the game. Many players and fans argue that analytics are making the game too predictable and boring. I know that as far as Werth is concerned he is severely missed in the Nationals clubhouse despite his declining numbers.
My personal opinion on the matter, and this is coming from my fantasy sports background, is that if you have the data available to you then you would be silly not to use it if it can give you an edge. In response to analytics making the game boring I would say that analytics have also lead to improved hitters as more data has come out about things such as pitchers and launch angles as well. Just last year a new record set for Home Runs in a season - the previous mark was shattered by over 400 HRs. The home run is widely seen as the most exciting play in baseball and yet people still argue the game is getting boring and attendance numbers are down across the league.
Maybe falling attendance numbers are from a different cause entirely and maybe baseball just can't keep up to the fast-paced lives that people live today. It is definitely a slower-paced game than most other professional sports after all. I know I will always be interested in baseball and keep up with it, but I can't speak for society as a whole.
Where do you all stand on the analytics debate? Do you see attendance numbers continuing to decline in the future? What, if anything, needs to change?
Thanks for reading!
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