The Information Age in Baseball

[CMH]

Excellent article by Jayson Stark on the rising use of information and data to defeat traditional methods in baseball.

This isn't a stat-based argument. This is about information and how baseball has become an entirely different sport through the use of that information.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6908844/information-age-changing-way-game-played

Thanks to companies like Baseball Info Solutions, all 30 teams know exactly where every hitter in baseball tends to hit the ball. So when you look out at the field and see third basemen practically playing up the middle, shortstops on the other side of second base and second basemen set up on the outfield grass, 75 feet beyond the infield dirt, that's not guesswork, ladies and gentlemen.

That's The Information Age at work in modern baseball.

[dsallupinyaarea]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

I know this may sound crazy, but in a way the stats in baseball have gotten so good it has almost ruined the game for me. Feels like I'm not even watching human beings. More like robots with pre-programmed data.

[SPTO]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

I agree with dsallupinyaarea in a way though I always love it when a hitter is played to pull and he hits it the other way or when a pitcher is pitching a guy a certain way to get him out and he figures out what's going on and finds a way to get on base. It just goes to prove that sometimes the information doesn't ALWAYS lead to the result you want.

Nonetheless I do think the familiarity of players and their tendencies make the game more of a chess match in some ways as it allows managers and players to either "go by the book" or go in a different direction. I think Tony La Russa can be an *** at times but he's pretty unconventional when he wants to be. Joe Maddon in Tampa plays the small ball game with aplomb though he takes defensive fielding to the extremes as the IF/OF shifts are DRASTIC!

Anyways, even without the internet I think the whole information age would've happened in some form or another. The expansion of TV coverage and using SABR type stats were starting to gel together at about the same time in the mid '90s.

[Kruza]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

I don't see the overload of information infiltrating the sport of baseball being a big deal. If anything, it forces pitchers and position players at the plate to adapt their game in order to continue having success, and they become better players overall because of it.

No matter what kind of data that's been gathered on a position player, infield/outfield shifts can't do much to stop a versatile hitter who practices and learns to hit to all parts of the field (or over the fence for that matter). And all the charts and illustrations in the world covering any pitching tendencies that appear on a computer program can't do much to stop a pitcher who learns to command two or more pitches to the point where he can consistently hit both corners of the plate plus keep breaking pitches down at or below the knees.

Kruza

[CMH]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

Yes, as Sabean mentioned in the article, they had the stats, the numbers, but it still took the pitchers to throw the right pitches.

I think sometimes people are afraid of advanced statistics and data (or scoff at them) because they think the stat-heads are arguing that everything is mathematical and no human element is involved. It's completely the opposite. Human element is exactly why the data matters.

No matter how the numbers are perceived, another point made in the article truly stands out: if the data is there, why not learn it? It's a huge disadvantage to not know what other teams are using.

You might not believe that the data matters, but if the other team does, find a way to use their data against them.

I do wish there was more information on hitters in this battle. Lots of the information is about defense which does make sense since most people have begun to understand that winning isn't about scoring, but about preventing the other team from scoring more.

As my high school coach used to say after we've given up a run in the first inning: "You need to score a run to win the game."

[DrJones]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

I know this may sound crazy, but in a way the stats in baseball have gotten so good it has almost ruined the game for me. Feels like I'm not even watching human beings. More like robots with pre-programmed data.

You must not like the NFL then. Professional football is far more "pre-programmed" than baseball is.

[DrJones]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

...since most people have begun to understand that winning isn't about scoring, but about preventing the other team from scoring more.

I don't believe this at all. Winning is about both. The three best teams in the American League (BOS, NYY, TEX) are significantly better at scoring runs than preventing them. Opposing pitcher tendencies are studied just as much as opposing batter tendencies, though it may not be as evident when you're watching on TV.

[CMH]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

I don't believe this at all. Winning is about both. The three best teams in the American League (BOS, NYY, TEX) are significantly better at scoring runs than preventing them. Opposing pitcher tendencies are studied just as much as opposing batter tendencies, though it may not be as evident when you're watching on TV.

I oversimplified it. Both are important, but the prevention of runs had been overlooked for a long time. Or at least, the study of it.

The article doesn't explain what hitters are doing to combat defensive switches and the studying of batter tendencies is what I'm getting at here. I hardly watch baseball on television anymore to really have an opinion on what's going on there for the watching fan.

[DrJones]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

I oversimplified it. Both are important, but the prevention of runs had been overlooked for a long time. Or at least, the study of it.

Ah. That makes perfect sense.

The article doesn't explain what hitters are doing to combat defensive switches and the studying of batter tendencies is what I'm getting at here. I hardly watch baseball on television anymore to really have an opinion on what's going on there for the watching fan.

Gotcha. Just saying that because it's easier for the viewer to see how pitchers/fielders adjust when facing different hitters, some fans erroneously believe that teams place a greater emphasis, scouting-wise, on preventing runs than on scoring them.

[CMH]

Re: The Information Age in Baseball

Just saying that because it's easier for the viewer to see how pitchers/fielders adjust when facing different hitters, some fans erroneously believe that teams place a greater emphasis, scouting-wise, on preventing runs than on scoring them.

I can see that. When the article highlights how many times the Rays have used adjustments against hitters, you get the impression that it's supposed to be surprising as if making any adjustments is working against the very fabric of baseball.

I always found it odd that fielders position themselves in an effort to make their defensive approach more difficult when data is available to adjust for that.

Anyone that's stepped on a baseball field can recall the time a fielder or themselves moved to the spot a hitter previously hit the ball to only to find that it somehow ends up in the same general region again. Perhaps that's easier to do at lower levels of competition than in the Majors, but why are fundamental adjustments practiced as early as tee-ball suspiciously dropped as one gets older?