Stats

[Scorekeeper]

Yes, that's an easy bet. HS stats played no part in her recruting. She gained exposure though camps, showcases, an online video and national tournaments. I'd be willing to bet my life that not one coach watched her pitch and thought well, she looks decent, I wonder what her HS stats are".

I didn’t ask if any coach wondered what her stats were and I darned sure didn’t limit them to HS stats only. The fact is, BB and SB are stat driven and oriented, and have been for over 150 years in baseball. There’s an old chestnut that says you can’t manage what you don’t measure and statistics are the measure of ball players.

 

[riseball]

I didn’t ask if any coach wondered what her stats were and I darned sure didn’t limit them to HS stats only. The fact is, BB and SB are stat driven and oriented, and have been for over 150 years in baseball. There’s an old chestnut that says you can’t manage what you don’t measure and statistics are the measure of ball players.

I think your position on stats and their importance to the game is somewhat overstated. It has been my experience that those who talk the most about numbers be they baseball, softball, or in the business world often know the least about what is actually happening on the field or in the boardroom. Stats are one of many tools used to aid in decision making. Sometimes they are useful sometimes not.

 

[Scorekeeper]

… In all seriousness, the local newspaper publishes high school stats. So many girls have batting averages above .900 that I would find it hard to believe that any college coach would take those stats very seriously. Mildly intrigued, perhaps, but that's about it. But I grant you that some types of stats do matter. You atend an ondeck tryout and post a 20 yard time of 2.5? Or post a bat speed of 84mph? Or hit 66 on the gun? Yes, those stats matter. But a high school batting average of .633? Not so much.

But, even though those numbers may well be inflated, you acknowledge that they may well draw some degree of attention which is my point. It’s how players get noticed.

You’ve done what most people who get into this debate do. You’ve defined stats by the old standards, then go on to say the same thing I’ve said over and over again, that there are one Devil of a lot of stats other than the garbage one sees in the paper.

I would like you to do something for me though. Please give me a link that shows any HS aged FPSB players batting over .900, let alone anything that resembles “so many”. That may happen early on in a season, but for an entire season I don’t think so.

Assuming Mn means you live in Minnesota, I did a little checking. I found a young lady named Hannah Benson who was a So last year and had the highest FPSBBA in MaxPreps for last season at .727. But here’s where the stories get AFU. Their coach only posted stats for 15 of the 33 games! That’s not the fault of stats, it’s the fault of a coach who was either too busy to post ALL the numbers, or too lazy. At any rate, I doubt that young lady’s BA would be at .727 if those other 18 games were posted.

 

[riseball]

...Their coach only posted stats for 15 of the 33 games! That’s not the fault of stats, it’s the fault of a coach who was either too busy to post ALL the numbers, or too lazy. At any rate, I doubt that young lady’s BA would be at .727 if those other 18 games were posted.

Let's give it up to Scorekeeper for providing an outstanding example of exactly why College coaches do not want to hear about your HS or TB stats.

 

[Greenmonsters]

Let's give it up to Scorekeeper for providing an outstanding example of exactly why College coaches do not want to hear about your HS or TB stats.

I get a kick out of teams that have 3 ROEs offensively and allow 43 ROEs defensively.

 

[29dad]

Okay, here's the exact link I was referring to. I did exaggerate a bit.

2014 Leaders

 

[MNDad]

I didn’t ask if any coach wondered what her stats were and I darned sure didn’t limit them to HS stats only. The fact is, BB and SB are stat driven and oriented, and have been for over 150 years in baseball. There’s an old chestnut that says you can’t manage what you don’t measure and statistics are the measure of ball players.

I'm just saying stats, HS or travel, played zero role in her recruiting process and I'm sure many other's on this board experienced the same thing.

 

[cuzmail]

I think your position on stats and their importance to the game is somewhat overstated. It has been my experience that those who talk the most about numbers be they baseball, softball, or in the business world often know the least about what is actually happening on the field or in the boardroom. Stats are one of many tools used to aid in decision making. Sometimes they are useful sometimes not.

Well said.
From what I have learned in coaching sessions is that they don't care about little Suzy's stats mainly because there is no baseline or control for them to base validity on. Too many variables for comparison.

The only exception I am aware of is when the coach is physically there to watch the game. Then they have a handle on the level of competition and know the accuracy of the data captured (they write their own notes!).

 

[Easton33]

I agree they can't put any confidence in stats. However, if a particular stat draws attention because of how low or how high it is, whether believable or not, then hasn't the main purpose been served? To draw attention to the player. Do we really think that if girl sent an email detailing her HS and TB numbers, let's assume they are outstanding (.790 with 15 HRs in 30 games), that the coach won't take a look at her or at least make a phone call about her? Whether believable or not they may grab the attention of 1 coach out of 100, that's all you need though isn't it. For 1 coach to take interest in you, you are only going to play for 1 school at a time. I would think give them everything and let them decide what they will take serious and what they won't.

 

[Scorekeeper]

Okay, here's the exact link I was referring to. I did exaggerate a bit.

2014 Leaders

Thanx for the link.

I understand a bit of exaggeration in trying to make a point. Heck, we all do it at one time or another. But that link shows pretty much where a lot of the misunderstanding comes in. That 1st girl had only had 27 at bats which tells me the numbers were from early in the season. But if you look at that 3rd girl’s numbers and check her career stats you’ll see she averaged .654 over 3 seasons with an OPS of 1.766 for 217 ABs.

Even if she was playing in the most garbage league in the state, those numbers have meaning, and that meaning should come from whoever’s looking. Somewhere along the line, somebody has got to do at least a wee bit of analysis and work to figure out how much those things mean. With the tools available, anyone can filter out the players they feel would be worth more of a look, and that’s all I’ve been talking about.

That link also shows something else. There are many parts of the country that have something like that, where a local paper does the HS numbers to some degree. But, if someone is truly interested in the widest audience, why not try to use the service with the widest national use? If I’m a coach I don’t’ have the time to look all over the web for such things. It’s great for the local colleges because they know about it, but how would a coach in Fl, Tx, or Ca know about the Star Tribune site?

The saddest part of this whole thing is that there isn’t any one place to keep the numbers for all sports, even at the HS ag level. MaxPreps is by far and away the biggest in the nation as far as HS sports numbers go, but they don’t touch anything but HS sports. There’s a lot of reasons for that, but it’s not likely to change soon. But even if every HS team used its services, we all know that would really only represent about a third of all play. That other 2/3rds is where the brass ring lies.

If there were a central place to keep all the numbers, my guess is a completely different dynamic would appear. Personally, I think it would be great, but at this point in time and into the near future it’s a possibility but definitely not a probability.