Quote:
Originally Posted by BobC
So Peter, don't you agree that theory unfairly ignores other pitchers that were great right from the start and didn't need years to figure out how to pitch well? I also thought my analogy comparing pitchers to wash machines was kind of spot on in trying to pick which pitcher may best. Hey, if statisticians can reduce everything and everyone to just numbers, I say take it all the way then and treat pitchers as nothing more than a machine. That way you've removed pretty much the entire human element from the equation, which is whats stats and statisticians do to start with.
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I understand the rationale of focusing only on 5 or so peak years, whenever they occur, just think it's not all that meaningful and that something like JAWS which averages peak 7 and career better navigates the balance. But the excuse that it's OK to disregard Koufax' first five years because he was still learning to pitch, and that most pitchers are like that, is crap. If you're going to disregard them, at least be honest about why, namely that you care only about peak.
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