Phillies: Traditional vs. analytical tug-of-war in MLB

 Game-changing moves:             

While the purists kick up a storm every time MLB executives push for something new, others only consider the differences in adjustments like instant replay or a multi-tiered postseason. But those decision-makers instituted the Rule 4 Draft and the Luxury Tax with its periodic penalty increases. Parity!

Like most professional sports, baseball might have a sweet spot numerically to balance pitchers and hitters regarding average runs scored. A few summers back, an article described how execs annually monitor this to ensure excitement and fairness.

While the majors present the playoffs as making more clubs relevant for postseason competition, they also are a barrier to a 21st-century dynasty. But many fans label this as an excuse for management’s perceived incompetence. Basically, supporters don’t want to hear the “wait ’til next year” expression.

Regarding the wild card, owners were unhappy because a hot September team could roll to the World Series. In fact, that frequency created a need for an obstacle to protect divisional champions from this threat. To illustrate, the red pinstripes with four aces and 102 victories lost to a wild-card team.

Unsurprisingly, a .300 hitter fails 70 percent of the time, and a club should, therefore, struggle with men on base in a large majority of their attempts. But the faithful instead blame the front office and the skipper to the point of recommending a dismissal.

At what point, do the statistics equal valid reasoning instead of scapegoating? Basically, baseball fans love stats, but it’s mostly selective or neglective. And, no, I don’t expect anyone to change their conclusions because that would be wishful thinking.