Some of baseball’s most anachronistic MLB stats serve no purpose any longer. So, why beat around the bush? Get rid of ’em. Next up: Wins and Losses
First, let’s break down the most revered of MLB stats for starting pitchers: the win (and loss) stat. According to MLB.COM,
"“A pitcher receives a win when he is the pitcher of record when his team takes the lead for good — with a couple rare exceptions. First, a starting pitcher must pitch at least five innings (in a traditional game of nine innings or longer) to qualify for the win. If he does not, the official scorer awards the win to the most effective relief pitcher.”"
Let’s get this straight. In order for a starting pitcher (SP) to obtain a win, he must have pitched “at least five innings” and have the lead. If he doesn’t, the official scorer just hands the win over to the most “effective” relief pitcher?
Effective?
Go ahead, you try to define effective.
Also, a starter has to give you five innings to qualify for a win, but a reliever isn’t held to the same standard?
What type of BS is this?
That’s problem numero uno with this stat; it’s unclear, it’s vague, and it measures absolutely nothing.
In order to tackle this problem, we have to ask ourselves one very simple question:
What does the win stat tell me about a pitcher?