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And that's stats! Playing the Numbers GameBy Rick Horowitz
What you have to love about baseball -- unless, of course, you hate it -- is how they keep track of everything. Everything. (Scratching and spitting aside, that is, and any day now...) There isn't a run, a hit, an error, a stolen base, a wild pitch, that isn't written down and recorded for posterity. And then -- here's the beauty part -- posterity gives a hoot. Posterity is sitting there in the upper deck on a sunny Sunday afternoon or a breezy Wednesday evening, and something, or a string of somethings, occurs out there on the field, and posterity says to itself, "Boy, when's the last time that happened?" And -- here's the other beauty part -- posterity can look it up and find out! Before there were computers, the baseball drones had already amassed decade after decade of statistics, the majestic and the mundane, every bit of it potentially fascinating to someone, and every bit of it (with enough digging) retrievable. Then they got computers. Which is how, on a single perfectly average morning not long ago, a perfectly average peruser of the sports pages was able to read about these noteworthy accomplishments: The New York Mets collected 23 hits in a 13-6 victory over the Colorado Rockies. The 23 hits tied a Mets team record. Bet you didn't know that. Then there was this one: The Houston Astros drew 14 walks in a 10-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers, after having walked 11 times against the Brewers the previous night. The 14 walks given up by Brewers pitchers set a franchise record for pitching imprecision, while the Astros' two-game total of 25 walks received tied a National League record set way back in 1944 for walks in consecutive games. Bet you didn't know that either. You can feel your excitement growing, can't you? So you're sure to be thrilled by my absolute favorite stat of the day, brought to the world's attention after the San Francisco Giants beat the Montreal Expos, 2-1, for their first win in seven tries in their new home, Pacific Bell Park. Only a direct quote will do it justice: "The Giants were the first team to lose six straight games to start a stay in a newly constructed facility." Now there's a stat you don't hear every day: "Most consecutive losses to start a stay in a newly constructed facility." That last part -- the "newly constructed facility" -- is the kicker, naturally. Once upon a time, you see, back in 1962, those now-banging-out-the-hits Mets were a thoroughly woeful first-year expansion franchise, so woeful that they lost their first seven home games. But the Mets were playing on borrowed grass, you see, at the old Polo Grounds (where the Giants used to play before they moved to San Francisco, in fact), which means it wasn't a "newly constructed facility," which means that when it comes to that particular record... Don't you love it? So now I'm trying to figure out whether this kind of thing would work in real life. I'm trying to decide whether the totally statistical existence would be a good thing for the regular, non-baseball-playing segment of the population; we could see exactly how we stack up against the rest of the planet. Or whether it would be the worst thing ever invented; we could see exactly what stumbling, bumbling wretches we are. Anyway, here are a few stats-in-waiting, just to get the ball rolling: * Eyeglasses
mislaid, season. We could be starting a new national pastime here. Posted 5/18/00. Root,
root, root for "Rick's" -- and tell your friends!
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Rick Horowitz