Monday, July 22, 2013
Gabe Kapler, neo-saberist
Wonderful article by Gabe Kapler, with his thoughts on fielding-independent pitching, and outcome-independent hitting:
If, for example, we taught pitchers about Fielding Independent Pitching — which truly spotlights what a pitcher can control (walks, strikeouts and homers) and removes balls in play, thereby eliminating a fielder’s ability to have an impact on the outcome of a play and consequently a pitcher’s line — we place the responsibility right where it belongs. If we show a hitter how well hit balls and exit velocity/speed off the bat are being examined more and more closely, then the hitter will freak out less when crushing a ball off the pitcher’s forearm and having it ricochet safely into the glove of the first baseman for an out. He may walk back to the dugout thinking, “Ka-ching!” instead of throwing a water cooler and forcing some nearby cameraman to change clothes.
Of course, this would force players to acknowledge great performances even if it leads to bad outcomes, and in many cases, team losses. Which is going to be VERY difficult to do to the media, and by extension, the fans.
The only thing they can do, is what they continue to do right now, say something like: "My process is fine, and if I keep doing what I'm doing, eventually, I'll catch some breaks, and things will turn around."
So far, we've got some players believing that pitcher? won-loss records are not really about the pitcher, but about the team. Next up, making them forget about ERA, R, and RBIs. That's going to take another generation.
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