The New Ballgame: Understanding Baseball Statistics for the Casual Fan (15 page)

Sure enough, Cabrera grounds out and the Marlins have another zero
on the scoreboard.

Maddux dispatches the Marlins easily and it's noteworthy: "Maddux goes
nine.

Is Maddux going to win this game? Not unless the Cubs rally. Willis pitched just
as well, and though he left in the eighth inning after throwing his 106th pitch, the
Marlins lead 2-1 and Willis will get the win if the score doesn't change.

If there's going to be a time when pure baseball will trump the parade
of statistics, it's now.

Not a chance.

A graphic shows the Marlins with a chance to improve their position
in the NL East standings and something more-all the teams in this division
have winning records.

"This is the latest date in NL history where an entire division was above
.500," Albert informs us. "It happened once in the American League."

Marlins closer Todd Jones has been wearing a Fox microphone while
in the bullpen, but now that he's in the game, the microphone wired to him is
silent. His stats speak for him:

Again, it's left for you to decipher. Despite the losing record (not uncommon for closers who inherit leads and therefore can seldom win their
games), Jones has otherwise impressive numbers.

Garciaparra strikes out, but Burnitz doubles off the glove of first baseman Conine, who has just moved there this inning for better game-preserving defense. When Neifi Perez hits a fly to left for the second out, Albert notes
that "Todd Jones has thrown seven pitches in the inning, for seven strikes."
The Cubs' last chance resides with the weak-hitting Corey Patterson

and the odds favor the Marlins. Patterson is 0-for-3 today, 1-for-5 lifetime
against Jones.

Hutton: "One of the things that got Corey Patterson sent to the minors
this year: 95 strikeouts, just 19 walks."

Now, hundreds of stats into this game, it's time for Albert to thank the
production crew and two men for "crunching the numbers for us today for
Jeff Charboneau here in the booth."

That is not a signoff on stats, however.

Time to remind us that "Todd Jones has 30 saves, 20 in a row including here at Wrigley yesterday" and that Willis allowed a run on six hits in 7'/3
innings.

Finally, Patterson's weak grounder to Conine at first base ends the game
and we get a double signoff, first orally:

"Dontrelle Willis has tied Carl Pavano... and Chris Carpenter for the
lead ..."

Then graphically-today's scoreboard, headlined:

Willis ']8th win, tied for most in NL this season

At 10:30 on a Saturday night people all over America are sitting entranced in
front of movie screens, dodging flashing lights on dance floors, and savoring
their best meal of the week in restaurants. But on this Saturday night, just a
week before October Baseball, fans in hundreds of thousands of homes are
sitting entranced in front of their television sets, keeping pace with fast talk
and flashing graphics, and savoring the statistics feast known as Baseball
Tonight.

The ESPN show ostensibly is about all matters baseball, heavy on video highlights and rapid-fire banter between a host, a former ballplayer, and a
baseball journalist, showcasing today's games.

It's all a disguise. This is a show where tonight's talent-host Rece Davis, former big-league pitcher Jeff Brantley, and scribe-turned-talking-head
Tim Kurkjian-get their street cred with guys who hang around street corners
jazzing on statistics. Well, maybe guys whose date on a Saturday night is their
home computer.

Statistics will so dominate the next sixty minutes that the numbers will
get as much air time as the video. Stats from today's games will be used to
transport us to the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Stats will
be spoken or shown, on average, once every six seconds (after subtracting
the time for a half dozen commercial breaks). That's nearly 500 statistics
in all-not including the scores of the games. Baseball Tonight has batting
stats, pitching stats, fielding stats, attendance stats. Stats will be the reason for
Davis, Brantley and Kurkjian to drop the names of today's big stars-Barry
Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Andruw Jones-and of trendy young
players like Jimmy Rollins, Jeff Francoeur and Grady Sizemore. Some of them will be compared to Joe DiMaggio, Paul Molitor and Benito Santiago,
who never set their spikes in most of today's stadiums.

To fans schooled in the lyrics, this is music to the ears, with a beat and
rhythm. It's as natural as singing along with a favorite tune, albeit rap, rock
or heavy metal. The seldom-interrupted flurry of numbers requires full concentration from the most fluent fan. If you don't speak stats, you've got as
much chance of keeping up as getting Jay-Z to invite Yanni in for keyboards
on the next CD.

Why shouldn't the ESPN boys be crankin' it up? It's September 24,
2005. Pennant races are rockin'. Statistical milestones are shakin'. And thirty
big-league teams are playin', with three games on the West Coast still in motion.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1....

Right "Out of the Box," as the ESPN team calls their preview segment,
we hear about Alex Rodriguez' 46th home run. Jimmy Rollins has hit in his
29th straight game-only 39 times in history has anyone reached 30. Craig
Biggio's 24th home run has pennant-race implications. And Barry Bonds, with
708 career home runs, was in uniform at Coors Field in Denver, where Bonds
has always thrived in the most hitter-friendly stadium in baseball.

Stay tuned.

First, we're taken to the South Side of Chicago, where the White Sox
have beaten the Twins to strengthen their hold on first place in the American
League Central division. Video shows Minnesota's Michael Cuddyer hitting
into a 6-4-3 double play, one of four twin-killings of the day. Chicago's Jermaine Dye hit his 30th homer and a full-screen graphic scoreboard with thirty
stats shows that the Sox have won two in a row for the first time since early September. For Freddy Garcia, one of the Sox starting pitchers who were 214 in their first 35 games, it's his first win since September 2.

Now to Kansas City, where the Sox' main competition, Cleveland, has
won to keep pace. Shortstop Jhonny Peralta hit his 23d homer of the season,
a nice total for a shortstop, and Grady Sizemore hit his 22°d-a very nice
total, as Brantley observes, for a leadoff hitter. It's a sign of the power in the
young Indians' lineup-they hit four out today, but none by Travis Hafner,
who did not hit a homer for the first time in seven games. First baseman Ben
Broussard had three doubles and four RBI, though. Winning pitcher Kevin
Millwood, the AL's ERA leader, gave up seven hits in six innings pitched, but
only one earned run. A scoreboard with thirty-three stats tells more.

It's clear that these stat-intensive scoreboards target fantasy-league
players. In addition to the score, the winning/losing pitchers and the big hitters for the day, the boards show even the 0-for-3 with 1 walk of other key
players in the lineup. Each starting pitcher's stat line (innings pitched, hits
allowed, earned runs allowed, walks allowed, strikeouts) is here. It's not quite
as complete as a newspaper box score, but it's a highly useful account of the
game at a glance.