Piggy-backing on my last post about Cy Young winner King Felix and his dearth of wins, I thought I’d pass on this link to an article by Joe Posnanski entitled Talkin’ Baseball (Stats). Here Joe suggests some changes on how we score the game of baseball. In his view, let’s simplify them.
Number One on his list: Wins
Simplify. I’ve never hidden my disdain for pitcher wins as a statistic, especially in modern times, when hardly anybody pitches a complete game, but if you’re going to use this stat anyway (and let’s be honest, it ain’t going away), fine. Just keep track of how often a team wins the game when the pitcher starts. That’s all. Eliminate the no-decision, which, if you stop to think about it, is actually a bizarre concept. There are no “no-decisions” in baseball. Somebody wins. Somebody loses.
Crazy idea and I’m not sure if even I agree but I like anyone who thinks out of the box.
Really you should read his article. His section on RBIs is quite interesting. Actually come to think of it, Bud Selig should read it.