It seems counterintuitive that baseball players have been evaluated by the eye test for over a century and now teams are abandoning that approach all together. The eye test is the layman’s term for evaluating a players talent strictly on the basis of what a scout can see. This approach has been around for as long as baseball has been played. However there are now complex statistics that create a new formula for signing players onto a team. One stat in particular is considered, among baseball analysts, as the scale for a players worth to his team. This stat is Wins Above Replacement, or “WAR”. WAR calculates how much better a player is than the league average for his position on purely a statistical basis. While statistics are important, they aren’t the end all be all for how good a player really is. Most general managers and front office executives are either new era statistical evaluators or old school scouts. Neither approach is nonsensical and both have proven to be successful, so the next step should be an appropriate blend of the two.
Birnbaum, Phil. “A Guide to Sabermetric Research.” A Guide to Sabermetric Research | Society for American Baseball Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.
Glassey, Conor, and 2010 August 18. “Majors: Best Tools: Scouts On Scouting: What They Look For In A Player.” BaseballAmericacoms RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.
Hagen, Paul. “New and Old School Coming Together in Baseball Talent Evaluation.”Major League Baseball. N.p., 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.
Paine, Neil. “Where Sabermetrics And the ‘Eye Test’ Disagree.” FiveThirtyEight. FiveThirtyEight, 14 Mar. 2016. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.
Weinberg, Neil. “How to Evaluate a Hitter, Sabermetrically.” Beyond the Box Score. Beyond the Box Score, 26 May 2014. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.
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Counterintuitive 
It seems counterintuitive that baseball players have been evaluated by the eye test for over a century and now teams are abandoning that approach all together. The eye test is the layman’s term for evaluating a players talent strictly on the basis of what a scout can see. This approach has been around for as long as baseball has been played. However there are now complex statistics that create a new formula for signing players onto a team. One stat in particular is considered, among baseball analysts, as the scale for a players worth to his team. This stat is Wins Above Replacement, or “WAR”. WAR calculates how much better a player is than the league average for his position on purely a statistical basis. While statistics are important, they aren’t the end all be all for how good a player really is. Most general managers and front office executives are either new era statistical evaluators or old school scouts. Neither approach is nonsensical and both have proven to be successful, so the next step should be an appropriate blend of the two.
● It is possible to have a negative WAR. In fact, the worst fWAR any player has had since 2002 is Neifi Perez from the Royals, who posted an incredible -3.1 wins in 2002.
http://www.fangraphs.com/library/misc/war/
You’ll need an angle and some specific illustrations to demonstrate that WAR is not an infallible guide to player value. Some are easy to imagine. The player who contributes most to his poor team’s wins might not help much on a better team, for example. The statistical value of a player whose personality is a clubhouse cancer might do nothing to increase wins.
I can’t find it now, but I remember hearing that while the Sixers were enjoying a mild run of success a few weeks back, they had won a majority of their games EXCEPT when Jalil Okafor started at center, over which span they were 3-13 during his starts. Something like that. And yet, even with a negative WAR for his current team (if that’s possible), there will be teams trading for him based on some perceived value.
The subject is squirmy because, despite the attempt to numericalize the game, too many variables make the stats hard to analyze, difficult to believe, and even harder to apply to another situation on another team.
Anyway, share a couple of examples with me as soon as you can, Wentz, so I know you’re on track to show something other than just speculation
Another week. Another couple of missed classes. This is a familiar road, Wentz. Scary for me; should be scarier for you. I feel I’m doing my part. Reply, please.
I had the flu I’m sorry i didn’t see this until now. I was sent home though so i didn’t go to any of my classes. I’m making up everything this week. I’m assuming you didn’t get the email from my doctor either, i’m going down there today to get the note straightened out.