Stats:

Good subject for open debate (pros/cons). Should stats be published DURING regular season & playoffs for all to see...?

 

Our coaches and my philosophy is NO in high school because not everyone has completed and in depth stats. If it were college and everyone had the complete stat reports than I say yes. But you put your team at a disadvantage when an opponent can log onto the net a find out a stat report right there.

We only publish to college coaches, our own HS coaches and the local media that we trust during the season.
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Post them !!!

An interesting topic, I'm probably in the minority, but I like them posted - of course, whatever the coach wants should be done. We used to have them password protected, but I asked that they be made public this year, and our coach gave the OK. I think it depends on your team, good teams and players want their stats posted, it's a source a pride and motivation. And baseball is such a stats driven sport.

As for the disadvantage to only have one team posted, in HS, stats can be misleading. Besides the obvious hit or error controversy which is scored differently for every team, alot of kids go through big changes in performance throughout the year. A kid batting .240 may have played most of the year batting .150, but now is hot - and the reverse can be true. If the only thing you know about a player is his current stats, you really don't know that much. That pitcher who is 3-0, had those 3 wins against weak opponents (that's why he pitched those games).

And forget stats, I can tell you that the smallish leadoff hitter is fast, a good bunter, and a good contact hitter. I'll bet that #4 hitter, that big guy, he's a good hitter with alot of power (but just a guess on my part because I couldn't see his stats). Plus if it's a conference opponent, you already know the kids from playing against them in the past.

Maybe a better question would be, what would it be worth to you to know the other teams stats ? Would you give up a run - start the game down 1-0 for their stats ? NO !!! Would you give up an out - start the game with 1 out ? I wouldn't - but maybe others would. Give up 1 strike for the info ? Yeah, I guess I'd do that, but that's about it for me.

In our conference, it's easy to get info about a team. You've played the team before, your kids played with their kids in the past, you can go to one of their games, you can read about the team in the paper, etc. Those are much more telling than any stats - knowing Johnny can't hit a curveball, or Johnny just pitched 2 days ago, so he can't pitch tonight, or Johnny hurt his arm and can't pitch, etc. So why not post your stats for your players, friends, and family to see - it's a motivator, it does more positive than negative.

Now, I'll have to admit that I was censored this year by our coach. We not only post stats, but pictures, and game summary writeups. Mouthy me, had been raving in the writups about one of our players constantly beating out bunts, and teams started playing in on him because of it. So to me, the game writeups are much more revealing than stats. Stats alone don't tell you the story - the story tells you the story - so I would agree that we gave away a little bit to our opponents this year, but more from the writeups than the stats. But we only had 6 losses, and none were due to that, most were blowouts where we were just outplayed or couldn't hit.

 

Most coaches do not want them posted and I would have to agree. At least during the High School season anyway. Individual stats can potentially distract from the overall goal which is the team. Plus stats can be very mis-leading and lastly, who is keeping them? On our team you had 4 different people keeping stats and you had 4 very different sets of numbers.

 

For many reasons stats are very inconsistent. But they seem to be used when talking about all-conference or all-state or talking about a college prospect. Also, some schools play a tough out of conference schedule while others play a easy one. I think the stats that are meaningful are for the conference games. If it could be organized, I think you could find enough retired coaches or knowledgeable parents whose sons are no longer in high school, that would volunteer to be the official statistician at conference games. There will always be judgement calls of hit versus error, but the confidence would be there that they are unbiased numbers to compare one player to the next.

 

Until

the ones that keep the book come together. Look at the plays as one. Stats at this time are opinions. .450 on one book maybe .375 in another. What is scored a hit maybe an on by error.

 

Stats do NOT harm team chemistry because baseball is all about stats. Always has been, even in Old School days. Show me a kid who doesn't know his stats and I'll show you a weak player.

But whspioneers slams this door shut for me: In college, everyone publishes their stats daily on-line, so it's not an issue. But in high school, teams don't. Any high school who does is giving a free scouting report away.

 

I don't mean this disrespectfully, but I have never cared either way about HS stats. They really don't mean much and it rarely tells an accurate story. I watch a game and I can see who the players are without ever seeing a stat.

To be honest, outside the parents and the player, no one else cares.

But mentioning tendencies of a player or team is what gets coaches upset.

 

Agreed Bravo...

only stat in which mattters is the team with the most runs when the game is over regardless how they were gotten!

 

"To Post" or "Not Post stats

Many HS players want to see their names in print. However stats posted can also embarrass players not having a good season and can become a detriment to the coach and the team.

A good coach can use their own team's stats to motivate players, recognize strengths, weaknesses and tendencies and develop strategies during game situations.

John Wooden, former UCLA basketball coach once said he never worries about the opposing teams he only prepares for what his players can do.

Stats can be a useful tool provided the coach is receiving accurate stats ... not "daddy ball stats". Good baseball coaches should select someone they can trust, someone who truly knows the game of baseball and provides impartial stats. Not everyone approaches stats as a critical part of the game ... as a true baseball job. A really good stats person is often hard to find ... but there are some out there.

"To post" or "not post" stats ... coaches should be very careful when making that decision. They should stand by their decision, make sure the players buy into their decision and be willing to live with the consequences.