A baseball scoring question

I repeat. Ridiculous.

But it spares you sabergeeks from trying to figure out idiocy like range factor, etc., to rate fielders.

 

You can call it as ridiculous as you want (no doubt with absolutely no reason other than being a cranky old man who likes things to stay the way they are), but again this has nothing to do with sabermetrics. This is my opinion and no one else's.

 

Because no one else in the world could be that stupid, I guess

 

I notice you've now had multiple chances to make some sort of statement defending errors, but have chosen instead to attack me every time. Might it be that you don't have any good arguments in favor of them?

 

If the batter should have been out except for an obvious misplay by a fielder, it is not a hit, it is an error.

If the batter hits a gound ball to second and is 20 feet from first base when the first base simply drops the throw, the batter did not earn the base or deserve a hit. He should have been out, except for the obvious misplay by the fielder. That is what is called an error.

Tell me why the batter should get credit for a hit in that situation?

 

1) That's not an argument in favor of errors, that's just restating what an error is.

2) That's not the rule. There are many, many situations in which the batter is credited with a hit when he should have been out if not for an obvious misplay by the fielder. If they started handing out errors for poor positioning, bad routes to balls, losing track of fly balls, miscommunication between fielders allowing a ball to drop, or just plain missing a ground ball entirely, then the "error" stat would be slightly more credible. But they don't.

There are many situations in which a batter doesn't "deserve" a hit but still gets one. Besides those I just outlined, there's bloopers, seeing-eye ground balls and swinging bunts. But they still get credit, because putting the ball in play always gives you a chance to get on base and should be credited accordingly.

 

I agree with you in almost all cases on your second point.

I also thnk the earned run rules needs to be changed regardng the error that "extends the inning." If a guy reaches on an error with two outs, but the pitcher then gives up 5 straight hits and 5 runs, there is no way those runs should be not earned. The pitcher failed to do his job after the error.

 

Agreed. You see a lot of pitchers who seem to have good ERAs because they've managed to cram in some of their worst pitching after an error gave them a free pass. *cough*Matt Capps*cough*

 

I do loathe the unearned/earned run thing. Runs are runs. Just bailing the pitcher out. Too bad starting tomorrow, the Nationals won't have to worry about either kind. At least every fifth day.

 

Fixed

 

Damn you!

yeah, um....I got nothing for that.

 

Hey, maybe he'll pitch 80-pitch complete games. He is, after all, God.