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Help settle a player of the year debate

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Batman, Apr 22, 2008.

  1. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    It's how we picked our soccer player of the year. Stats were even, we hadn't seen enough games of one of the teams because they only played about five home games, and we had no clue other than stats and reputation. So we flipped a coin.
    We do take our major sports (football, basketball and baseball) more seriously. We'll actually debate those.
     
  2. Some Guy

    Some Guy Active Member

    Like I said, it's just one more unbiased opinion. It shouldn't be your only criteria. I don't even think it should be the tiebreaking criterion. But in a close race between two kids, it can be something you consider on one kid's side of the ledger.

    Especially if the numbers are similar and you can't detect noticeable differences between two players with the naked eye. If a big-time college is recruiting one and not the other, it can be a clue that Player A has something over Player B that you aren't seeing.

    I wouldn't give him the nod just because a certain college is recruiting him. But I might give him the nod because of the attributes that have caused a certain college to recruit him. Does that make sense?
     
  3. TwoGloves

    TwoGloves Well-Known Member

    Flipping a coin is lame. Grow a pair and pick one.
     
  4. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    Survey coaches who have faced them both and ask which one they think is better.
    Or call the local baseball gurus and see what they think. Just about every place has some local baseball nut.
    Another option is calling one player of the year and the other pitcher of the year, Total cop-out, but an option.
    And, depending on the state, the small classification might be a better league. I wouldn't automatically write off the small school player because of enrollment. I know of at least a couple states where the small private schools are insanely competitive in sports like baseball and soccer.
    Just a thought.
     
  5. Some Guy

    Some Guy Active Member

    I pick heads.
     
  6. Petrie

    Petrie Guest

    Give it to the guy whose arm makes it to the end of the season...and from what it looks like here, that's gonna be Player A. If he's starting Game 1 Thursday, as it sounds, then that's potentially more than 300 pitches in 6 days. Simply amazing...and dumb.
     
  7. Petrie

    Petrie Guest

    In all seriousness, though, it depends on the caliber of competition this season. It sounds like the 1A (or whatever the small class is) league has been strong in the past, while the 4A league has at times been weak. If the 1A is at or near the caliber of the 4A league this season, then Player A might be your guy. If the 1A isn't as strong, then give it to Player B.
     
  8. zebracoy

    zebracoy Guest

    Yes. Let's put it this way:

    Player A has the chance to play at local community college but probably couldn't walk on at Arizona. Player B might be able to walk on at Arizona, and therefore would probably be a lock for any community college.

    Let's not take academics into credit here, because that would be a reason why Player A can't make it to the big school. Also, let's not take personal preference either, because who knows? Community college coach may be his uncle, who he always wanted to play for and would give anything to do so.

    Rather, just look at the fact that if this is the highest level these two players can competitively play at, Player B must have something in him that several others (i.e. Arizona coaches) see that perhaps others do not.
     
  9. Sam Mills 51

    Sam Mills 51 Well-Known Member

    I'm prone to go with Player B.

    At a former stop, that argument came up more than once involving two players on completely different levels of play. I'd like to think in each case we picked the better player. But if it's really this close, a nod would probably go to the player faring better against better competition.

    Don't base it on future potential, i.e., is Division I looking at one player while the other would be lucky to get a look from a Division II school. One year in girls basketball, Player A was headed to a Division I school and playing in a larger high-school classification, while Player B was going to D-II program and playing in the smallest HS classification. We went with Player B after I mentioned that she didn't slow down whereas it really looked like Player A mailed it in because the D-I offer was in hand.
     
  10. awriter

    awriter Active Member

    Which colleges are after the players is just one element to consider. Is either being scouted by the pros? Do they have any common opponents and if so, what do the coaches say? Is one school on the fringe of your area and the other in the heart of it?
    And pick one. Going with two is a copout.
     
  11. Mystery_Meat

    Mystery_Meat Guest

    Coin-flip story: I once had a problem picking between two equally-worthy softball players for local POY. At one point I flipped a coin. It landed in the trash. I took it as a sign.

    I don't like these type of threads, and they do seem to pop up like kudzu at the end of the prep seasons. It's not that I don't think the poor unfortunates who have this on their plates shouldn't take advantage of every sounding board they can, it's that you're trying to condense a complicated process into a simple mathematic equation. But I don't know who these teams are. I don't know how good their competition was -- sure, you can list records, but I've seen 20-win teams in weak basketball districts that don't shine next to a 10-win team in a good district. I have no feel for intangiables -- who's hotter down the stretch? who got three game-winning hits in the playoffs? who switched positions in a key game because of an injury and held it together for his/her team?

    To be fair, there's a lot of this stat worship when we discuss pro POYs, but really, you have the knowledge most if not all of us will have in your area. Ultimately, we can't really help you.
     
  12. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    Sometimes, in my neck of the woods, the lower-class competition is superior to the public schools.

    Barring that, I would go with b.
     
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