The end of RBIs?

RBIs will survive, if only because it's easy to figure out. Get a hit (or a sacrifice), a run scores, that's an RBI.

Some of these other statistics are just so convoluted, it won't replace a simple stat.

 

RBI's are useful shorthand, but not for the reason people think, i.e that a player has a magical ability to drive people in with his hits.

They are useful because they give you some idea of how the lineup has been performing, and how this player has been performing in the midst of that lineup.

If I see, say, Paul Konerko with a .320 average and only 40 RBI's at the All-Star Break, I don't say, "Damn, Konerko isn't getting the clutch hits!" I say, "Damn, what's that say about the White Sox?"

 

Why not? A guy who hits .200 with RISP is the same as the guy who hits .350 with RISP because they both have OBP of .400.

 

Actually, RBIs tell you exactly that a guy is driving in runs with his hits (whether it's magic or not). And your example also could mean that Konerko is batting .400 with no one on and .240 with men on base.

 

The more at-bats someone compiles in a season, the less likely that is.

It's much more likely that a disparity would be a reflection of the teammates ahead of him.

Last year, Miggy Cabrera led the American League with 126 RBI's (RBI?). He batted .322 with RISP and .328 overall.

 

I once played in a fantasy baseball league that didn't count RBIs as a stat. The commissioner was one of these stat geeks who didn't think RBIs were a true measure of a players hitting ability. It's only a triple crown stat.
It was stupid then, it's stupid now and it will be stupid 10 years from now.

 

Smart commissioner.

 

Yes, let's hope nobody gets any RBIs. After all, they mean nothing.

 

They reveal nothing about an individual player that the percentage stats don't already reveal better.

 

Maybe we should stop tracking runs and RBIs all together and just decide games by who has the highest OPS. And then give everyone a trophy at the end of the year.

 

No. It makes you correct. RBI is one of if not the most important baseball stats. It means you are hitting when you are needed most and driving in runs to help your team win.

 

Try writing a game story without telling the reader which players drove in the runs, especially the ones that led to a team winning the game. Or is that so meaningless that it should be left out? Tell me which of the new percentage stats you'd use in a gamer that would be more informative.