More than any other major sport in the United States,
baseball has always been about numbers. At its core, it is a team sport
composed of a bunch of one-on-one battles, which makes it easy to compare and
contrast players. In recent years, fantasy baseball has put even more of a
stress on numbers. As owners draft their players and try to compose the best
roster possible, fans are researching and studying more than ever.
Many fantasy baseball owners, especially the most
competitive ones, are always looking for an edge. Some feel as though they now
have one thanks to the rise in popularity of more complex statistics. Most
fantasy
baseball leagues still have basic categories such as batting average,
home runs, strikeouts and more, but advanced statistics do a good job of
helping a person predict output prior to the start of the season.
Statistics such as on-base percentage, batting average balls
in play, isolated power and more are just the start for those who love to
crunch numbers while also loving fantasy baseball and sports in general. Some
are resistant to all of these numbers, and they certainly are not perfect, but
it is a way for people to stay connected with the sport while sitting at their
desk or on their computer.
The majority of baseball fans still get drawn in by those
sexy numbers, such as Joe Dimaggio’s 56-game winning streak, hitting .400,
hitting over 60 home runs and more. The issue is that the majority of the most
well-known numbers are counting statistics. In a one year season, people are
looking for consistency and efficiency with the players they draft on their
fantasy baseball team.
Numbers are only going to become more and more prevalent for
baseball fans, so those resistant to change should get used to it. Baseball is
still known as a game that has to be played on a field, but analytical tools
are always being created and tinkered with to try and explain what happened in
the past, and what might happen in the future.
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