Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Should MLB Do Away With Pitchers Won/Lost Records?
I was flipping around the TV yesterday & I got interested in a point that Brian Kenny from MLB Network was making. He thinks that MLB should do away with a pitcher's won-lost record. Why? It's a stat that does not measure the effectiveness of a pitcher, but only whether his offense outscored the other team on a particular night. Case in point - Clay Buchholz pitches 7 innings of 2 run ball. He doesn't get a win. Next game he gives up 5 runs, but the team scores 12 & he gets a win. Was Buchholz better or more effective in the 1st game or in the 2nd? Stats like ERA, WHIP & stranding RISP are tools that sabermetric fans rely on these days, more than if a pitcher is a 20-game winner. What do you think? Personally, I think a win-loss record is one indicator out of many. While it is dependent on the offense so are balls caught in the field by the defense. Hitters get hits sometimes because fielders don't get to balls or because a hometown scorer turns an error into a questionable hit. I don't think that there is one perfect measure of a pitcher's performance. How about a guy who doesn't have his best stuff, but stays out there to compete & save the bullpen? I remember games that I struggled through & won as much as my no-hitters. I think that a won-lost record should stay. Just use it as one measure, not "the" measure of a pitcher's effectiveness.
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Keep the won lost record. You also have ERA and other stats that tell the whole story. Who ARE these people pushing for this? Why don't we just give EVERYONE a trophy at the end of the season. GEEZ!!
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