On Apr 23, 6:51=A0am, Winn <marty.w...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> On Apr 22, 9:52 pm, "K2" <K2Pad...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I had this conversation with my wife who is no stats geek but has
> watched much baseball with me over the last 14 years and heard my
> sabrmetric preaching. =A0She says she understands it (run environments),
> it's not that difficult, she can't understand why others don't easily
> understand.
In some ways, I think it might be easier for a non-fan to understand.
It's easier to accept the concept of park effects in theory, than to
actually suffer them firsthand. Sit through enough 2-1 losses at
home, and it's hard not to point the finger at the offense.
> Baseball is sort of unique in that each ballpark is different. =A0Does
> elevation effect scoring in football, hockey, and basketball? =A0I've
> heard that you can kick longer FGs in Denver than elsewhere. =A0I
> remember the Nuggets used to score tons of points but I thought it was
> more the style of play than elevation. =A0I remember that some
> discounted Bob Beamons 1968 Mexico City olympic long jump record
> because it was assisted by high elevation. =A0I know all the best
> distance runners are from high elevation countries because the air is
> thinner and their lungs get stronger. =A0Some running world records are
> thrown out because they are wind aided. =A0Do other s****ts have to make
> adjustments to their scores or records because of playing conditions?
> I've never heard anyone argue that you ought to have to get 11 yards
> to get a first down in Denver. =A0Or that John Elways lifetime TDs and
> yards ought to have a 5% damper placed on them because of playing
> conditions. =A0I know rule changes have effected say total scoring in
> basketball, football, and hockey.
I think the differences in other s****ts are probably more across time,
than from location to location. I don't think you hear about anybody
making adjustments to football stats, because they know it's a lost
cause, for at least a couple of reasons. The constant tinkering with
the rules has made it a far different game than it used to be - you
can't really compare Peyton Manning to Sammy Baugh, because they're
barely playing the same game.
Also, I think the whole concept of individual stats in football is on
faulty footing, compared to baseball. A guy hits a home run - that's
an individual accomplishment. Other baseball stats might be more team-
dependent, but taken on the whole, you can get a pretty good idea of
what a guy is contributing to the cause. But, nobody does anything on
the football field without the help of his teammates. We could try to
adjust stats for home fields in football, but I don't think it would
help much as long as we can't adjust for things that are even more
im****tant, IMO, like the quality of an offensive line.
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