Do You Have to Have Been Good at Baseball to Understand It?

[MilkSpiller22]

With all due respect, I disagree. Sure there are a few exceptions (Connie Mack - he owned the team). You may not have to been great but professional experience extremely important. Now anybody can be a fan, just remember when you yelling at that "marginal at best" ballplayer, he pretty frickin' good!!!

But why do we have to even put in that stipulation... If the player is bad and he hurts your team then he deserves being called for what he is... It is irrelevant that he is a better ballplayer than you will ever be...

If you go to an accountant, and he fucks up your taxes, does he not deserve to get yelled at by you?? do you have to put in the realization that he is better at it than you are??

 

[PolarVortex]

This is a common myth perpetrated by those who lack knowledge of the sports. "If you never were amazing at baseball then you don't know what you're talking about!" (I was actually pretty decent at baseball, but that's besides the point). The irony is that these same people never reached MLB, so by their theory, they don't know what they're talking about. So which is it?

If you never played baseball, I think it would take longer to get a grasp for all the different scenarios playing out on every pitch. But over time, after watching enough games, I think a reasonably intelligent non-player would be able to understand the stuff that goes on beyond the basic fundamentals.

 

[broncosmitty]

Players wont listen to a never was... taking advice from someone with no experience is very hard, even if the advice is good...

For good reason.

 

[The Q]

I never played anything competitive, and I would never dream to tell someone who has how to play. But when I say "This guys sucks!", I am saying it with the understanding that he is REALLY GOOD. But next to a REALLY REALLY REALLY GOOD player, he sucks. He sucks in the MLB universe.

Just like when I say "I hate that guy!", I don't actually, literally, hate the guy. I "hate" him in a sports sense.

I actually hate Kevin Dyson, David Stern and Tim Duncan/Manu Ginobili

 

[The Q]

I don't know anyone in here on a personal level so that's a pretty good bet. I fashion myself as not entirely incompetent, but yeah, I do have to admit I am more than a few notches below a scout, GM, coach, etc. My dad insisted on chatting with the Cards' majority owner (probably jokingly since he hates saber) on one occasion (we happen to be friends with a relative of the DeWitts) for a job but there was some hub-bub about owner's considerations or what not that year. Dunno if it had anything to do with the Royals being in STL att.



Oh, I don't doubt that. There were a couple insufferable posters I avoid on another site that fit that description to a T.




I would say guys like Schatz and Kacsmer have made contributions that are either brand new entirely or have flown in the face of the established thought on a subject; certainly not observations you'd likely come to by just playing or watching. I am not sure I would quite go so far they are the pillars of knowledge for instance but I wouldn't be comfortable saying they aren't knowledgeable about football either. There are different ways to be knowledgeable about a sport, and that's ok. Villain earlier in the thread covered the Manager vs GM dynamic, so I won't rehash it, but I think that should help. Quite a few GM's coming in now have backgrounds that more resemble a hedge fund manager from an elite school than a former player.

On another note, didn't baseball prospectus have brain drain from real live baseball organizations like the Astros? I'd be surprised if all of them played baseball without researching it.

Edit: Didn't someone on the NFL board claimed Kacsmer was on KFFL a while back?

Yes Kacsmer was on KFFL yeras ago. Late 2000s

 

[MilkSpiller22]

For good reason.

Absolutely!!! this is why you never take my fantasy advice...LOL

 

[broncosmitty]

Absolutely!!! this is why you never take my fantasy advice...LOL

How did you not take Hiller last Mock!?!

Patience is a virtue, but you waited to damn long.

 

[Villain]

Yeah. I can tell by Omar's tact and writing ability that he is destined for great things. However, he might be in front of you in basic understanding of a discussion and how stupid it is to reply to one, when you lack the intelligence (btw, it is ''inspiration'') to do so. You see, Mr Protector of the Sabermetric Flame, Omar and I are separated by a significant number of years, age-wise. I was pointing out to HIM, that in my youth, I dreamed of being a baseball PLAYER (I picked Mantle...could have been Al Kaline)...while he dreams of being a front office exec like the Jonah Hill character. THUS, the mention of ''different generations''.

But hey, feel free to babble on. Protect young Omar if you feel he needs protecting. Hold the NEW STANDARDS aloft for all to see....or whatever the hell you are doing.


Question for both you and Omar. If either, or both, of you pro-create...will you teach that child how to play baseball, or will you, as soon as possible, get him/her involved in sports statistics? As adult men you enjoy and study numbers, percentages, algebra, etc....you'd thus realize the chances of any one particular child succeeding at pro sports is very low. Would you, therefore, even bother teaching your children sports? Perhaps going to other forms of physical exercise and activity? Perhaps even video games like MLB RBI will be replaced in the near future by Sabermetric video games? Perhaps Omar will find a way to rid baseball of having to deal with actual players on a field!!! Baseball existing in the Cloud!!! Am I making you dizzy with hope, Omar? LOL

When I was little, I wanted to be a professional skateboarder and a marine biologist. I'm neither one of those and I'm still a better informed baseball fan than you are. Funny how that works.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

How did you not take Hiller last Mock!?!

Patience is a virtue, but you waited to damn long.

I thought it was only me and you who like him... Guess Nos thinks hes good too... Still was able to draft Wilbur wood... who was pretty good himself...

 

[DirtDirtDirt]

If you never played baseball, I think it would take longer to get a grasp for all the different scenarios playing out on every pitch. But over time, after watching enough games, I think a reasonably intelligent non-player would be able to understand the stuff that goes on beyond the basic fundamentals.

Oh Shut up

 

[PolarVortex]

Oh Shut up

Did your little boy ever recover from his date with the gorilla? Can't blame him for thinking it looked a lot like Momma.

 

[The Q]

But why do we have to even put in that stipulation... If the player is bad and he hurts your team then he deserves being called for what he is... It is irrelevant that he is a better ballplayer than you will ever be...

If you go to an accountant, and he fucks up your taxes, does he not deserve to get yelled at by you?? do you have to put in the realization that he is better at it than you are??

Because an accountant doing work for you vs. one doing the work for a huge company are different. They're at different levels.

But they're still better than if we did them ourselves. (in theory, lets say without the use of Software or the PEDs of the accounting world lol).

 

[broncosmitty]

I thought it was only me and you who like him... Guess Nos thinks hes good too... Still was able to draft Wilbur wood... who was pretty good himself...

Saw that. Maybe our continued hammering of his incredible value has worn off?

I still liked your bullpen last time. But I had Hiller pencilled in for you. And with Wlk nabbing Hoyt things just were different than what I had assumed.

 

[broncosmitty]

Did your little boy ever recover from his date with the gorilla? Can't blame him for thinking it looked a lot like Momma.

Leave my cousin out of this.

 

[The Q]

Clearly not simply because of Theo Epstein.

Dude probably still can't catch anything and he basically built 3 title teams for the Sox.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Saw that. Maybe our continued hammering of his incredible value has worn off?

I still liked your bullpen last time. But I had Hiller pencilled in for you. And with Wlk nabbing Hoyt things just were different than what I had assumed.

I think the best possible 5 man bullpen is:

Mariano, Eckersley, Billy wagner, Hiller and Hoyt... I don't think It is possible to do better than that...

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Clearly not simply because of Theo Epstein.

Dude probably still can't catch anything and he basically built 3 title teams for the Sox.

and brought the cubs into respectability... If I were the cubs, I host Goat week... all week they have a petting zoo before the games and allow children to ride the goats...

 

[The Q]

and brought the cubs into respectability... If I were the cubs, I host Goat week... all week they have a petting zoo before the games and allow children to ride the goats...

LMAO.

Stealing this. This is hilariously fantastic.

 

[Omar 382]

Yeah. I can tell by Omar's tact and writing ability that he is destined for great things. However, he might be in front of you in basic understanding of a discussion and how stupid it is to reply to one, when you lack the intelligence (btw, it is ''inspiration'') to do so.
This line makes no sense

You see, Mr Protector of the Sabermetric Flame, Omar and I are separated by a significant number of years, age-wise. I was pointing out to HIM, that in my youth, I dreamed of being a baseball PLAYER (I picked Mantle...could have been Al Kaline)...while he dreams of being a front office exec like the Jonah Hill character. THUS, the mention of ''different generations''.
I dreamed of being a baseball player as a kid (you're good at claiming things you have no way of knowing). Tons of kids today still dream of being a baseball player today. I honestly doubt any 8 or 13 year olds want to be a general manager. It's not until you have a more nuanced understanding of the game, and a reality-check that you're not good enough to become a professional player, that some want to have some type of job in a front office.

But hey, feel free to babble on. Protect young Omar if you feel he needs protecting. Hold the NEW STANDARDS aloft for all to see....or whatever the hell you are doing.
Oh the irony.



Question for both you and Omar. If either, or both, of you pro-create...will you teach that child how to play baseball, or will you, as soon as possible, get him/her involved in sports statistics?
I wouldn't force my child to do one thing or another if he expressed differently. I'd certainly sign him up for t-ball, as he wouldn't have an opinion at that age, but if he ever expresses dissatisfaction with baseball, I'd let him stop of course. I'd let him know that I love baseball, and if he was interested in learning about it, there's a lot I could teach him.

As adult men you enjoy and study numbers, percentages, algebra, etc....you'd thus realize the chances of any one particular child succeeding at pro sports is very low. Would you, therefore, even bother teaching your children sports? Perhaps going to other forms of physical exercise and activity? Perhaps even video games like MLB RBI will be replaced in the near future by Sabermetric video games? Perhaps Omar will find a way to rid baseball of having to deal with actual players on a field!!! Baseball existing in the Cloud!!! Am I making you dizzy with hope, Omar? LOL
How much dick do you suck a night on average? 3; 4 dicks?

 

[Iffster]

When I was little, I wanted to be a professional skateboarder and a marine biologist. I'm neither one of those and I'm still a better informed baseball fan than you are. Funny how that works.

Maybe so...but your friend is Omar....case closed.