The Seattle Mariners made it into the American League playoffs for the first time in 21 years, and after a stunning two wins over the favored Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto in the first round, they faced off against the Houston Astros in Houston Monday afternoon. One ominous sign during the second win in Toronto was ignored because an algorithm – of all things – led the Mariners’ astray.
Ever since the Moneyball film popularized heavy analytics in baseball, we’ve seen a lot of this phenomenon. It’s made the game a lot more boring, especially with the “Three True Outcomes” style that sabermatricians claim is the end result of analytics. As an Angels fan, I’ve seen the Mariners play a lot, and it’s clear how young guys like Julio Rodriguez are the future of your team, not some stat crunchers trying to maximize OBP.
Ever since the Moneyball film popularized heavy analytics in baseball, we’ve seen a lot of this phenomenon. It’s made the game a lot more boring, especially with the “Three True Outcomes” style that sabermatricians claim is the end result of analytics. As an Angels fan, I’ve seen the Mariners play a lot, and it’s clear how young guys like Julio Rodriguez are the future of your team, not some stat crunchers trying to maximize OBP.