Kapler: Why it’s time to re-educate players in meaningful statistics
From former major league player Gabe Kapler at WEEI.com on July 22, 2013:
In September of 2005, I tore my Achilles tendon rounding second base in Toronto on a home run hit by Tony Graffanino. I was out until mid-season in 2006, and when I came back, I had lost my explosive first step. I was disturbed that I was not the defender that I wanted to be. Because the Red Sox relied upon me to come into games late to play the outfield for a few of our guys — primarily Manny Ramirez — my lack of range was unacceptable.
That offseason, I was approached by Ben Cherington (then a Red Sox vice president of player personnel) and Mike Hazen (then the farm director) about managing in the organization and it seemed at the time like the perfect fit. The job changed the way I understood the game.
At some point, Ben opened my eyes wide when he sent me a study on the sacrifice bunt and the value of the out in major league baseball at the time. I considered myself to be a student of the game, but this was the first time I had a baseball man illuminate such a study. It was at that point that I realized that baseball players are not the most educated people in our game — far from it.
Read the full article here: http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2013/07/22/stats-101-time-to-re-educate-players-in-meaningful-statistics/
Originally published: July 22, 2013. Last Updated: July 22, 2013.