Lindholm: Jeff Samardzija’s love (or lack thereof) for data
From SABR member Scott Lindholm at Beyond the Box Score on February 24, 2015:
Chicago Sun-Times’s columnist Rick Morrissey recently interviewed new White Sox pitcher Jeff Samardzija for a column in which Samardzija made some interesting statements about the use of data in baseball and his apparent dislike of it:
“Sabermetrics, nyeh. Sounds like a lot of hot air,’’ Samardzija said, smiling. “I think there are definitely positive aspects to it. I think there is some information you can take from it that’s important. But ultimately from a player’s point of view, you want a coach that can relate to you. Can help you with adjustments mid-game.
In the year of our Lord 2015, that’s an interesting statement to make. It’s a difficult proposition to make that more data hasn’t led to an increased understanding of facets in the game in which changes can yield positive results. Samardzija continued:
“I think preparation with numbers and stats and all that’s great, but when the bullets are flying, you need a guy that knows your personality, can relate to you and get you to change or fix what’s going wrong. If you don’t respect the guy that’s telling you that information, you’re not going to listen to him.’’
This begins to make the distinction between data and implementation.
Read the full article here: http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2015/2/24/8099661/chicago-white-sox-jeff-samardzija-love-for-advanced-analytics-sabermetrics-fight-fight-fight
Originally published: February 24, 2015. Last Updated: February 24, 2015.