Analytics

It has been several years since I coached my last game for the Concord Choppers. And in the years since the final out was recorded. I've often thought about changes in the game over the last two decades.

In the age of analytics, I wonder how I might have fared. 

Some of my pre-game and post-game speeches to the ball club might seem woefully outdated by modern standards.

The teachings of me and my fellow coaches focused on simple principles:

For Pitchers:

• Spot your fastball and work off it
• Stay simple and consistent with your mechanics
• Trust your catcher

For Fielders:

• Keep your mind focused 
• Anticipate what you might do if the ball is hit to you before the pitch
• Trust the fundamentals and keep yourself in good fielding position

For Hitters:

• Don't try to do too much
• Take what the pitcher is giving you
• Chop the ball

In some ways, the "chopping" act played a part in the naming of the team. That and, well, everyone loves some good alliteration!

But that chopping point is, really, the focus of my thinking today. Recently, I've been thinking about how much coaching the game has changed in 20 years.

Our hitting philosophy worked on basic physics. By chopping down on the ball when you struck it, you'd create backspin which would, in turn, create loft. And truly, the Choppers hit many home runs and extra base hits during their run of success.

But now, in the age of the three true outcomes (home run, strike out, walk). I'm afraid our teaching wouldn't (ahem) fly. We taught our guys NOT to swing upward. Now, that approach is in vogue.

FIP. BABIP. WAR. Bleh.

I'm not making light of the terms, as they are key elements of the modern game which I love so much. But in our coaching era, they would have been nothing more than alphabet soup. Truly, the evolution was probably already underway behind the scenes while we were coaching as the "Moneyball" era took hold but hadn't trickled down to our level.

But by the mid 20-teens, long after the Choppers left the dugout, baseball analytics became the rage everywhere. And indeed, you can't watch a broadcast today without such elements as launch angle, exit velocity and expected outcome. 

"Max effort" was something we taught our pitchers NOT to do. Now, it is the only way to consistently hit 100 MPH on the radar gun. And maybe it is why there are so many arm injuries for young hurlers. 

I suppose all sports have evolved. The hurry-up offense, in football, used to be a late game tactic when time was running out. Now, it can be featured the entire game (and often is). Basketball used to exist without the three point line. These days, the game is built around it.

So, it isn't shocking that our grand game would also modernize.

Still, I'd like to think that some of the basics we used to teach still resonate. Be on time. Hustle. Respect the game.

Those are winning principles in any era in my book.

JG