Do stats mean anything when talking about which team is better then the other?

Question

Do stats mean anything when talking about which team is better then the other?

Answer 1

I dont think so. Texas is the MLB leader in Runs Scored (2nd place are the Cubs) And I dont think that Texas is a better team than the Cubs. And if you do, please get some help.

The Cubs have hit 142 Total homeruns while the Brewers have hit 165 and yet we are 5.5 ahead of them.

And just to throw in a little easter egg, the Cubs are in the Top 10 of the MLB leaders in 10 of 12 Batting Statistics and 6 of 12 in Pitching Leaders. Cubs are the leaders in Strike outs and Opponent Batting Average with 965 K's and .242 BA respectively. Man, does this team look good.

Answer 2

For statistics to have any meaning they have to be applied over a large sample. For example, if you roll a dice 600 hundred times, you will get about 100 ones, 100 twos, 100 three and so on up to six.

However, if you only roll a dice six times you may not get one of each number, you might get something like 2 ones, 2 sixes, a five and a three. Even though you know a one will come up on average one time in six, it doesn't really help you predict much on just a few rolls.

The same limitations of statistics apply to baseball. You could look at the stats and say the Cubs have better pitching (on average) than the Pirates, they also have better hitting (on average) and hit more home runs (on average) than the Pirates. Those stats might indicate that the Cubs would win 3/4 of their games they play against the Pirates. However, when they play just a four game series, the Cubs may only win 1 or 2...or they might sweep the sereis. If they played 40 games...it will be closer to 75%, and if they play 400 games, closer yet.

Statistics don't tell you what will happen, they only tell you the chances of something happening relative to the other possible outcomes. And the larger the sample size, the more accurate the statistics will be.

The only certain way to say one team is better than another is for them to play the game. Even then, there might be injuries, they might miss the opposing team's ace....you can't tell for sure, but it always makes for interesting discussions.

Answer 3

I believe they do, especially over 162 games.

But in the end, like the cliché says, "you still need to play the game."

Answer 4

The only stat that matters is Wins and Losses

The Yankees outplayed the Pirates in every statistical category in the 1960 World Series but lost in 7 games.

Answer 5

yes definetly

Answer 6

No....Minnesota has hit the least homeruns and look where they are at

Answer 7

Yes.

Answer 8

You can make an argument using stats but they have very little meaning.  Three solid pitching starts from a lower producing team can beat the best teams.  This is why the playoffs are so hard to predict, and any of the teams can beat any of the others in a short series, just look at the Rockies last year.

Answer 9

where they are in the standings matter

Answer 10

No.  The Yankees are the best team in the league... on paper.  Through the first 100 games or so though, that's clearly not the case.    

Answer 11

It does prove that in the Standing are better, but  the most significant thing to prove who is a better team is by CHAMPIONSHIPS

Answer 12

Stats are important but what it comes down to is championships.  A team can have the most wins, best pitching, hitting & fielding but if they fail to win a championship, what's more importantant then?  

Answer 13

duh...yea

Answer 14

Stats tell a story of what has happened during the game.  The stats give a good indication of who will win.  The team that wins more games than another team, is better.  :)