Great analysis, paint.
So how do you do the strike zone? I think that's the hard part.
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
Is it 100% accurate, no. Is it 98% accurate? Probably so, especially once you have corrected data. Yes, the strikezone height changes batter to batter and even from at bat to at bat with each batter.
This shows that it isn't consistent. The harder you throw, the smaller your strikezone is.No MLB umpire is perfect, but most are damn good. That each man has a bit of a varying strikezone is OK by me and most teams (just be consistent).
I want the game I love to be decided by the players on the field. Not the guy wearing the umpire hat.I want baseball types ruling baseball games. Not a Silicon Valley type that has never played the game nor understands the importance of the game and it's history. Wendelstedt can call the game I attend while Gates can be responsible for the software I utilize to study the stats from that game.
In that case, Pitch F/X will have a higher percentage of pitches measured incorrectly. That number may only be 1-2% more than something more accurate, but it will be higher. For it's current application, it doesn't matter if it's "not good enough". The inaccuracy applies equally to all umpires, and its output should be viewed only as a relative comparison between different umpire's ball/strike accuracy. I doubt it would be suitable to replace the role of an umpire. I'd at least need a bit more convincing.
For what it's worth, the Pitch F/X setup is much less complex and probably costs 20% of what I suggested above. It's diminishing returns, and it all depends on how accurate you need the measurement to be. An inch will cost you millions...
Last edited by paintmered; 01-07-2013 at 09:57 PM.
All models are wrong. Some of them are useful.
I hate to beat a dead horse, but the computerized strike zones are dependent on humans calibrating the zone before each at-bat. There is some definite wiggle room for being off by an inch or two with each player, and worse is that because it's only calibrated before the plate appearance, a slight shift in batting stance can throw off the zone even further.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
So lets assume that 25% of Chapman's 98+ taken strikes are balls.
Is it too much to ask to see some photographic prove?
Lets take it a step further. If you are a fireballer getting jerked around why not make a huge stink in the press? 25 percent error rate is beyond comprehension.
It is possible to do if you wanted to spend the money for MLB.tv (for archived game footage) and wanted to cross check PFX data. The problem is, you are talking about thousands and thousands of pitches here. That isn't something many people are going to be able to undertake in terms of going back and loading up the video, capturing it, editing it and comparing it against pitcher XYZ and his slower fastball. That doesn't even come into play with the fact that camera angles in every ballpark are different, so you aren't going to be able to do much with the video unless you are solely looking at it in one ballpark.
But it is pretty simple, if you accept that the Pitch F/X system is incredibly accurate (and MLB, MLB Teams and every television station that covers the games all do), then what the author is saying is true.
But couldn't just Chapman (or someone more articulate/media friendly (no disrespect intended to Aroldis)) hold a presser showing 100 pitches in the strike zone and 25 of them called balls? That would really turn the tide against umps I'd say...granting that the info is correct.
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