Stat-a-licious

I wasn’t planning on writing until Sunday. I found out last time I was writing regularly that you all didn’t visit the site very much on weekends. However, I found an article on SignOnSanDiego.com that I had to mention.

A few words about OPS: It's a handy tool, says Padres superscout Grady Fuson, who has worked for the Texas Rangers and the statistically trail-blazing Oakland Athletics.

"Without a doubt, I think that's a statistic that holds up," Fuson said yesterday, before studying the Padres and Angels at Peoria Stadium. "You look at guys that have consistency with those numbers. It's like anything else – there's other things you look at statistically. But with OPS you get 8 and above, you're doing OK; you get 9s, you're doing great."

Oh really? We didn’t know…

If you want even better descriptions of a hitter’s offensive ability, break it down into Batting Average/On-base Average/Slugging. This shows the make-up of a player’s OPS and shows the hitter’s ‘swing-for-contact’ ability.

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I wrote this with an almost condescending attitude. But I do want to say that it is good that the Padres are taking note of these kinds of things. I have to say I am not surprised the Padres look at this stuff, but I am surprised that the Union Tribune people are aware of it.