Baseball's statistical revolution is here to stay

It's time to embrace baseball's statistical revolution. The bandwagon hasn't left yet, there's still time to jump on. The advanced statistics and analytics that have played a part in transforming the way many look at America's Pastime are here to stay.

It doesn't have to be scary to welcome new information. Somehow, it's been painted that way, as if those who give a warm embrace to a numbers-based approach are forced to completely disregard some of the more traditional metrics. That's not the case. Nothing has to be forgotten or packed away in the attic with that collection of signed baseballs covered in cobwebs. It doesn't have to be one or the other, even though oddly that's been part of the reaction.

There's more information available today than ever before. WAR, BABIP, FIP, wRC-plus, DRS, spin rates, exit velocity. Parts of the game can be tracked that used to be more or less a guessing game and an eye test. For many fans in baseball, the past decade or so, there's been a steep learning curve. But that's a good thing. Being able to have all of this information should be exciting. Aspects that were in the dark have come to the light.

Baseball is always changing, ever-so-slightly. The Dead Ball Era. The Steroid Era. Jackie Robinson integrating the game. The introduction of the designated hitter. Changes in the strike zone. Recent alterations to speed up the game. This is just a different set of numbers to present a better lens through which to view the game.

It's a mistake that the use of these numbers has essentially become the third rail of baseball politics. The negative undertones and snark while ignoring useful information is only counterproductive. And it's probably a mistake to completely disregard anything — including some of the older statistics.

How can it be bad to have more information? Not everyone has to completely buy in to everything. That's the fun part about it. Everyone is different. Everyone can find different aspects that they like. Does this mean every baseball fan has to buy in? Not at all.

If you're someone who has loved baseball for decades and wants to continue to follow it like you have, there's nothing inherently wrong with that notion, but the understanding that these numbers are there and are changing the game and how teams make decisions is essential. It can no longer just be ignored.

The bottom line is it can't be a negative that additional, free information is at least available to be consumed. It's there for the taking, and there isn't a downside to that. Additional context shouldn't be scary.

The Akron Beacon Journal ran a primer last season on some of the more common advanced numbers being used as an introduction to understanding the context behind them, which is the real important piece to it all. That primer will be in print and online at Ohio.com in the future as well. A player having a 121 wRC-plus (weighted runs created) doesn't necessarily mean anything unless it's noted that 100 is league average, and it means he's been 21 percent better than that. Jose Ramirez's 1.1 WAR entering Saturday might not mean a whole lot without understanding that it's the 11th-best mark in the American League.

The goal of these numbers isn't to directly contradict some of the more traditional ways of thinking. It is to simply add additional context. Why is a pitcher struggling or a hitter improving? What exactly is going on with that All-Star pitcher who's getting crushed to begin the season? Now we can find that answer in a more complete way.

Think of all of the ways in which we can analyze the game today as a set of blueprints. Separated, they all provide some sort of context and value. But layer them in conjunction with one another, and now you see every aspect of the equation and a more complete picture. That's the goal. It isn't to squash one way of thinking, it's simply to use as much useful information as possible to make the most informed decision or judgment. Lay the blueprints on top of one another, you see the entire house, not just the framework.

The most important part as to why this statistical revolution should be embraced is that it is not just a way for some fans or writers to watch the game. Teams are making decisions in part based on these numbers. It goes into the actual decision-making and on-field strategy. In that way, for those who cover the game, ignoring those numbers would be to ignore giving readers valuable information. Using them is essential in that regard.

Dan Otero is a perfect example. The year prior to coming to the Indians, he posted a 6.75 ERA with the Oakland Athletics in 2015. To many, that means his value would have plummeted. The Indians saw several peripheral numbers that indicated he had been much better than his ERA suggested. He was acquired and then posted a 1.53 ERA last season. These numbers are a huge reason as to why he's with the Indians, an organization that has made it a point to have an analytical approach when needed.

"I think we as an organization believe in providing every resource possible for anybody that might need it or wants to improve," pitching coach Mickey Callaway. "We use these to diagnose what's going well or what's going wrong. If you have a high ERA but a low FIP, maybe you don't need to make a change. It just validates what we might say."

The idea when teams use these numbers to alter the way they play the game is that taking part in better practices — such as a more educated approach to bunting or shifting defensively — will slightly increase their chances of a positive output and, over a large enough period of time, will result in a couple of extra wins. Do a couple of things that give you a better percentage or two to win a game, and over 162 of them, it might make the difference. It's not to be 100 percent right all the time. It's just playing with the percentages and norms to find the best odds. Once teams were able to properly record different things, it was clear that some traditional baseball hypotheses had been slightly off target.

All of this is why a pitcher who has a great win-loss record might not receive as much praise if his FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) is poor. It's also why a hitter who has a terrible batting average but an equally terrible BABIP (Batting Average on Balls in Play) won't be discarded on the free-agent market like he might have 20 years ago.

We have a better way to show actual performance value instead of perceived value, which in some cases can be misleading. The goal is to be as informed as possible. The goal in this space, for the readers, is to be as helpful as possible and to present the best information available. That's why exit velocities are often given following a home run on Twitter, or why wRC-plus accompanies most stories about a streaking or struggling hitter. Wins, batting average, RBI, all of them will still be used. But they can work in conjunction. It's understandable that it can be frustrating to have to alter a viewpoint on how the game is consumed, but it's clear the analytical aspects aren't going anywhere, either.