We’re not allowed to discuss RBI anymore - the stat nazis have declared that they no longer matter.
From Bill Simmons’ chat last Friday.
I’d say about 80% of Simmons content is directly related to sports, and none of it is enjoyable for me to consume anymore, because of his attitude that was perfectly captured in the above quote: He has a vague sense that quantitative analysis has advanced recently in sports, but rather than seeing the movement as progress, he openly resents it.
While RBI are dependent on many factors out of a hitter’s control in baseball, we do have access to stats that can isolate a player’s performance. Why would we long for the days when fans focused on a stat we now know to be largely meaningless? I don’t know of many fans that claim they miss watching sports on small, black-and-white screens. This is no different.
I still love listening to Simmons’ podcasts about The Real World, or columns with his take on movies, but he’s lost me when it comes to sports. He’s a really funny guy. He’s both a great writer and interviewer. He’s amazing on Twitter. But Moneyball taught me (with the example of scouts) to be wary of anyone that’s both bad at math and claims “there’s so much more to sports than numbers.”
