What’s in a number? Rays talk important stats

TORONTO — By and large, analytics are now driving Major League Baseball.

Statistics measure virtually everything that can be done on a baseball diamond. Players understand the new order, and they realize that their performances can be quantified to reflect value. Given that element, the fact that so many statistics do exist, and that stats are like beauty — in the eye of the beholder — a visit to the Rays’ clubhouse seemed in order. What stats do Rays players view as important — OPS, wins above replacement, walks-to-strikeout ratio?

Team wins was not an option, since every player surveyed would have answered as such when asked what stat or stats mattered most to them.

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for #ASGWorthy Rays

Right-hander Jake Odorizzi went with innings pitched, noting, “If you have a lot of innings, you must be doing something right.

“You are more or less keeping your team in every single game. If you can get around the 200-inning mark, all the other peripheral stats kind of fall into place. But innings is the one that you have the biggest control of. It speaks to everything else.”

Corey Dickerson acknowledged that while everyone wants to be known as a team player, he must be selfish where individual stats are concerned in order to help the team. And when he hits the ball hard, he feels as though he’s best helping the team.

“Individually, the stat I probably pay the most attention to is the velocity off the bat, hard-hit balls,” Dickerson said. “Because you know if you’re consistently making good, hard contact off the bat, the ball will fall or find a hole sooner or later. So that’s more or less what I look at when judging my performance rather than the …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com