# MLB: The Playoffs **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** baseball-mlb\ **Created:** [September 30, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185 "2011-09-30T18:45:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 19
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/361 "2011-10-15T13:41:38Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > If the losing teams scored more runs than the winning teams, it contradicts the claim that the winning teams pitched better. And there’s no such thing as a meaningless run. Scoring runs increases your chances at winning. If you’re up 10 to 1, you have a better chance of winning than if you’re up 2 to 1. Of course there are meaningless runs. SIGH, SIGH, SIGH. If your pitching holds a team to 1 run, you can win with 2. Is that a hard concept to understand. If they score more, they do not matter. The game winning RBI (that is a real stat) was the 2nd RBI. I understand people argue for sport. But man get in the ballgame. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/362 "2011-10-15T16:16:59Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > If your pitching holds a team to 1 run, you can win with 2. Is that a hard concept to understand. If they score more, they do not matter. But this can only ever be an _ex post facto_ evaluation. When the game is over, it’s easy to say, “Well, we only needed 2 runs because they only scored 1.” But until the losing team makes its 27th out, you never know whether than 1 run is going to be enough. Here’s a question for you: Would you prefer to go into that seventh inning with a 2-1 lead, or a 5-1 lead? And if your answer is the latter, how can you argue that those extra 3 runs are meaningless? P.S. Typing “SIGH” multiple times in capitals doesn’t make your bad arguments any more compelling. Just in case you want to save some time in future. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/363 "2011-10-15T16:48:14Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > The game winning RBI (that is a real stat) was the 2nd RBI. No, it’s not. MLB dumped GWRBI 23 years ago because they realized it’s a really dumb stat. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/364 "2011-10-15T17:06:37Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > No, it’s not. MLB dumped GWRBI 23 years ago because they realized it’s a really dumb stat. Wow, there was actually once a stat called GWRBI? I assumed **gonzo** was pulling it out of his ass. As someone who first watched baseball while living in Canada in the early 1990s, and who only really became a full-on fan after moving to the US in 2000, i’d never heard of it, not even in all the baseball books i’ve read since then. Or, if it did appear in those books, i failed to notice. Now, having done a search, i found [this article](http://articles.latimes.com/1989-04-02/sports/sp-1495_1_mark-mcgwire) from the _Los Angeles Times_, about the demise of the GWRBI stat: > [@](#): > > “Good. It was an absolutely ridiculous statistic,” Mike Schmidt said. “I believe in the potential of the stat, but not the way it was.” > > Truth be told, no one really liked it. Most folks thought the GWRBI was cheap and tainted. > > “I think everyone felt it was something that never quite hit the mark,” said Bill Murray, chairman of baseball’s Playing Rules Committee. The group made it official over the winter, without fanfare. > > Established in 1980, the GWRBI went to the player who drove in the run that put his team ahead for good. That might be a grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 10-9 victory or a weak grounder in the top of the first in a 13-0 blowout. I think it’s hilarious that the thing was ever an official stat in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/365 "2011-10-15T22:24:34Z")
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**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/366 "2011-10-15T22:41:23Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [baseballchronology.com - baseballchronology Resources and Information.](http://www.baseballchronology.com/baseball/Background/Glossary/S/Statistics/GWRBI_By_Season.asp) > Boy you guys have no problem not knowing what you are talking about. At the top of the page that you link to, there is a link that says “Learn more about the statistic here.” When you click on that link, it takes you to [this page](http://www.baseballchronology.com/baseball/Background/Glossary/S/Statistics/GWRBI.asp), where it says: > [@](#): > > In baseball statistics, GWRBI stands for Game Winning Run Batted In. **It is a discredited statistic that is no longer officially kept.** The statistic was officially kept from 1980 to 1988. (It was tallied by the National League during 1979, but not part of boxscores until the Player’s Association gave approval prior to the 1980 season.) Emphasis mine. You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/367 "2011-10-15T23:21:21Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Interesting, but I’d rather see how the graph looks with RS and RA (or RS+ and RA+) since while OPS tracks pretty closely with run scoring it’s not as closely as ERA tracks run prevention; also if you check the comments, someone makes the case that the vertical zero axis should be located at about 95 OPS+ due to the influence of pitchers’ batting, which considerably reduces the number of teams in the below-average hitting/better-than-average pitching quadrant. Agreed on all counts. I was just trying to help add some actual, ya know, facts to **gonzo** ’s discussion. As to the Cards, I’m not even remotely ready to start thinking about the World Series. Maybe 30 minutes into the post-game celebration. ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/368 "2011-10-15T23:47:55Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > As to the Cards, I’m not even remotely ready to start thinking about the World Series. With good reason. The Brewers won an astounding 70.4% of their home games this year, which works out to a 49.5% chance of winning the next two games. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/369 "2011-10-16T00:22:49Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Note the team that lost invariably got outpitched. Comedy gold! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/370 "2011-10-16T00:32:43Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#): > > Comedy gold! Simple truth. getting 10 runs when you give up 1 is not a ode to the offense. two would do. i am sorry you guys don’t understand baseball any better than that. Two homeruns by the Tigers so far. Two to zip. Cabrera and Peralta. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/371 "2011-10-16T00:40:50Z")
You don’t know how many runs you need to win until the game is over. There are actually sites now that track a team’s probably of winning as a game goes on. I hope I don’t need to explain why your odds of winning are better at 10-1 than at 2-1. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/372 "2011-10-16T00:57:11Z")
> [@Carmady](#): > > With good reason. > > The Brewers won an astounding 70.4% of their home games this year, which works out to a 49.5% chance of winning the next two games. Ah, but the Cardinals won 55.6% of their away games this year (same record as at home), which works out to a 19.8% chance the Brewers win the next two games. 🙂 Perhaps more relevantly, each team has a narrow 5-4 margin over the other during the regular season when they played at home, assuming I’m remembering correctly. And if it means anything, the Cards’ successes against the Brewers in Milwaukee came late in the season. But, these are two evenly-matched teams, and anything could yet happen. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/373 "2011-10-16T01:29:16Z")
I think the only thing that could happen in the NLCS that would surprise me is if the Brewers don’t make any more errors. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/374 "2011-10-16T01:36:09Z")
As far as 3rd innings go, this might be my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/375 "2011-10-16T02:10:01Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Two homeruns by the Tigers so far. Two to zip. Cabrera and Peralta. Maybe they shouldn’t have stopped at two runs. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/376 "2011-10-16T02:44:19Z")
That’s our boys!! ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/377 "2011-10-16T03:03:36Z")
Go rest, Young man! One helluva good night’s work. ETA: Keerap Nelson! ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/378 "2011-10-16T03:04:19Z")
Is bringing in Brad Penny the same as conceding? ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/379 "2011-10-16T03:29:53Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Simple truth. getting 10 runs when you give up 1 is not a ode to the offense. two would do. i am sorry you guys don’t understand baseball any better than that. > Two homeruns by the Tigers so far. Two to zip. Cabrera and Peralta. So are the Tigers going to win the series because of their pitching or their home runs? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2011, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185/380 "2011-10-16T03:48:51Z")
Texas outpitches Detroit 15-5. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185.md?page=18) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mlb-the-playoffs/598185.md?page=20)