Of Rocco Baldelli and the Red Stinkers

that sounds as if it means something but really doesn’t. Of course any statistic is misleading sometimes and may not be applicable at times. That is true always and in all cases. And as Brickhaus says, of course some people sometimes misuse sabermetric information. Fortunately, by its very nature, there is generally some element of self-correction since the entire edifice is built on asking questions and being skeptical of final answers. Sometimes demographers misuse demographic information and economists misuse economic statistics and on and on. That does not in any way discredit the field itself.

One hopes we all bring up our children to be critical thinkers, which means remaining open to new ideas and new ways of thinking and retaining some measure of skepticism about all orthodoxies. To point out that progressive analysis may be misused or may be incomplete or continues to evolve is nothing more than that. But it certainly is not the same as suggesting to young minds that it is inherently flawed or should be disregarded. And it is certainly worthwhile to guide young minds to mistrust old saws that do not have evidence to support their claims.

The warning you suggest is inherent in sabermetric thinking. I don’t think it is welcome in traditional thinking.