Welcome to Going Deep, a regular series in which we’ll take a deep dive into a reader-proposed topic. To submit your question or comment, send an email to zmeisel@theathletic.com.
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As a huge baseball fan and a traditionalist, I will admit that it took me some time to buy into analytics. After learning about FIP, WAR, BABIP, etc., I have grown to appreciate the importance of using the best statistics to help with decision-making.
However, a strong segment of the “analytic defenders” seem to look down on traditionalists who don’t buy into advanced metrics. They reject the notion that feel and instinct have a place in today’s game due to all of the data available.