Measurability and Derek Jeter February 26, 2009
Posted by tomflesher in Baseball, Economics.Tags: basketball, Daryl Morey, David Ortiz, Derek Jeter, economics, Economics haiku, plus-minus, Shane Battier
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Skip Sauer at The Sports Economist had an interesting post about Houston Rockets forward Shane Battier’s lack of traditional stats and Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s belief in him regardless. Morey’s use of an adjusted plus-minus stat to justify hiring Battier is reminiscent of Billy Beane’s attention to on-base percentage in building the Oakland As as detailed in Moneyball.
What I take from Sauer’s post is that plus-minus is a surrogate variable for ability to be a team player. That opens the broader question of what can be measured and whether nonmeasurable statistics are ever useful in building a team.
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