baseball things i don't care about

- exit velocity
- launch angle
- WRC+
- someone's 800th hit or whatever
- betting lines

i know there's a reason that people do care about these things but they don't add to my enjoyment of the game at all

Agree totally on 1,2, and 5. Most stats and benchmarks do add to my enjoyment of the game.

My own list...The HR Derby and ASG for sure, these days. Off-season player movement except as it relates to the Jays (I barely pay attention till the season begins, then I look around and see where everyone landed). I will have more as things occur to me. I'm old--lots more!

commentators just can’t get enough of exit velocity, i guess it gives them something to talk about but dude i can see when somebody’s roping the ball, i’m not a hitting instructor, i don’t need to understand the difference between 103 and 105.2 exit velocity

Just for you (from The Athletic today):

What stands out about Kurtz, who leads all rookies in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, homers hit and Wins Above Replacement, is that he swings the bat hard and with more tilt than the average hitter. Kurtz averages 77.5 mph on his swings, and only four qualified hitters in baseball swing the bat faster on average. And with a 39 degree average tilt on his swings, only eight players swing with more loft.

He's what we call a three-tool player: analytics, bat speed, and loft, he's got it all.

championship droughts

"the coors effect"

i picture this reporter arriving breathlessly, keeping his crumpled straw hat onto his head with one hand and holding his notebook in the other, and he's like "guys, guys.. you're never going to believe this but, what stands out about Kurtz, who leads all rookies..."

tracking (most) prospects

individual player awards (most of the time)

hall of fame debates (i have a mild interest in who gets selected each year but not in things like whether andruw jones deserves to be in hall when his WRC+ pales in comparison to that of petey "two-finger" mcgillicudy of the 1812 boston beans, who has yet to be inducted)

I could not give a FUCK about the Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame #1 on my list of Baseball Things I Care About Too Much. (Although, as I always do, I'll differentiate between "caring" and "taking an interest in." If they vote Pat Tabler into the HOF next year, my first reaction will be a McEnroe-like "You can't be serious!" and then the next day I'll move onto other stuff.)

(My interest in the HOF is very much aligned with my interest in awards; voting says so much about ever-changing attitudes about what constitutes greatness/value and what doesn't matter so much any more.)

I like a nice red Savant page, and I definitely enjoy talking about the Hall of Fame. Though I prefer to “remember some guys”, like really excellent players that everyone seems to have forgotten. Like how could we forget how awesome Mark Langston and Kevin Appier were??

I think one of the more fascinating things about the HOF in recent years has been how the history of the game is chosen to be remembered, which often doesn’t jibe with the reality of what occurred.

That whole Hall-of-the-Very-Good litany (Langston and Appier both good examples--and Viola and Saberhagen and Hershiser and Chuck Finley and a bunch of '80s starters) fascinates me too. And, when the timing is just right (or the VC members are just right), some of them will be voted in the HOF.

Returning to the thread subject: do not care a bit about City Connect jerseys or other such corny marketing gimmicks.

(You want to market the game? Make sure Skenes and Skubal don't start opposite ends of a double-header.)

- trump's thoughts about whether or not statutory rapists should be in the hall of fame

- the hall of fame (tbf i loved dave parker being inducted, but i hate the neverending judgment of people like lou whitaker being somehow lacking)

- betting lines

- HR derby, match des étoiles. astonishing to me that streamers are bidding serious money on that stuff

- i want to not care about anything manfred says, but he's the fucking worst. he's only in the position because of his hatred for and success against labor. he's management's eager puppet, as we will be reminded of in december 2026

- city connect unis are lame as fuc but tbf at least they're not militaristic camo shit

- stories about owners losing money, because c'mon

The players outside the game

I love exit velocity, I think it really helps me understand how well a player is swinging the bat, much better than generic announcer-speak along the lines of "he's 3 for 11 in the series with a double".

Hates:

-- hitting streaks of less than 20 games (and their bastard cousins "such and such player has hit safely in 12 of the last 14 games").

-- manager in-game or between inning interviews

-- ditto betting lines

-- meaningless club-related all-time records, e.g. "Bo Bichette is five hits away from being fourth all-time in hits by a Blue Jays shortstop".

Somewhat related to that last one--and one point where Morbius and I were 100% in sync--is the comparative meaningless now of postseason records. There was always a built-in trap there that favoured the Yankees, Cardinals, etc., but post-WC that concept has spiralled out of control.

And, of course, combined no-hitters (regular season or WS makes no difference to me). It'd be like getting excited because three players combined for a cycle.

Hey, here's a fun one, NoTime: "Hoffman has also allowed 12 home runs in the ninth inning or later this season, setting a Blue Jays single-season record."

hitting for the cycle

Middle relievers (sorry). 8th and 9th inning dudes only

Generally speaking, players of the month. But I did learn today that you can look at all the winners going back to the early '70s (and even earlier for the NL).

https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/mlb-players-of-the-month.shtml

(Was wondering if George Springer had a chance for August, but he only played 14 games.)

been thinking about this for the past couple of days and i think the answer for me is stats, all stats. my favorite stat as a kid (BA) was taken out behind the shed and shot and so i think i don't care about any of the other stats anymore.

i still care about BA
and i still love the old world

You’re dead to me after that WRC+ revelation

- betting lines

I loathe and am enraged by sports betting so I can't say I don't care about it. Definitely don't care about the ASG, but the HR Derby is kind of fun. Don't really care about the HOF. I guess I don't care too much about advanced metrics, since I haven't bothered to learn what any of them mean since Game Score for starting pitchers and OPS for hitters.

This doesn't really fit the thread--I do care--but I'm tired of PitchCom delays. There's one or two a game with the Jays.

Avg with RISP
this can’t make you see the ball any better

^^