This will be the 9th and final question I will ask. And I think it’s the toughest one. But, you guys keep surprising me, so, let’s get into it.
The question relates to how you see pitchers and the impact of their fielders. We have two pitchers, let’s call them Stephen Strasburg and Adam Wainwright. And they are pitching in the same game.
Strasburg pitches a complete game, striking out 13, without walking anyone, or allowing any extra base hits. But he does allow 10 singles, or at least, he and his fielders allow 10 singles, and that leads to 2 runs.
Wainwright also pitches a complete game, he also doesn’t walk anyone, but he only strikes out 4. He only allows 7 singles, or at least, he and his fielders allow 7 singles, and that leads to only 1 run.
The only thing you know is what I’ve told you. If you wish to infer more, like perhaps the Cardinals fielders helped Adam more than the Nationals fielders helped Stephen, go ahead. If you wish to infer that Wainwright allowed softer hit balls than Strasburg, you can do that if you want. You decide how to interpret the information I’ve given you.
The question:
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I voted Strasburg here, but there’s a less-extreme case where I would’ve gone the other way. There is almost certainly a lot of skill involved in preventing hits, it’s just hard to measure. This seems fundamentally different to me than the questions about context neutrality.
I also retract my earlier complaint, some of these more recent ones have been non-trivial decisions.
I voted Strasburg here, but there’s a less-extreme case where I would’ve gone the other way. There is almost certainly a lot of skill involved in preventing hits, it’s just hard to measure. This seems fundamentally different to me than the questions about context neutrality.
I also retract my earlier complaint, some of these more recent ones have been non-trivial decisions.