How to Research and Understand Baseball Team Standings
The purpose of this informational webpage is to help people understand and research their favorite baseball teams! In this webpage you'll understand how to analyze points, baseball lingo and league standings to draw your own conclusions on any team your interested in. First we'll go through...
- Where to find information
- Zooming into and understanding team stats
- What Now?
Before we dive in, lets pick a random team as an example...
LA Dodgers
Where to find information
To find overall information and history about your favorite baseball teams, you're going to want to go to the most credible source out there, the MBL official website. Here you'll be able to find team rankings, indivudal player stats, team points, and even mascots! Additionally, sports channels like the ESPN network can also be a great source for individual player performances and overall team play. Because these sources have years of experience and familiarity with the sport they are one of the most credible sources out there, making it ideal and reliable. Note, although these are some of the most reliable sources, they aren't the only ones, here is a list of other less known but reliable sources to gain insight on your desired teams...
How to find your own sources?
If you want to find your own sources you need to be careful and double check that the information you are recieving is reliable. To do so make sure the information displayed is reliable, start by checking the source of the data and whether or not the site has established credibility in the sports world. It's also important to ensure that the site updates its data regularly, as outdated stats can lead you in the wrong direction. Reliable sources often provide transparency about how their statistics are calculated, offering explanations for advanced metrics like WAR or wOBA. A well-designed website with a professional appearance and user-friendly layout is usually a good sign of credibility, while a cluttered or ad-heavy site might raise red flags. Cross-referencing the stats you find on the page with other trusted sources, such as the ones stated above are essential to verify accuracy. Reputable sites often feature expert analysis or have a solid community following, providing further assurance of their reliability. Additionally, objective and neutral reporting without any bias toward specific teams or players is crucial for the trustworthiness of the statistics presented. Finally, checking for professional domains like “.com” or “.org” and avoiding suspicious URLs can also help ensure you're accessing legitimate content. By considering these factors, you can confidently assess whether a webpage displaying team statistics is reliable.
Zooming into and understanding team stats
Finding reliable team statistics is one thing, understanding them is another and its where many people go wrong. First let's go over definitions and what they mean.
Note: Here is a picture of what these stats presented may look like in various websites as it is the common and ideal way this data is presented.
- League: In the Major League Baseball, there are two leagues, (1) The American League (AL) and (2) The National League (NL). These exist to accommodate the needs of players at different skill levels and to provide a competitive balance.
- (AB): "At-Bats", used to calculate a team's batting average and slugging percentage.
- (R): Runs. When a baserunner safely reaches homeplate and scores
- (H): Hits. When a batter reaches base safely on a fair ball unless the batter is deemed by the official scorer to have reached on an error or a fielder's choice.
- (2B): Doubles. When a batter reaches on a hit and stops at second base or only advances farther than a second base on an errror or a fielder's attempt to put out another baserunner.
- (3B):Triples. When a batter reaches on a hit and stop at third base or only advances farther than third base on an error or a fiellder's attempt to put out another baserunner.
- (HR): Homerun. When a batter reaches on a hit, touches all bases and scores. Earning 4 points for their team.
- (RBI): Runs batted in. Runs which score because of the batter's safe hit, sac bunt, sac fly, infield out or fielder's choice or is forced to score by a bases loaded walk, hit batter, or interferance.
- (BB): Walks. When a batter is awarded first base after four balls have been called by the umpire, meaning a pitch that does not pass through the defined strike zone for the player to hit.
- (SO): Strikeouts. When the umpire calls three strikes on the batter, meaning the batter has not been able to hit the ball after three pitches.
- (SB): Stolen Bases. When the player occupying a base advances one base while another player is batting.
- (CS): Caught Stealing. When a runner occupying a base attempts to steal or occupy the next base but is tagged out before safely reaching the next base or safely returning to their current base.
- (AVG): Batting Average. The rate of hits per bat.
- (OBP): On-base Percentage. The rate at which a better reached base in his plate appearances. This is attained by adding (H) + (BB) + (HBP) + (SF).
- (SLG):Slugging Percentage. The rate of total bases per bat. (1B + 2Bx2 + 3Bx3 + HRx4)/AB.
- (OPS): On-Base Plus Slugging. The sum of on-base percentage and slugging percentage. (OBP+SLG)
With this information and knowledge of defenitions you can learn how to better appreciate the sport, accurately plan your bets by understanding weaknesses and strenghts, use it to guide your coaching, predict future performance or even to simply win an arguement. In short, learning to understand baseball stats not only enhances your enjoyment of the game but also provides practical benefits for making smarter decisions!
What Now?
Now that you know how to search and understand baseball teams and lingo, what do you do with this? You can do anything! The possibilities are substantial. aseball team statistics can be used in various ways depending on your interests. Fans can deepen their understanding of the game by analyzing team performance in offense, defense, and pitching. For fantasy baseball, stats help in drafting and managing teams with metrics like WAR and OPS. In sports betting, stats guide smarter bets by highlighting trends and weaknesses. Coaches and analysts can use stats to refine strategies and improve performance. Additionally, statistics allow for comparisons across seasons or eras, making them valuable for debates on player legacies and team rankings. Overall, they enhance your engagement and decision-making in the sport. Have fun!
