Numbers never lie. That might be the biggest lie of them all.
No, this is not a call to burn down the data archives and live off the eye test. Our viewing experiences often fool us into thinking Daniel Murphy is an All-Star after watching him rattle off three hits, but the stats are there to pull us back into reality.
But because so many meaningful metrics exist for our pleasure, the old reliables that guided public perception of baseball for years now feel outdated.
Talk show pundits and play-by-play commentators still lean on these antiquated measures. They’re easy, convenient and easily digestible, but they lead us to misinterpret which players are truly worthy of our adoration.
While Chris Sale and Joey Votto fail to receive their full deserved recognition as two of the game’s brightest stars, Chris Tillman and Brandon Phillips are inappropriately drooled over simply for having the good fortune to perform in the ideal environment.
Five of these seven players deceived fans, players and managers into bestowing them with All-Star honors. One of the two left out would probably ride his high batting average to a nod were the rosters selected today.
With rich, righteous numbers on our side, let’s combat the evil, deceptive numbers from tricking us any more.
Note: All statistics, unless otherwise noted, are courtesy of FanGraphs.com.