Rockies 11, Cubs 5: No Pitching Necessary for Rockies Victory

Yes, both have an OBP of .300. You have done the math right. But because your above post is missing the point of OBP, you’re probably misunderstanding why people cite Iannetta’s OBP in response to a low-batting-average post.

OBP may be calculated by Hits+Walks (etc), but it’s supposed to be viewed as Plate Appearances-Outs. In other words, AVG = hits, RBIs, etc. OBP = keeping the inning alive.

OBP isn’t intended to be a “starting from the ground up and building” stat, if that makes sense. You’re looking at it from the stance of “Ooh he got a walk therefore OBP is higher now”, it’s saying “ooh he got a walk, therefore we still have the same number of outs at our disposal and another runner on the basepaths, he has increased his potential of NOT making an out”

AVG is the number of times the batter does something positive per time at bat. OBP is the number of times a batter DOESN’T do something NEGATIVE per time at bat. You really can’t compare the two, because OBP is about offensive out prevention, while average (combined with slugging%) is about offensive production.

Iannetta can’t seem to buy a hit, it’s very very frustrating. But the reason we all cite his OBP is that it displays a positive value for him. You will be hard pressed to find ANYONE who says that because Iannetta has an OBP of .331 that he’s of equal value as someone actually batting .331. If you do, refer them to these posts, because they’re wrong. A hit is better than a walk, everyone knows it.

Even if you take a walk as a neutral thing, that means that 33.1% of the time, Iannetta does something neutral or positive, while Yorvit only does something neutral or positive 32.1% of the time. OR you could look at it as 66.9% of the time, Iannetta makes an out, while Yorvit makes an out 67.9% of the time.

OR if I need to use more silly internet words, Iannetta is FAILannetta 66.9% of the time, because IANNETTA FAIL, and Terriblalba FAILS 67.9% of the time.

Do you see what I mean here? The thought was never meant to be HIT = WALK, it was meant to say “well….both of our catchers suck at batting right now, so we’ll settle for the guy who at least makes fewer outs”

Situational OPS can be dangerous to look at, btw. Paints the wrong picture oftentimes.

ERA is a joke, so it’s derivative cERA can’t really be of much worth either. But it was the easiest barometer at hand to reflect what I’ve observed most of the season – this staff has by and large seemed to perform better with CDI behind the plate. If somebody wants to come up with a more reliable measure that counters that observation, I’d be interested to see it.

Either way, I’ll stand by my contention that CDI adds value behind the plate relative to putting Yorvit back there…