Goose
Registered User
- Apr 18, 2006
- 3,143
- 2,856
After reading about twenty "omg, do you only look at the stats you idiot?" posts today, it got me thinking about when stats ARE the least, and conversely the most, relevant, and in which sports?
I have to think that, being a game of percentages, goaltending statistics have to be some of the more powerful statistics out there. Obviously you can't measure everything about a goalie's performance statistically, but it's awfully hard to make the argument that a sub .890 Save % and plus 3.5 GAA goalie is good in the same way that you can argue that a d-man with 100 PIM and 2 points in 80 games is good.
Anytime you repeat an action over and over and over stats become more powerful (shooting percentage in basketball being much more meaningful of a stat than it is in hockey for example), but some sports seem more inherently suited to statistical quantification than others.
Baseball has sabermetrics because so much of the game happens one on one and so much of it is quantifiable, whereas in hockey, being a team sport, and taking place five on five, much less of it is.
Which stats in hockey are the most representative, and how does statistic usage in hockey compare to other sports?
I have to think that, being a game of percentages, goaltending statistics have to be some of the more powerful statistics out there. Obviously you can't measure everything about a goalie's performance statistically, but it's awfully hard to make the argument that a sub .890 Save % and plus 3.5 GAA goalie is good in the same way that you can argue that a d-man with 100 PIM and 2 points in 80 games is good.
Anytime you repeat an action over and over and over stats become more powerful (shooting percentage in basketball being much more meaningful of a stat than it is in hockey for example), but some sports seem more inherently suited to statistical quantification than others.
Baseball has sabermetrics because so much of the game happens one on one and so much of it is quantifiable, whereas in hockey, being a team sport, and taking place five on five, much less of it is.
Which stats in hockey are the most representative, and how does statistic usage in hockey compare to other sports?