Now this piece of Americana — one-sided conversations that create a cozy intimacy between fans and announcers — is colliding with the cold calculations known as sabermetrics.
Statistical analysis has swept through baseball over the past decade, becoming part of the fabric of the game and an object of growing fascination to its fans. As players, managers and front office executives embrace the esoteric statistics, teams increasingly want their radio announcers just as fluent in the language of WAR, VORP and B.A.B.I.P. (Those stand for wins above replacement, value over replacement player and batting average on balls in play, for those of you dusting off your radios as the season begins.)
“They wanted a broadcaster who is at least comfortable with exploring the idea of discussing advanced statistics and what they mean,” said Robert Ford, 33, who was hired by the Houston Astros in the off-season, along with Steve Sparks, 48, a former pitcher, to call the team’s games. The advent of advanced statistical analysis, Mr. Ford said, has “changed the way we think about baseball.”
Now, as the two settle into the Astros’ broadcast booth, they and their colleagues across the country face a balancing act. How much do listeners want to know about these advanced numbers? How much is informative? And how much would prompt the audience, a group that spans all generations, to tune out?
Listeners and announcers alike say that striking the right balance will be a challenge.
When the Astros interviewed Mr. Sparks, a journeyman knuckleball pitcher, and Mr. Ford, a Bronx native who previously called minor league games, the topic of advanced statistics came up repeatedly. The Astros, who have eagerly embraced analytics, wanted to know if the broadcasters could grasp the data being used, in part, to build the team.
“We need them to tell the story of how we are making decisions and putting the organization together,” said George Postolos, the Astros’ president and chief executive, who added that the team would not want a broadcaster who was uncomfortable explaining the front office’s strategy.
To prepare for the season, Mr. Sparks prepared a stack of handwritten notes on opposing teams. Each page is crammed with statistics.
For Father’s Day last year, his 19-year-old daughter bought him a copy of “The Book,” a statistical exploration of the game. “I’m trying to learn as much about sabermetrics as I can,” he said.
Mark Patterson, a 27-year-old fan sitting in the stands for a recent Tampa Bay Rays spring training game, said he would like to hear more advanced statistical analysis but said it should be a “slow introduction process.”
“It takes a while to get everything down,” Mr. Patterson said as he and a friend, Warren Allen, 28, waited for the game to start.
In the Rays’ lineup that afternoon was Ben Zobrist, who may not be a staple of the highlight shows but who has become a well-known figure for fans of sabermetrics, a word derived from the abbreviation for the Society for American Baseball Research. Over the past four years, Mr. Zobrist has led baseball in WAR, ahead of stars like Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun and Robinson Cano.
Mr. Zobrist’s achievement in the WAR category — a measure of a player’s offensive and defensive contributions relative to others who play his position and could replace him — was noted in the Rays pregame notes given to members of the news media.
Mr. Patterson and Mr. Allen seemed to appreciate the recognition for Mr. Zobrist, who has also led the American League in a more traditional category over the past four years: walks.
The advanced numbers, Mr. Allen said, are “how you become aware of players like Zobrist who aren’t in commercials but still are great players.”
To fans like these two, the metrics have become crucial to how they view the game, study it, enjoy it — and how they pick players in their fantasy leagues.
David Waldstein and Andrew Keh contributed reporting.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/sports/baseball/baseball-broadcasts-introduce-advanced-statistics-but-with-caution.html?partner=rss&emc=rss