Julio3000
<B>A Chip Off the Old Rock</B>
I think that if you're trying to make a meaningful point you should broaden your criteria to playoff qualifiers, not WS winners.
Power
- Thread starter msstate7
- Start date
I think that if you're trying to make a meaningful point you should broaden your criteria to playoff qualifiers, not WS winners.
Horsehide Harry
<B>Mr. Free Trade</B>
To me, the Olivera trade was so misguided that to even count it, is to spoil belief in the entire competency of the FO.
Were they hopeful that he would deliver 20HR potential? Without doubt.
But, he is 31. Even if they had been serious about competing in 2016 and being good in 2017, and IMO anyone with any real baseball knowledge could see that barring a miracle, it wasn't going to happen, then he was not an acquisition for the re-build because of his age, no matter how much power he brought or didn't bring.
The only thing I can see for the Olivera trade was that personnel within the Braves organization fell in love with him and let that blind them to good sense.
Saying that it's 'not good enough' implies that you can't get it done that way. In fact, you absolutely can. Regardless of the small sample size, there are plenty of recent examples that prove that you can.
I will do that, but I don't know what it really matters. No one is saying that fewer HR is actually better than more HR, all else being equal. And no one is saying that we shouldn't look to add power if we can.
But the bottom line is that we do not have to have even league-average power in order to make the playoffs and go on deep runs in the playoffs. Recent history has proven that.
Postseason team HR totals since 2012:
2012: #1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 11, 16, 17, 20 (Braves, yay), 30 | 8, 11, 17, 20, 30
2013: #3, 5 (Braves, yay), 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 24, 27 | 5, 14, 17, 24, 27
2014: #1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 29, 30 | 6, 10, 16, 17, 29
2015: #1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 23, 24, 25 | 6, 9, 12, 23, 25
So the average for playoff teams over the past 4 years has been 11.7, 12.4, 13.8, and 11.7. The top team in HR has made the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years, which isn't a big surprise. And there have been 9 top-5 teams make it and only 4 bottom-5 teams. There's no doubt that hitting HR is a good thing, generally speaking. However, more top-5 HR teams have missed the playoffs than have made it, and the teams in the playoffs generally span the spectrum.
When looking at NL only, that average drops significantly. The averages for NL playoff teams over the last 4 years in MLB HR rank have been 17.2, 17.4, 15.6, and 15.0. Only one NL playoff team has been in the top 5 in HR among MLB teams (the Braves in 2013), and 3 teams have been in the bottom 5 among MLB teams in HR. It obviously makes sense that NL teams would be lower-ranked on average than AL teams, but I think this shows that while more HR is generally better than fewer HR, for individual teams you absolutely do not have to be among the league leaders, or even average or better, in HR to win.
2012: #1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 11, 16, 17, 20 (Braves, yay), 30 | 8, 11, 17, 20, 30
2013: #3, 5 (Braves, yay), 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 24, 27 | 5, 14, 17, 24, 27
2014: #1, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17, 29, 30 | 6, 10, 16, 17, 29
2015: #1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 23, 24, 25 | 6, 9, 12, 23, 25
So the average for playoff teams over the past 4 years has been 11.7, 12.4, 13.8, and 11.7. The top team in HR has made the playoffs 3 of the last 4 years, which isn't a big surprise. And there have been 9 top-5 teams make it and only 4 bottom-5 teams. There's no doubt that hitting HR is a good thing, generally speaking. However, more top-5 HR teams have missed the playoffs than have made it, and the teams in the playoffs generally span the spectrum.
When looking at NL only, that average drops significantly. The averages for NL playoff teams over the last 4 years in MLB HR rank have been 17.2, 17.4, 15.6, and 15.0. Only one NL playoff team has been in the top 5 in HR among MLB teams (the Braves in 2013), and 3 teams have been in the bottom 5 among MLB teams in HR. It obviously makes sense that NL teams would be lower-ranked on average than AL teams, but I think this shows that while more HR is generally better than fewer HR, for individual teams you absolutely do not have to be among the league leaders, or even average or better, in HR to win.