MLB: Baseball Stat Question

[spierceisu]

Can someone explain to me why baseball keeps separate stats for postseason baseball? I know that when I am watching a playoff game on tv, the batting numbers (average, rbi, etc) are all new. I think that this is odd. The sample size is so small, it is almost a worthless stat. For example a player is batting .300 all year, and then when it comes to postseason, it may say he is batting way worse than his true numbers for the whole season are. Just seems odd to me.

 

[thatguy]

Just like anything baseball, "that is the way it has always been done" is probably just the answer here. I know when a player gets traded from one league to the other, his stats reload as well. I just remember one year with the Astros Carlos Beltran hit like .750 in the playoffs and it was hilarious to see.

 

[BoxsterCy]

I don't mind them doing it in the box scores, (I get it, for the record its separate) but at least list their real stats during the game and pay less attention to their cumulative stats for like three games or something. The obsession of breaking out a single series and branding a guy as clutch or not clutch in post season is sort of dumb.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Because a pitcher with a 0.00 ERA facing a bunch of .500 hitters in one inning makes it so much more compelling. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE!!

It would make a lot more sense to have the stats be all-inclusive. ERAs and BAs are pretty worthless in April due to the sample size. The same holds true in the playoffs. People know who the best players are. Give them credit for what they've done all year. Plus, a separate graphic showing post-season only stats is decent filler material for a commentator to throw in between pitches.

Seeing how baseball is loaded with stat-fanatics, it's pretty interesting they still do it this way.

 

[Rabbuk]

I think players are judge by what they do in the postseason separately from regular season. Also I imagine to have a standard amount of games to judge everyone off of.