I’ve noticed that while compilations of statistics are finally getting around to showing individual BA, SA, or OBP and comparing them to the league averages, most stats are still just raw numbers.  Surely, however, any stat can be evaluated only in respect of how it differs from the average for the year.  It would be so much more convenient to have these comparisions ready-to-hand, instead of having to compute them separately.

—Mal

By compilations are you referring to books (Bill James Handbook, BP annual, etc.) or websites?

I actually like all the raw data, especially when its online. If I decide I want to compute a certain stat, I can. That way I’m not stuck with whatever they give me.

I’m referring to websites, in the main.  However, perhaps I was unclear.

If you hit a site like baseball-reference.com, when they give a batting average (e.g.), they will give the player’s stat and then the season/league average as a comparison, so you can tell immediately that Joe Blow hit 30 points above league or whatever.  But when they give Joe’s walks, strikeouts, stolen bases, etc, they don’t provide the league numbers.

It seems to me that “23 stolen bases” (e.g.) is not particularly useful data to evaluate someone as a base stealer unless you know how many bases the other guys were stealing.  Since the comparisons for BA, SA, and OBP are provided, one wonders why the comparisons for the other data are not.

-- Mal

The really good raw data is this: 98 MPH fastball; 3.2 down to first; 0 times throwing to the wrong base; 0 temper tantrums on team plane; 0 days on DL.

This is the really useful information.