Q. Has there been any research into barometric pressure? (e.g., Does the climate in Washington contribute to poor batting performance, as much as the stadium? And do pitches break differently or less effectively in different conditions?)
A. The answer to both of the above is clearly “yes” and Adair’s Physics of Baseball talks about it. The real issue is how much these effects really matter. Generally I’ve been of the opinion that stat geeks like myself have tended to give park effects more play than may be warranted. Outside of severe outliers like Coors Field or the Old Griffith Stadium, the extent to which park seems to matter is surprisingly small. Both myself and Tommy Tango have looked at the accuracy of projections with and without adjusting for park and have found very little advantage to be gained via park adjustment, except in extreme cases.
I think this simply is because most plays in baseball are unambiguous. Most doubles are doubles regardless of MLB park. The human mind seems to be able to react to breaking balls that break 0.6 inches as opposed to 0.8. The effects are real, but, if I had to guess, I’d say that they’re smaller than folks think.
Q. Is there a different composition of a team, and different style of play that is required to maximize chances to win in the post-season compared to the regular season?
A. As best as I can tell, the best way to win in the playoffs is to go there as often as possible. While there are other team construction strategies that make sense (e.g., dominant front line pitching since the off days allow you to compress your pitching staff), I think there’s limits to how much value you can really get out of that, over and above the value you would get in the regular season. Yes it clearly helps you win more in the post season, but then it clearly helps you win more in the regular season too.
Baseball is a sport where a team with a .650 winning percentage is a team that ranks up there with some of the best. It’s often argued that stat geeks too often fall back on sample size arguments, but here it’s tough to escape. Put the best possible team together you can and take your chances. If you can, you might want to get yourself a Cy Young caliber pitcher, but don’t give away the store to do it.
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