4/28/08: Statto? Stats? Mars? Venus? Can't We All Just Get Along?

An article (click here for link) appeared in last week's Sunday Edition of a Wales newspaper in the UK that talked about the differences between men and women in the Wide World of Statistics.  Could it be that there is truly a difference? And is it on gender lines?

It seems that the writer of the article chose to frame the idea in sexual terms, if you may... I'm not so sure about that argument but there are some good points...

One such:

"Sports fans of limited knowledge but acute perceptiveness sometimes have far deeper insights about the game than people who are unhealthily obsessed ... The difference between an 'expert' and a 'mere fan' revolves around knowledge - who knows the most. But many of the characteristics which really separate sports fans have nothing to do with degrees of learning. Instead, they derive from differences in temperament."

-- quoted from: What Sport Tells Us About Life, Ed Smith

OK, "limited knowledge" and "acute perceptiveness" equate to deeper insights? Remember that, guys, when you are arguing with the Missus. They may throw that at you.

BUT THIS ALSO is a good point...

From the same book, Smith says there are those that "just love a bloody good argument" and those that watch "a match like a reader gripped by the narrative of a novel, simply wondering what will happen next." This, I get.

In our book, we don't say that people are obsessed -- though they may well be. But that term just seems to so negative. To me, those that can recite stats from teams of decades ago are hobbists. Tracking baseball can be a worthwhile and fulfilling hobby, much like playing the piano is for me or playing baseball is for others. Are hobbists greater fans? Not by my definition. Most certainly they are a different type of fan. And, really, who cares about the pecking order of fans, anyway?

Now, since this is my blog, and we're on this topic, here's a nugget from the intro of our book, It Takes More Than Balls: The Savvy Girls' Guide to Understanding and Enjoying Baseball (link)

"...Baseball is just fine without its fans having to create unnecessary pecking orders. Other forms of entertainment seem to thrive without such jostling. After all, symphony regulars usually don't discredit occasional attendees with remarks like, "Mildred! Get this guy behind us. He came to this concert without knowing that Beethoven bridged the classical and romantic periods! The savage!"

So, how about you? Do you enjoy going to a baseball game and eating a hot dog, drinking a cold beer, and feeling the warm sun on your back? Great! Do you enjoy knowing the statistics of the opposing team's pitchers? More power to you! There are fans who like to score entire games and those who want to score only half. There are those who come late and those who leave early--no harm, no foul. We've filled all these roles at one time or another. There are a lot of things going on a baseball game, and it's any fan's privilege to soak in as little or as much as they please on any given day..."

So, how about you?