Mike Toth has zero career RBIs
If you are a baseball fan, you have heard old people and sportswriters use RBIs to justify atrocities ranging from Justin Morneau's MVP award to the war in Iraq. "But Grandpa," you always say, "aren't RBIs a very imperfect means of judging a hitter's performance? How can I accurately judge how good a hitter is using RBIs, when this stat relies heavily on the performance of the players who bat in front of him? How is it Bobby Abreau's fault that Derek Jeter is getting on base less than a third of the time this year?"
Well, kiddo. You may may be right...but it turns out you were fighting the wrong battle. You see, RBIs may not actually tell you good a hitter is, but they can tell you how good that hitter will be at telling other people what to do more than 20 years from now when they decide to move into baseball management. At least that is how Mike Toth puts it in his recent column calling for the Blue Jays to turf John Gibbons and hire Gary Carter (?!?!):
Speaking of the Mets, Carter and Gibbons were teammates on the club that captured the 1986 World Series.
But who do you think has the brighter baseball mind?
Carter, an all-star catcher who drove in 105 runs in '86?
Or Gibbons, a back-up catcher with 19 at-bats that season?
Interesting stat: John Gibbons is tied with every other manager in baseball with 0 RBIs this year.
Or how about this one: Terry Francona drove in 143 runs over 10 Major League seasons, good for an average of 14.3 per year. That is why Jim Rice, and his 110 RBIs in 1986, led the Red Sox to two World Series wins in the last four years.
Or, this: Joe Morgan has 1133 career runs batted in. Bill James has zero.
The point being, of course, that Carter's RBI total in 1986 has fuck all to do with why he would or wouldn't be a better manager than John Gibbons, and how bright his baseball mind may be. Honestly, this has to be the worst evidence ever used in the history of ever to support an argument.
Well, kiddo. You may may be right...but it turns out you were fighting the wrong battle. You see, RBIs may not actually tell you good a hitter is, but they can tell you how good that hitter will be at telling other people what to do more than 20 years from now when they decide to move into baseball management. At least that is how Mike Toth puts it in his recent column calling for the Blue Jays to turf John Gibbons and hire Gary Carter (?!?!):
Speaking of the Mets, Carter and Gibbons were teammates on the club that captured the 1986 World Series.
But who do you think has the brighter baseball mind?
Carter, an all-star catcher who drove in 105 runs in '86?
Or Gibbons, a back-up catcher with 19 at-bats that season?
Interesting stat: John Gibbons is tied with every other manager in baseball with 0 RBIs this year.
Or how about this one: Terry Francona drove in 143 runs over 10 Major League seasons, good for an average of 14.3 per year. That is why Jim Rice, and his 110 RBIs in 1986, led the Red Sox to two World Series wins in the last four years.
Or, this: Joe Morgan has 1133 career runs batted in. Bill James has zero.
The point being, of course, that Carter's RBI total in 1986 has fuck all to do with why he would or wouldn't be a better manager than John Gibbons, and how bright his baseball mind may be. Honestly, this has to be the worst evidence ever used in the history of ever to support an argument.
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