Today’s MLB lives and dies by its “new school” numbers. Over the last few decades, newly established statistics and on-field measurables have become so influential that they have infiltrated front offices, baseball operations departments, player development and scouting, and have significantly changed the game’s landscape. The game measures everything now and relies less and less on baseball experience and the wisdom established over years of playing and coaching. The power dynamic has changed. Stats are now king.

This shift is the root of Major League Baseball’s growing culture war and the impetus behind “STATE OF PLAY”. Ripken believes that after years of new measurements and new jargon flooding the field of play it is now time to take a step back and examine what it all means. What are we learning at this “new school”, as the “old school” struggles to keep their place at the table and remain relevant in this new era?

It’s a great read and a fascinating conversation with former major league ball player and MLB Analyst Billy Ripken