If you scroll down on Twitter as a baseball fan long enough, you’ll probably come across posts arguing about WAR (Wins Above Replacement). It’s a single value that takes batting, fielding, and baserunning into account as a cumulative measure.
“Clayton Kershaw’s WAR was 6.0 this season.” It would mean he brought the value of 7 more wins than a random minor league player.
This is the epitome of Sabermetrics in its essence: maximizing allocating efficiency with resources. It’s more often called “Return on Investment” (ROI). The Los Angeles Dodgers are one of the best teams to ever do this. They’re investments are always looking towards the future: spending on stars when necessary but building a firm farm system before that. They use data to discover hidden gems like Max Muncy and Justin Turner, who other teams had previously given up on. Data indicated that Muncy’s elite eye at bat meant he had a high OBP potential, even if his batting average was lower than league average. The Dodgers put their faith on data rather than tradition.
Witnessing the success of these players changed how I see education and college. Students are often judged based on their scores at face-value, like Batting Average (GPA). But the real value is created at their WAR. What kind of valuable perspectives does the student bring to the class discussion? How unique is their approach? How are other students influenced? Through the Truth Review, my goal is to build a system that values the foundation of an argument instead of the conclusion as is. Similar to how teams now value a walk as much as a single based on Sabermetrics, I look to guide students to a well-researched counter-argument as much as a “correct” argument or perspective.
Sabermetrics goes beyond baseball itself. It is a framework for decision-making. It makes us question: “Are we looking at what actually matters or what is simply easy to spot?”