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Stephen Piscotty plays guitar, dislikes advanced metrics, wants to save the environment - A Hunt and Peck

You had me up until the end, Stephen.

By lil_scooter93
Billy Hurst-USA TODAY Sports

Stephen Piscotty is smart. We have heard all about his Stanford background since he first graced a baseball field wearing the Birds on the Bat. We know he does not like chess, but what other things interest this smart guy? Mark Saxon of ESPN has the answers and one of them is not advanced metrics:

It bothers me for some reason. I just don't like it and I don't really understand any of it. I just think it takes away so much of what it means to be a well-rounded ball player. I just think of these Little League kids and everybody's talking about these complicated statistics and it's really just about going and playing and competing.

I get that you play 162 games and the computer can help you out and I think baseball will find a balance for that, but I think it's definitely shifting in a way that is overblown.

Personally, I just think Stephen needs someone to explain it and he will be hooked. Matt Bowman, the Cardinals other resident "smart guy" who graduated from Princeton with a degree in Economics, is totally into it. Per Saxon again:

So, from a front office perspective, obviously xFIP is big, but I also look at teams like the Pirates and I think, 'OK, how does it work within the structure of what they do?' So, they do aggressive shifting, sinkerball pitchers and guys who pitch inside with two-seamers. They brought their outfield in this year, because most of the hits they give up are on the ground. I think about how it works within that system, so the Royals have a bunch of fly ball pitchers, play in a huge park and have invested in great outfielders. It's about how does it work within a system? Yeah, you can look at xFIP and that's going to tell you that [Clayton] Kershaw's great, but that doesn't really tell you something you don't know. I think putting the whole team together with ground ball rates, fly ball rates, things like that, can be important based on how you surround a guy.

Both interviews are really fun and provide some great insight! Check them out here:

Battle of the Smart Guys: A Q&A with Matt Bowman | St Louis Cardinals | ESPN

Battle of the Smart Guys: A Q&A with Stephen Piscotty | St. Louis Cardinals | ESPN

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