Patterico's Pontifications

8/19/2007

Not a Good Month for Professional Sports

Filed under: Sports — DRJ @ 3:34 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

I love sports. Professional sports (especially football) have always been my favorites but now college sports appeal more to me. Stories like these explain why:

Trouble for professional football as Atlanta Falcon’s Quarterback Michael Vick considers a plea bargain on federal dogfighting conspiracy charges. [NOTE: I don’t recall seeing the phrase “federal dogfighting conspiracy charges” before – in any context, let alone in a pro football game broadcast – but I won’t be able to say that after next season.]

Trouble for professional basketball amid reports that former NBA ref Tim Donaghy will name others – some reports say up to 1/3 of current referees – in a betting scandal.

Without even delving into the ongoing saga of Barry Bonds, trouble for professional baseball as set forth in a recent study that some baseball umpires (minor league umpires?) are more likely to call strikes in favor of pitchers who share their race or ethnicity.

These stories don’t bode well for the short-term prospects of professional football, basketball, and baseball.

31 Responses to “Not a Good Month for Professional Sports”

  1. Welcome to hockey, we’ve been waiting for you. Elbows up!

    ras (adf382)

  2. But I’m a big fan of American soccer–especially at the high school and collegiate levels.

    Louise B (f70ae7)

  3. A local radio personality bemoaned how golf could ever get popular when the biggest scandal is how bad somebody dresses.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  4. Ras:

    Like hockey doesn’t have its own scandal. Two words: Rick Tocchet.

    DRJ:

    This isn’t the first time scandal has hit American sports. In fact, the NBA, the NFL and MLB have had far worse scandals in their histories.

    Well, maybe not the NBA. Keep in mind, though, that the NBA has David Stern, arguably the best commissioner in the history of professional sports, will come out ahead managing this.

    Remember also the collegiate versions have been (and still are) rife with scandals. So have the high school versions.

    Paul (f54101)

  5. I enjoy golf (it’s fun to play a round with friends or to take a siesta while watching golf on TV) but another problem with professional sports is how many there are. Hockey? Soccer? Tennis? Please. There is only one real sport, especially if you were born and raised in Texas: Football. We play basketball and baseball to keep us in shape until the next football season starts.

    DRJ (bfe07e)

  6. That’s right, DRJ, you’re from Texas!

    Then I shouldn’t have to remind you of Southern Methodist’s football program.

    Like I said, scandal isn’t limited to the pros.

    Paul (f54101)

  7. Paul,

    College sports definitely have scandals and you don’t have to tell me about high school sports. (I live within driving range of Friday Night Lights territory.) The small-town drama and camaraderie of high school sports are big parts of the allure.

    DRJ (bfe07e)

  8. Right, umpires call one less strike per game against whites. An amazingly disciplined racism, wouldn’t you say ?

    Fred (4d468e)

  9. Fred,

    Can you provide me a link to the study itself? I read the summary but I can’t find the complete study. It’s hard to get a grasp on the details of this study but the summary suggests the pattern of bias is much more pronounced in the lower tiers than one call a game.

    DRJ (bfe07e)

  10. Paul,

    I don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I don’t like scandals at any level but fans have some input on the high school and college level. Scandals in our community or our alumni institutions can be dealt with in ways that are not available to professional sport fans.

    I enjoy the competition in many sports (even hockey, soccer, and tennis!) at every level of play. However, while I agree there are problems at many levels, the problems at the professional level seem more serious than usual. Some fans will find them hard to forgive or forget.

    DRJ (bfe07e)

  11. “It doesn’t happen all the time — in about 1% of pitches thrown — but that’s still one pitch per game, and it could be the one that makes the difference. “One pitch called the other way affects things a lot,” says Hamermesh. “Baseball is a very closely played game.”

    Also – the race of the batter didn’t show any influence – so the umps are only racist against pitchers, not batters, LOL!

    Fred (4d468e)

  12. Fred,

    You’re presuming that the study was able to more accurately assess balls and strikes than were the umpires. In fact, you’re presuming that the authors of the study are, in fact, flawless, so why not hire them to do the World Seris?

    Anyone who thinks they can correctly call balls and strikes well enough to detect a 1% tolerance from perfection, as this study claims, is a charlatan looking for a fool.

    ras (adf382)

  13. Fred,

    Oops, my mistake; I misread you: you do understand! Apologies, tho my conclusion, which I expect you prob agree with, stands.

    ras (adf382)

  14. Fred,

    I think I found your quote in this Time Magazine article. Here’s the complete paragraph with the rest of the quote bolded:

    “According to the new study led by Daniel Hamermesh, a professor of economics at the University of Texas at Austin, Major League Baseball umpires tend to call more strikes when the pitcher is of their same race; when they’re not, umps call more balls. It doesn’t happen all the time — in about 1% of pitches thrown — but that’s still one pitch per game, and it could be the one that makes the difference. ‘One pitch called the other way affects things a lot,’ says Hamermesh. ‘Baseball is a very closely played game.’ What’s more, says Hamermesh, a slight umpire bias affects more than just the score; it also has an indirect effect on a team’s psyche. Baseball is a game of strategy. If a pitcher knows he’s more likely to get questionable pitches called as strikes, he’ll start picking off at the corners. But if he knows he’s at a disadvantage, he might feel forced to throw more directly over the plate, possibly giving up hits.’

    I see your point. One pitch a game doesn’t sound like much but wouldn’t it make more sense if the statistics show varied patterns, if only due to chance? It seems odd that it always leans in the same direction.

    In addition, the article indicates the study covers major league umpires, not minor league umpires as I assumed.

    DRJ (bfe07e)

  15. Ras,

    Like Fred, you make a good point. It’s hard to know how this study worked without seeing the details but I assume there were clear guidelines established to analyze the pitches.

    DRJ (bfe07e)

  16. “It seems odd that it always leans in the same direction.”

    It’s 1%, I’m sure 1% either way would be within the margin for error, if he was honest about his stats.

    “If a pitcher knows he’s more likely to get questionable pitches called as strikes”

    And he’s going to notice based on one pitch per game ??? I’m sure pitchers expect at least a few questionable calls per game.

    I don’t think it’s humanly possible to have a 1% bias – it’s too small. The only way you could do it would be if you kept track of the number of pitches.

    Fred (4d468e)

  17. “There is only one real sport, especially if you were born and raised in Texas: Football”

    Well, I guess that reflects Texas was an independent nation before it was part of the US. In spite of all the nonsense, the American game is baseball, and the world knows it. Other than “Little League”, how many “world champions” really are. People from all over the world can agree with Rico Carty, “Baseball has been very good to me.”

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  18. In baseball you get to spit, play in the dirt and wave sticks around. What more could you want?

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  19. What kind of pitch counts do starting pitchers average these days? Seems like arguing one percent is kind of a tough argument to make. If he made a situational argument, e.g. with two strikes, or with two outs, I might give the study more credence.

    daleyrocks (906622)

  20. MD – You forgot scratch.

    daleyrocks (906622)

  21. Yeah, I did daleyrocks. I also forgot chew, be it tobacco or bubble gum. I’ll see what else I forgot in the morning.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  22. Based on this 2001 USA Today article, the average pitch count in a major league baseball game is 270-287 (or more) so a variance of 1 pitch per game would be even less than 1%. More like .4%. However, I still think the reliability of this study is difficult to measure without knowing the methodology.

    Also, I hope everyone realizes I’m kidding when I “disrespect” some sports. I like them all but sometimes it’s fun to talk trash about sports.

    DRJ (bfe07e)

  23. DRJ:

    My point was that the scandals you listed are somewhat minor in the light of overall history of professional sports. (Well, maybe not the NBA.) They’ll survive–and believe it or not–prosper. Why? Because someone…or some group…will capture the imagination of the public yet again.

    In some cases, scandals actually help promote a minor sport. (Before Tonya Harding, figure skating was limited to ABC’s Wide World of Sports and Olympic broadcasts. Now there are prime-time specials.) Then again, scandal can unravel a minor sport. (See: Tour de France.)

    Throughout my lifetime, I’ve heard again and again people say “I’m never watching again!” They might go away for a few months or a couple of years, but most (if not all) of them come back…because they can’t stay away.

    Paul (f54101)

  24. As for baseball, this study barely registers on my radar as trouble. Especially considering that reputations count far more than ethnicity with umpires.

    For instance: Guys like Greg Maddux get strike calls when the pitch is a bit off the plate or too high or low because of their reputations for control. On the batter’s side, guys like Frank Thomas get ball calls if they don’t swing at a pitch that nicks the strike zone because of their keen eye reputations.

    When the great batters and great pitchers face each other, that’s when you see straightforward pitch calling.

    I’m sure pitchers expect at least a few questionable calls per game.

    So does MLB, which is why players get thrown out of games for arguing balls and strikes.

    Paul (f54101)

  25. I dunno, I wonder what real quality of life sports brings. I mean in view of all money, fame etc that is heaped on these people.
    Won’t there ALWAYS be scandal when big money is thrown at people?
    Maybe we need to dial back out availiblity of it all.
    Do we really need sport only channels? I think that an over emphasis on sports (especially pro sports-any of ’em) skews peoples view of the world.
    I dunno, I guess I long for the days when you got all your chores done on a weekend and got to sit undisturbed while your favorite basbeall,football or whatever team came on your local broadcast channel. And for that two hours or so you were entertained and afterwards it was left up to you and your friends and family to provide post game ‘analysis’. And those days when sports informed your education as PART of growing up not as the completion of the process.

    paul from fl (ae01cb)

  26. From the umpire article: But, this behavior diminishes when scrutiny of umpire calls increases—for example at ballparks with electronic monitoring systems, when there are 3 balls or 2 strikes, or at well-attended games.

    Too many exceptions disprove the rule. I suppose this behavior doesn’t apply either during the opening game of a series, or on Thursdays, or in a top media market.

    Regarding this study, color me skeptical … very.

    aunursa (50104e)

  27. Well, as a damn Yankee from NY (I hate the NY Yankees though), I have to agree with DRJ, there is only one sport and it’s football.
    The rest are just placeholders to keep us occupied until next football season.

    One thing, this isn’t new, as long as there’s gambling on sports, there’s going to be people trying to… shorten the odds. Heck, Romans kept finding people fixing the chariot races so much they actually banned a color (team).

    The problem is that people are involved. Anytime people are involved in anything, expect problems.

    Veeshir (dfa2bf)

  28. All that’s left for me is youth soccer–and that’s so boring that I even take along a book to read when my own little knee-knockers are playing.

    The Sanity Inspector (864156)

  29. Well, there are more positive views of baseball.
    Comment by nk — 8/19/2007 @ 8:12 pm

    nk- I was giving a positive view of baseball. A grown man having an excuse for doing all the things you loved as a kid.
    Your clip was inspiring for the most part, but the bahavior at the end should have gotten him a life-time suspension.

    On the more serious side, I agree with Veeshir and paul from fla. All human endeavor includes the opportunity for the best and worst to come out, and getting priorities mixed up is the path to the worst.

    MD in Philly (3d3f72)

  30. Ted…

    I found this on google….

    Ted (e71056)


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