Quote:
Originally Posted by KcMizzou
Can anyone explain to me how WAR is a legitimate statistic?
I'm honestly curious.
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WAR has the potential to be the single most relevant stat in the game, if it is done correctly and if we have confidence that most things have been accounted for.
The most valuable aspect of WAR is it enables you to compare players who play wildly different roles. It also reinforces many things that we "know" but often forget or perhaps underestimate, like a great relief pitcher isn't all that great if you compare him to a great anything else, or a good hitter who plays DH can be a worse player overall than an average hitter who plays a decent SS or CF. (I'm a big fan of the position adjustments)
The biggest outstanding issue with WAR is always whatever is the biggest issue in sabermetrics in general since WAR tries to combine everything. The biggest issue in sabermetrics is measuring defense, so therefore the defensive part of WAR is probably the thing that needs the most work. We pretty much have offense, pitching, adjusting for your park, etc more or less figured out.