Sports announcers being dumb
There is a real reason I watch sports games with the channel on mute most of the time.
In the opening minutes of Wednesday night’s game between Cincinnati and the L.A. Dodgers, the team of Jon Sciambi, Doug Glanville and Alden Gonzalez rather embarrassed themselves. They started it up by saying Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a Dodgers pitcher, was having “a Cy Young caliber season.” Defining what “a Cy Young caliber season” is might be a bit difficult, so ok, I’ll let it slide. Some years a 2.49 ERA might be good enough, so—wait, what? Oh? they doubled down? Yamamoto is now “certainly a Cy Young candidate.” How do I get a job where I can make six or seven figures while doing drugs at work like these guys?
I love Yamamoto, he’s a very good pitcher, but have you checked the odds recently?
Paul Skenes, a Pirates pitcher, is currently at -$50,000 in betting odds to win the National League Cy Young Award. That means you would have to bet $50,000 on him winning just to win $100 when it actually happens. Trailing way behind him are Cristopher Sanchez, a Phillies pitcher, and Freddy Peralta, a Brewers pitcher. Then, finally, in fourth you find Yamamoto. He has a 100 to one chance of winning.
It would be one thing if the voters were getting ready to make a horrific mistake (they have been known to do that in the past), but checking the statistics, Skenes leads Yamamoto in Wins Above Replacement, Games Pitched, Games Started, Innings Pitched, Earned Run Average, Earned Run Average Plus, Strikeouts and Strikeout Percentage. Skenes has also walked less batters and has a lower walk percentage. In major statistics, Yamamoto only leads in one category. He has 12 Wins to Skenes 10.
Is it impossible to say somebody is good without trying to deceive the American public? A player does not have to be the absolute best in the league to be worth watching.
I would say I’ll turn off baseball and wait to watch ESPN until they have Monday Night Football on, but then I’ll have to deal with Troy Aikman repeating himself non-stop. Time to put the TV back on mute, I guess.
