Sabermetrics creator Bill James may have crossed a line. His controversial comments have received backlash from around the MLB, including the Red Sox.
Bill James is a prominent figure in the baseball world, known primarily for his analytical style of thinking called sabermetrics. While his work has been applied throughout the league, he has been an adviser for the Boston Red Sox baseball operations department since 2002.
The Red Sox have gradually become much more of an analytical team, especially in recent years. Manager Alex Cora brought a similar approach over from Houston when he joined the team, and put it on full display throughout October. Despite their success though, James does not seem to be impressed.
Nearly two weeks after the Red Sox won the World Series, James now finds himself at the center of league-wide controversy for his comments on Twitter, which have since been deleted:
"“If the players all retired tomorrow, we would replace them, the game would go on; in three years it would make no difference whatsoever. The players are NOT the game, any more than the beer vendors are.” – @billjamesonline"
James is essentially saying that each player has the same value as those who played before them, and those who will play after them. He devalues them further by comparing them to beer vendors, which not only comes off as incorrect, but also insulting. Whether these comments are an exaggeration or not, they are clearly very unnecessary.
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There is a lot to unpack from this, but the overall message in James’ comments has been received about as poorly as it possibly could have been. From former and current players, to MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark, and even the Red Sox themselves, it is clear what the attitude is toward James’ remarks throughout the baseball world.
Clark responded with an official statement, calling the comments “both reckless and insulting, considering our game’s history regarding the use of replacement players.”
The Red Sox released their own statement in which they not only criticized James’ comments, but also firmly reasserted their relationship with him:
The #RedSox Statement Regarding Bill James’ Recent Remarks: pic.twitter.com/JffB08Hqad
— Red Sox (@RedSox) November 8, 2018
This was the right thing to do for the Red Sox, especially in the wake of what may very well be the most dominant season in franchise history. Bill James’ work and ideals are completely statistics-driven, and there is an ever-growing sector of professional baseball devoted to this line of thinking. However, an enormous and historic team like the Red Sox has a reputation to uphold, and defending their players was an absolute must here.
Impact players such as J.D. Martinez, Mookie Betts, and Chris Sale cannot be replaced. Although the motives for James’ remarks are still unclear, he has seriously damaged his own credibility within the context of a modern version of baseball that he has so greatly influenced.
While his work extends as far back as the 1970’s, James rose to prominence in the early 2000’s after Athletics GM Billy Beane was successful in using sabermetrics to win with a low payroll. James’ impact on baseball cannot be understated, but he is wrong in what he said.
Players are the game. They are the ones who pitch, hit, field, run, win, and lose. Fans come to baseball games to see the players, because many of them just simply aren’t replaceable.