I'm Bill James, bitch!
July 17, 2007 6:44 PM   Subscribe

 
I'm a total sports cretin, but I laughed. :)
posted by Malor at 6:56 PM on July 17, 2007


You are all lucky enough to be in the presence of the most freakishly intelligent man in the history of professional baseball.

Which is kinda like being the most freakishly intelligent night shift deep fryer jockey in the history of McDonald's (but humorous none the less).
posted by MikeMc at 7:02 PM on July 17, 2007 [1 favorite]


Right, MikeMc. Everyone associated with professional baseball is an idiot! I forgot!
posted by ORthey at 7:04 PM on July 17, 2007


That was funny, thanks. (I'm a huge Bill James fan, but he does have an ego, as well he might.)
posted by languagehat at 7:07 PM on July 17, 2007


(I'm a huge Bill James fan, but he does have an ego, as well he might.)

I really like him when I can follow what he's proposing. A lot of the time, I just take his word for it because my grasp of higher math is very flimsy. So I feel like he's talking down to me even when he isn't.
posted by Mayor Curley at 7:10 PM on July 17, 2007


Right, MikeMc. Everyone associated with professional baseball is an idiot! I forgot!

Lighten up Francis. Not everyone associated with MLB is an idiot (Steinbrenner being the lone exception).
posted by MikeMc at 7:11 PM on July 17, 2007


Is 'On The Show' the new Yard Work?
posted by xmutex at 7:13 PM on July 17, 2007


I'm Bill James, bitch!

Nice.
posted by rkent at 7:50 PM on July 17, 2007


I thought James came across pretty well in this interview. Maybe a little impatient with BS, but seemingly with a realistic view of his own impact and limitations.
posted by ibmcginty at 8:16 PM on July 17, 2007


Deadspin commentor blogs suck.
posted by spicynuts at 8:21 PM on July 17, 2007 [1 favorite]


I think he jumped the shark with Win Shares. Wow, Jamesian Win Shares suck. Hardball Times has tried to redeem them, but still, Win Probability Added is proving to be a more accurate measure.
posted by dw at 8:31 PM on July 17, 2007


I don't think that's actually for reals (just a hunch) but it's funny.
posted by dhammond at 9:11 PM on July 17, 2007


That first linked article reads like a bad imitation of Fire Joe Morgan which is, I think, the definitive destination for deconstructing and de-fuckwiting bad baseball analysis.

James is God, but even God makes mistakes (i.e. win shares or jackalopes.)
posted by rokusan at 9:58 PM on July 17, 2007


Wow, it's like a whole new branch of mathematics called Tourettetistics.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:43 PM on July 17, 2007


That’s what I’d do to Darin Erstad, if I had a time machine, which by the way, I’m inventing, and fuck you, it’s already patented, because it’s a motherfucking time machine.

That cracks me up.
posted by LarryC at 11:47 PM on July 17, 2007


If the amount of effort devoted toward beating sports betting and casino gambling systems were devoted to something else, we would have already solved global warming, cured cancer, and created life extension.
posted by localroger at 5:08 AM on July 18, 2007


I don't think that's actually for reals (just a hunch)

Um, dude, this is, like, an over-the-top parody/pisstake. You don't really think James talks like that, do you?
posted by languagehat at 6:46 AM on July 18, 2007


One bit of pedantry, I thought the followers of Bill James dismissed Prince Fielder originally.

Or maybe, the dismissal and then acceptance is just genius beyond my grasp.
posted by drezdn at 6:49 AM on July 18, 2007


So this Bill James fellow is also Maddox?
posted by TedW at 6:53 AM on July 18, 2007


Metafilter: Greetings, fuckwits
posted by effwerd at 8:19 AM on July 18, 2007


This was way too over the top to be funny to me. I like early Bill James stuff a lot, but I've been critical of much of his recent work. I think I could do a much better parody than this, which makes him sound like a negative Dick Vitale.
posted by spira at 10:44 AM on July 18, 2007


I guess I haven't heard James interviewed before. The interview that is linked from the parody page doesn't seem egotistical at all to me. Just seems like he doesn't give very good interview, like a lot of experts. (Q: Hey, Shakespeare expert, which would you say is Shakespeare's most underrated play? A: Uh, well, I don't really pay attention to what plays are rated by the general population; I'm involved in different questions.)

Is he known for being egotistical in other contexts?
posted by LobsterMitten at 12:31 PM on July 18, 2007


Is he known for being egotistical in other contexts?

Actually, no, not really. Considering how influential his views have become, it's a miracle he hasn't gotten a bloated ego. The more I think of it, the more I think the posted parody isn't very well done at all. It's amusing because it's an over-the-top rant, but it doesn't really have much to do with Bill James.
posted by languagehat at 2:08 PM on July 18, 2007


Considering how influential his views have become, it's a miracle he hasn't gotten a bloated ego.

I don't know about that. It might be just his uncomfortable manner, but he definitely seems likes he's talking down. It might just be that he's on a higher plane and has difficulty knowing what the public can grasp, but it also might not be.

But the way he describes some very basic stuff certainly comes across like ego. Even if it isn't.
posted by Mayor Curley at 4:37 PM on July 18, 2007


I know what you mean, but come on, he's a statistics geek. Sure, now his books are selling and he's hired by major-league teams and he wears decent clothes and all, but underneath he's still the same nerd who spent years buttonholing uncaring people and telling them about how so-and-so was really overrated, just look at these figures, and people didn't want to listen, or they listened politely and clearly didn't grasp what he was telling them... I don't think he has an inflated ego, I just think he's scarred by years of that sort of frustrated attempts to communicate.
posted by languagehat at 5:04 PM on July 18, 2007


I don't think he has an inflated ego, I just think he's scarred by years of that sort of frustrated attempts to communicate.

I definitely think that's the most likely explanation. But maybe he's gone mad with power like that Albert Schweitzer guy.
posted by Mayor Curley at 6:53 PM on July 18, 2007


Funny, I was just trying to give my coworker the gist of sabermetrics today and then I see this article.
posted by Sandor Clegane at 2:14 PM on July 19, 2007


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