There has been much discussion about the phrase “load management” in sports, particularly in the National Basketball Association, but it appears that baseball is starting to adopt the same mindset.
Add former New York Mets manager Buck Showalter to the group of people who are dissatisfied with the way teams are allocating playing time.
He said, “I love when those guys come in about their load management,” when questioned about it on “Foul Territory”.
He gave a more detailed example, saying that players who did well in the previous game are the ones who should get some rest because they spent a lot of time running around the bases.
“So what do you want me to tell him, ‘Don’t get any hits, so you can play the next day?’ I didn’t quite understand that one,” Showalter said.
It has been widely argued for decades how “old school” baseball fans and new era analytical groups differ from one another.
And although a lot of people would put the former Mets captain in the “old school” category, he was quick to point out that he has always been receptive to the analytical side of the game as well.
“I’m receptive … We used to do analytics, sabermetrics for dummies in Spring in Baltimore to make sure we made people unafraid of it. Understand what it told us, what it didn’t tell us,” he added.
It’s also critical to keep in mind that Showalter was not in collaboration with David Stearns, the recently appointed president of baseball operations, who fired the famous manager this offseason.
He was stating how much of his dissatisfaction stemmed from the former administration he worked under.
It seems certain that analytics will always be a part of baseball.
It should be noted, however, that managers are employed in order to be aware of the emotions that their players are experiencing throughout gameplay. They are aware of the emotional and physical responses their boys will have at different times.
Bruce Bochy, a “old school” manager, led the Texas Rangers to victory in the World Series, demonstrating that winning isn’t just dependent on spreadsheets.
It is obvious that Showalter would want the “managerial feel” to continue to exist in baseball.