We’ve had a lot of time in the car so far on this Great Baseball Road Trip. It’s led to some interesting conversations and also to a bunch of nonsense. Roughly 20 percent of the time one day was used to discuss a new baseball statistic proposed by Rocket and enhanced by the collective: His basic premise: “I want to know whether or not it is a valid criticism to say A-Rod only hits meaningless home runs.” And so, we came up with the following criteria to measure meaningful home runs. A player gets:

*1 point for every home run hit in innings 1-6 that either brings a team within two runs or fewer or is hit when a team is up by two runs or fewer.

*1.25 points for every home run in the 7th inning or later that brings a team within two runs or fewer or is hit when a team is up by two runs or fewer OR for any home run in innings 1-6 that ties the score or puts a team ahead.

*1.5 points for every home run in the 7th inning or later that ties the score or puts a team in the lead.

*0 points for all other home runs.

The total number of points is then divided by the total number of home runs hit for the Richotte Meaningful Home Run Index (or Schottie for short).

Questions:

1) How does A-Rod’s RMHRI compare to other sluggers?

2) Are the numerical values assigned sufficient – that is, what should the variation be for “more meaningful” home runs?

3) How is the stat reported/recorded?

4) What is the expected average number and high-end number for a “clutch” home run hitter?

5) Can a similar measurement be applied to RBIs?

Your thoughts? (And yes, we know we are nerds).

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