Baseboogle

A Question for the Pitch f/x Crowd

How much can we really trust the data that MLB.com's Pitch f/x system (or similar systems such as Baseball Information Solutions) provides us?  Several recent incidents make me wonder aloud how reliable the numbers really are.

First, as of late, Brett Myers has been having difficulty transitioning back into the rotation after closing last season.  Quotes from Myers and Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee suggest that Myers is throwing his cutter too much and relying on his fastball less [link].  However, if you examine tables at Fangraphs.com, which come from data collections made by BIS, Myers supposedly only throws a cutter 0.2% of the time.

In addition, Josh Kalk has wrote yesterday that he is having to do quite a bit of correcting in the data he siphons from the Pitch f/x system.  He says that the errors are due in part to faulty cameras at several stadiums, Cincinnati in particular.

So, can we trust the data?  It appears to me that we can only trust it after people like Kalk do their magic and make it more reliable, but I'd like some of the people who are more familiar with the analysis to chime in...

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By the way, nearly 1,500 searches have been done on Baseboogle since it launched a few months ago.  I'm glad people are finding it to be a handy tool, so spread the word.

Three New Sites Added to Baseboogle

Based on suggestions from users, three new sites have been added:  The Physics of Baseball, Fast Balls, and Cubs f/x.

This raises the total to 33 total sites, which are listed in the sidebar at right.

Keep those suggestions coming!

A Firefox Search Plug-In for BaseBoogle

One step closer to making "baseboogling" a real verb.

Several people have written in and asked if it was possible to create a Baseboogle search plug-in for the Firefox web browser.  Unfortunately, the process of learning how to create one and then actually doing it became just too time consuming.

But, fortunately, I did manage to find something that's actually better -- a Firefox extension that lets you create search plug-ins for any site with a search box.  Here's the steps involved:

1. Simply download and install the "Add to Search Bar" extension.
2. Restart Firefox.
3. Go to the Baseboogle.com home page and right-click anywhere in the search box.
4. Click on "Add to search bar"
5. Click "OK"

You're done.

500 is Still a Special Stat

Sometime this weekend, Baseboogle had its 500th search!

Thanks to everyone who has helped to spread the word and hopefully those of you that have used the site found it helpful -- keep the searches coming!

A Leadoff Homer

According to Baseboogle's statistics, there were nearly 300 searches done in the 12 hours of being online.

Thanks everyone, I hope you find this to be a fun and useful tool.

New Sites Added

Thanks to all who have stopped by and added their suggestions.  Through your suggestions and some continued searching of my own, Baseboogle now includes 29 sites.

Keep the suggestions coming and if you will, help spread the word about this effort!

Why Baseboogle?

Because baseball + Google = Baseboogle.

In recent years, it has become easier and easier to self-publish content and information on the web.  All you need is an Internet connection and within minutes you can have your own little website to post any sort of analysis, research, or opinions that you possess.

But what if before you want to do a study or espouse an opinion, you actually wanted to discover what others have said or done on the topic?  Today's search engines are getting better and better all the time, but sometimes they turn up too much information and then, you as the consumer can't quite figure out how to narrow down the search term and eliminate the irrelevant without losing the relevant.

Baseboogle uses Google's search engine to sift through a set of custom selected websites that concentrate on studying, analyzing, and advancing our understanding the great game of baseball.

Sites are selected for inclusion based on their track record of providing content that consistently advances the study and understanding of the game. While there are certainly a bevy of great baseball sites available today, not all meet this criteria.

Hopefully with time, Baseboogle will become to baseball what PubMed is to medicine and the health sciences.

Want to recommend a site to be included in Baseboogle?
Simply go to the comments section below and send us your information.  We'll promptly review the site for submission.