Sports is currently enjoying an era of unprecedented statistical analysis, with Moneyball having opened the floodgates for stats-oriented people to find new benchmarks in every sport. Here are some of the more notable number-crunchings:
OPSPA: On-base plus slugging plus batting average: Considered a more comprehensive measurement of batting efficiency because it adds more things to other things
UZR: Accounts for a player’s defense by counting the happy clicks a dolphin makes while watching the play in its tank
PER: John Hollinger decides how much he likes a player and then makes up a number for him
RUNX2: A stat equal to the number of runs scored by a baseball player multiplied by two
PTTYLPS: Compares contemporary stock car drivers’ performances to the number of laps Richard Petty would have completed under similar conditions in his 1970 Plymouth Superbird with the big-block motor and the badass wing back before NASCAR got pussified
BFEST: Estimates the likelihood a player would be your best friend assuming you and he were both totally normal guys going about their business who crossed paths and were just looking to connect with someone else
OPBICYT: A player’s on-base percentage if the Red Sox had traded Carl Yastrzemski to the Tigers for Lance Parrish, Pat Underwood, and a third-round draft pick sometime before the 1978 season started
