The Brushback

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🥊 THE BRUSHBACK

Analytics vs. Instinct — The Game Is Smarter (and Better)

Every so often I hear it from a fan:
“Those damn analytics are ruining the game! And don’t get me started on that AI stuff.”

Then comes the classic:
“Get off my lawn!”

Yes — baseball’s different now. It’s not your grandfather’s baseball anymore. Every pitch, swing, and throw is tracked down to the decimal.

Spin rates, launch angles, exit velocity — front offices are drowning in data, and managers are flipping iPads instead of lineup cards.

But here’s the thing: that’s not a bad thing.

AI and analytics haven’t killed the game — they’ve made it better. Pitchers are throwing filthier stuff than ever, hitters are hacking their way back, and minor leaguers now get tech that would make 1990s big leaguers drool — Statcast cameras tracking every movement, AI breaking down swings, and wearable trackers flagging mechanical flaws before they turn into injuries.

Scouts used to rely on radar guns and gut instinct. Now machine learning models project a kid’s big-league future by crunching everything from spin rate to biomechanics. Coaches still trust their eyes — but they also have real-time dashboards telling them which fielder should take two steps left.

And yes, the robo-umps are coming. If that makes you clutch your pearls, maybe you liked “human error” a little too much.

Sure, we’ve lost some of the chaos — the wild gut hunch, the manager rolling the dice just because the moon was full. But we’ve gained something too: smarter decisions, healthier arms, and lineups built for maximum fireworks.

Baseball’s sweet spot isn’t all numbers or all gut — it’s where instinct meets insight. Right now, the game is living right in that pocket.

It was a great game then, and it’s a great game now.

If you miss old-school baseball — pop in a VHS from 1979. The rest of us are living in the moment.

— John Boxley