Competitive Baseball Nerd

I've spent enough time thinking and reading about baseball in my life to write a book. Several books. Or an almanac. When people say things like "student of the game," it usually only means the athlete is capable of having conversations about their sport. It's not a particular honor to be called a student of the game, but I'm going to call myself that. I'm a student of the game in a much more literal sense.

I study baseball. I study the crap out of it. And I'm very competitive, like I'm fighting for medical school. If someone knows something I don't, I have to know it. I have to know how they know about it. And then the next time that thing, whatever it may be, comes up, I'll know about it. And I'll know it better than the person that showed me.

But like any other competitive person, it's not just other people that drive me. It's myself. I need to have the advantage before someone comes up to talk to me. I need to know exactly what the linear weights behind wRC+ mean. I need to know why they're linear and not some other, non-linear model. I need to know why I would choose to use FIP, xFIP, or SIERA over other forms of pitching evaluation. I compete with myself - I need to know more than I do. I suppose that's what could constitute an addiction or obsession, but I'm pretty happy with what I've learned so far. And happiness is good, so I'll stick with it.