The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates: Valuing Advanced Metrics Over Traditional Stats

PITTSBURGH, PA – OCTOBER 01: Francisco Liriano #47 of the Pittsburgh Pirates walks off the field in the 7th inning during their game against the Cincinnati Reds during the National League Wild Card game at PNC Park on October 1, 2013 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)

The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates were put together though what was considered an unconventional method. This is how that team took advantage of advanced stats.

The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates will forever have a spot in franchise history. In 2013, the Pirates snapped a streak of 20 consecutive losing seasons, as well as 20 consecutive seasons without postseason baseball.

With what they accomplished, the 2013 Pirates became one of the most important and beloved teams in franchise history. This team was also built in an unconventional manner by former general manager Neal Huntington.

The team was built right at the analytical boom of the early 2010s. This was one of the driving factors to the team’s success. Because Huntington and his staff used these advanced analytics to build the team, instead of traditional baseball stats and observations.

Advanced analytics are the best ways to find talent and build successful teams. The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates were built with this in mind, and took advantage of the advanced stats before many other teams were. Batted ball data, expected stats, and predictors were used by the 2013 Pirates before it was cool. So how was each facet of the Pirates’ game affected by valuing the advanced stats over the classic stats?

The 2013 Pittsburgh Pirates were put together though what was considered an unconventional method. This is how that team took advantage of advanced stats.

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