Okay, so I’ve been messing around with baseball stats lately, and I got curious about the whole AA vs. AAA thing. Like, which one really shows a player is ready for the big leagues? I decided to dig in and see what I could find.
First, I grabbed some data. Nothing fancy, just some basic player stats from AA and AAA teams. I figured I’d start by comparing some common hitting stats – you know, batting average, home runs, RBIs, that kind of stuff.
Comparing The Basic Stuff
I dumped all the numbers into a spreadsheet (yeah, I’m old school like that) and started looking for patterns. I created a couple of simple charts, comparing the average stats for players at each level.
Initially, I thought, “AAA is obviously going to be better, right?” It’s the last stop before the majors. The players are supposed to be closer to being ready.
- The batting averages were a little higher in AAA, but not by a ton.
- Same thing with home runs – AAA players hit a few more, but it wasn’t a massive difference.
- RBIs were pretty similar too.
Digging a Little Deeper
So, the basic stats weren’t giving me the whole picture. I needed to go deeper. I started thinking about things like strikeout rates and walk rates. Maybe those would show a bigger difference between the two levels.
I added those stats to my spreadsheet and reran my charts. And… bingo! There was a more noticeable gap.
- AAA players generally had lower strikeout rates. Makes sense – they’re probably seeing the ball better and making more contact.
- Walk rates were a bit of a mixed bag. Some AAA players walked more, some less. It wasn’t as clear-cut as the strikeout rates.
My Takeaway
After all this tinkering, here’s what I figured out: While the basic hitting stats might look similar between AA and AAA, the way players achieve those stats can be different. AAA players seem to have a bit more plate discipline – they’re striking out less, which suggests they’re more ready for the challenges of major league pitching.
So, is AAA “better”? In terms of pure, raw stats, maybe not dramatically better. But if you’re looking for players who are truly ready to make the jump, those “under the hood” stats like strikeout rate might be a better indicator than just looking at batting average or home runs.
It’s not that simple the better the player is in AAA than AA, I found out it is more complicated, the AAA is ready, but the AA maybe not. I hope you like My sharing.
