<p><br /> <br /> Jim,<br /> <br /> I enjoy reading your text as I appreciate all insights into sports. On my bucket list is to come up with a new statistic in any sport.<br /> <br /> Think of the lightbulb moments for RBIs in baseball (as averages are easy to calculate), for yards after catches in football, and greens in regulation in golf.&nbsp;<br /> <br /> One of my favorites is the 24-second shot clock in pro hoops. This was created by a fan who simply recalled a high-scoring game many years ago and&nbsp;divided the total points by 48 minutes. Obviously, this was a game in which no one played defense and the math worked out to a basket every 24 seconds.</p>
<p>Or, given my inclination to think backwards, eliminate some stats: first on my list is errors in baseball. How many no-hitters (the pitcher&rsquo;s job) have been ruined by a teammate (whose job is to catch and throw)? So create a new classification for a perfect game: No hits, no walks. What else can a pitcher do? Hit a homer?</p>
<p>How about a stat in golf that measures driving yardage per inch of height of the player. Boxers always talk about &ldquo;pound for pound,&rdquo; so why not &ldquo;inch for inch&rdquo;? Dustin Johnson is a tall (in height) pounder of the ball and Bubba Watson is a shorter (in height) pounder as well. So who is the better driver? Bubba, because he is shorter.</p>
<p>How about &ldquo;fringes in regulation&rdquo; for missed greens on Par 3s, but the player has to make the chip and putt for par (guess this is the &ldquo;scrambling&rdquo; stat).</p>
<p>How about dollar per stroke, which could include or exclude gonzo Nike (Callaway, Ping, etc.) endorsement contracts? Could be based strictly on tournament prize money.</p>
<p>How about a ratio of strokes to cup (STC) by both men and women from 150 yards into the hole (takes the driving out of the equation)?</p>
<p>Happy Holidays,</p>
<p>JJ</p>
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