For the unaccustomed observer it is easy to become a little hung up in the peripheral numbers.
These "peripheral" numbers tend to stabilise much faster: the year-to-year correlation for qualifying batters' strikeouts from 2013-14 was.90.90
The blizzard of peripheral numbers may or may not be changing the way football is played, lassoing it with a restrictive self-awareness, but there is a heartening note of constancy in the enduring fascination with football's endnote, its oldest, most indivisible basic skill.
There's still much more to come from this team, specifically from Sacha Kljestan, though his peripheral numbers such as chances created and key passes suggest an assist storm is imminent, which will raise the already adequate output of Dom Dwyer (seven goals in 990 minutes).
Maybe he's the next Matt Cain, a guy who consistently defies the statistical laws of gravity that pull a pitcher's results back in line with his peripheral numbers over the long run.
As for his WAR, the drop-off in his peripheral numbers was reflected.
Unfortunately for Lester, the peripheral numbers weren't quite as good.
His peripheral numbers are also discouraging: After striking out 14 batters per nine innings from 2016 to 2017, he is down to 10.2 strikeouts per nine this season.
As RotoGraphs' man on the scene David Golebiewski notes, Myers has chronically underperformed his peripheral numbers, a fact almost wholly attributable to an inflated rate of home runs per fly ball, a fact itself that is likely attributable to Citizens Bank Park.
But his peripheral numbers — from 2017 to 2018, his earned-run average increased by almost one run to 3.26, he allowed more hits per nine innings (1.6 compared to 0.9) and he struck out two fewer batters per nine innings (9.5) — made him a liability in the Angels bullpen.
Saruta et al. have shown that the use of 6-mercatopurine and azathioprine, but not steroids or anti-TNF agents, was correlated with lower peripheral numbers of Treg [ 32].
