There’s an amusing fictional exchange in the seminal film*, Moneyball, between general manager Bill Beane, and his crew of Oakland A’s scouts. The baseball scouts eagerly key in on of one the hitters they think can make the jump into the majors. They run off their checklist of reasons why this hitter passes the smell test; the man’s jaw, his looks, the crack of the bat as it hits the ball, his athleticism, his “five tools” profile, et cetera.
These all sound like valid reasons through the prism of an experienced, venerable baseball scout. But for Billy, a quick look at his batting average cuts through the hieroglyphic cliches and prompts a rhetorical question.