TORONTO -- By and large, analytics are now driving Major League Baseball.
Statistics measure virtually everything that can be done on a baseball diamond. Players understand the new order, and they realize that their performances can be quantified to reflect value. Given that element, the fact that so many statistics do exist, and that stats are like beauty -- in the eye of the beholder -- a visit to the Rays' clubhouse seemed in order. What stats do Rays players view as important -- OPS, wins above replacement, walks-to-strikeout ratio?
Team wins was not an option, since every player surveyed would have answered as such when asked what stat or stats mattered most to them.