Israel baseball's stat king is back at the plate

“I was glad someone took the IBL seriously enough
to report the true stories behind the league.
The road from there to the IBL's ultimate collapse
was not inevitable, but was rather the product
of decisions made by key individuals along the way,
some of whose motives remain unclear.”

--The Iblemetrician

bIBLemetrics, the website that deconstructed the first season of the Israel Baseball League through statistical analysis, has lain dormant since a “Fat Lady has sung” posting in January, but thanks to our recent salute to the man behind it, there’s new life to the site and more fascinating data and statistics to come.

At the urging of Our Man Elli in Israel, we pointed out the anonymous, self-described “Iblemetrician” as one of the Good Guys in the Israel baseball saga.

“He alone gave credit to Tabloid Baby for every bit of information that he shared with his readers,” Elli said. “And this guy devoted all this effort, in effect, to the players themselves. And they’re the real beneficiaries of all that work. Indeed, those inside-baseball numbers he produced just might REALLY be all that the IBL players walk away with from the summer of 2007.”

In his usual self-effacing, low key fashion, the Israel-based Iblemetrician fired up his site once again-- to say “Aw, shucks!”:

“What can I say? I'm honored - the Brits would say chuffed - and more than a little stunned that the one-and-only IBL journalist Elli Wohlgelernter has singled me out (anonymous little old me!) for praise due to my writings about the IBL.

“Wow. Thanks. I thought all I was doing was enjoying baseball (and statistics) a bit too much for my own good...

“But I've learned a lot about baseball this past year, and I only stopped posting to the blog because I was too busy with the rest of my life. I hope to get back to it when I can find the time again. Maybe I'll finally get to those pitcher comparisons.

“By sheer coincidence, this blog got going just as Elli's original feature story was released. I didn't enjoy what I read, but I was glad someone took the IBL seriously enough to report the true stories behind the league. The road from there to the IBL's ultimate collapse was not inevitable, but was rather the product of decisions made by key individuals along the way, some of whose motives remain unclear.

“All along, I've tried to be honest and fair, neither a cheerleader nor a fearmongerer. I still think most of the leading figures in the league had their hearts in the right places, though not always their heads. If that makes me a Good Guy, I'm proud to be one…”

Hey, we’re not going to steal site views from the Iblemetrician. Click here to read his entire post, and then surf around one of the most fascinating obsessions in sports.

And click here for our authoritative and comprehensive Baseball in Israel archive site.

Our Israel Baseball Good Guy Award goes to the anonymous Iblemetrician for his love of the game

“At some point, in some post, we should point out that not everyone who has written about the Israel Baseball League in the past ten months is misinformed or behind the curve,” says Our Man Elli in Israel from a table at the Café 1868 kosher restaurant on Beth Lechem Road in Baka, Jerusalem’s last real neighborhood. “One guy in particular has been honest in his writing, pure in his study of the sport, and straightforward about giving credit where it’s due.

“I salute the man behind bIBLmetrics. He’s a software engineer who took the game and the promise of the league so seriously that he applied sabermetrics (analysis of baseball through statistics) to try and make some baseball sense out of stats from a league that was defunct the day the season ended.

“He calls himself ‘iblemetrician,’ and he spent an unbelieveable amount of time doing this for the love of the game.

“The Iblemetrician, though, he alone gave credit to Tabloid Baby for every bit of information that he shared with his readers. I don’t think there's a website editor alive who can boast that— except maybe Luke Ford, but he did it in passing. And this guy devoted all this effort, in effect, to the players themselves. And they’re the real beneficiaries of all that work. Indeed, those inside-baseball numbers he produced just might REALLY be all that the IBL players walk away with from the summer of 2007 . Those stats and the memories of having played with some really great guys.

“Look, it’s your site, I realize you’re protecting the brand and the exclusives we’ve gathered, but there’s been a real negativity recently with all the anonymous sniping. And the apologists are clever, claiming we’re actually happy that the crooks and schnooks fouled out for 2008.”

Thanks, Elli. And in fact, we we did indeed salute the Iblemetrician back in October 2007, declaring that his work, combined with Elli’s landmark expose of the IBL’s 2007 season, creates a full picture of the experience. In response, he sent us this comment:

“Glad you like the site. Thanks for the link.

 (To make sure it's clear: I don't do this for a living! I'm a software engineer with a newly-rediscovered baseball addiction.)

 In case you're curious, I enjoyed the IBL and hope it survives and thrives, but that doesn't change the fact that Elli's article was an excellent piece of journalism. It was outrageous that no local journalist cared to cover the league seriously during the season. (Reprinting league press releases doesn't count.)



“The IBL has some work to do if it wants to make this last. Avoiding and ignoring media criticism doesn't solve anything.”

Sadly, bIBLemetrics last posted in January, writing,

“The fat lady has sung. Or at least, the IAB has. Looks like the IBL won't be back in '08. 

Let's hope the IPBL folks can get their act together in time for this summer.

 Baseball is still about dreams.”

We hope professional baseball comes back to Israel in some form soon, if only so bIBLEmetrics can work its magic. Hope, as always, springs eternal, and is, of course, the thing with feathers.

Do you have a Good Guy Award nominee? Send it here and we'll give a shoutout!