After a brilliant 8 innings of shutout ball from the Dark Knight, it certainly didn’t look like game 5 was going to be the decisive blow, but after Matt Harvey talked Terry Collins into letting him go for the complete game, the Mets’ ace was allowed back out to the mound for the 9th. KC has been known for coming back ever since their miraculous victory against the A’s in the 2014 AL Wild Card game, so it was no surprise after Davis struck out the last batter to give his team their first championship in 30 years and the team’s 8th comeback win this postseason. Despite the Royals being known for not going down easy, their game 5 victory might not had been due to their efforts.
Matt Harvey pitched 8 innings striking out 9 batters, raising the noise level in Citi Field to be the loudest this year, as he was giving Mets’ fans hope despite being down 3-1 in the Series. However, manager, Terry Collins, decided to go with his heart not his brain, as instead of sticking with his plan of bringing in closer, Jeurys Familia, he allowed Matt Harvey to talk him into the opportunity of a complete game. So, of course KC takes advantage of it and ties the game at 2 a piece. This decision by Terry Collins however, goes deeper than just game 5.
Over the past few years the game has seen the beginning of a change in front offices and coaching staffs. It is no longer a majority of old baseball minds, but the emergence of young businessmen with a mindset of Sabermetrics. Instead of accepting the brilliant numbers that Familia has put up as a closer all season that hints he was the guy to bring in, Collins ignored the stats on KC as a comeback team. There is no doubt that there are many other managers that may have made the same call in leaving Harvey in to complete the game, but considering that Collins allowed Harvey to get into his head, just exemplifies more that old fashioned emotional baseball minds are growing extinct in this game today.
More and more franchises are turning to a non-emotional Sabermetric stance, meaning that young guys who coach to the modern era game are being hired. Managers like Terry Collins, Joe Girardi, and Don Mattingly are old-fashioned, meaning that they don’t take an extra look at the scouting reports or stats during the game for different situations, they stick to their gut and experience. Yes, the old geysers can still be effective and take a team to a championship, but the game is changing. Terry Collins’ emotional decision in game 5 is just a perfect example of why many teams are now hiring youngsters with the understanding of moneyball terminology, like Mike Matheny, Brad Ausmus, and Kevin Cash. These young new mangers have no experience, so that is why they are not excelling yet, so the old baseball minds need to adapt to the change by learning to use Sabermetrics to their advantage.
