And the Walls Come Tumblin’ Down
By Dick Lipshitz, SABER Institute Analyst
Special to http://www.morganobrien.com/

NAPERVILLE, Ill.--A recent claim by long-time and newly retired Prochilo family softballer, Charlie Randle, asserting that he batted .550 over his career brought with it questions concerning the validity of the statement as well as a wise crack from Morgan O’Brien stating that the magical .550 number was more likely linked to Randle’s typical blood alcohol level.

We decided to look inside the numbers and we found that the magical .550 was like a house of cards…impressive—yes but also very unstable and easily leveled.

Here are the factors that bring that house of cards tumblin’ down:

The Nepotism Factor
Interestingly, Randle’s career batting average when facing direct descendents and Godchildren is a cool .853. Did Randle’s Svengali-like influence cause the hurlers to groove a few? The numbers don’t lie.

The Juiced-Ball Era
As the old guard is well aware, from ’93-’98 the family picnic softballs were imported from Haiti in an attempt to save a few bucks. Those crazy Haitians wound the balls to a PSI level exceeding that of USA Softball specifications by 39%. Randle’s average during this era was an eye-popping +.225 points than the balance of his career.

The Ballpark Factor
You’ve got to hand it Randle—he proved to be one selective s.o.b. Randel was so selective, in fact, that he chose to avoid batting at the ballparks that didn’t mesh with the slap-hitting/running style that defined his career. At Randle-friendly parks like the Long Beach Rec Field, School #2 Memorial Park (with '650 power alleys), and the now-shuttered Lyons Park at Wilberham, Randle was sure to play and also certain to nose his way to the top of the order so that he could enjoy a few more at bats to build a bridge to the magical .550.

A Statistical Marvel
Never in the history of the much regarded OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage) had a person had a lower OPS than batting average. In fact, it was thought to be a statistical impossibility. However, Randle blows that theory and we thought we understood about math out of the water as his OBPS sits at .511. What does this tell us? Well, we see that every one of Randle’s hits were one baggers.

Mathematical corrections for the first three factors brings Randle’s lifetime BA down to a more pedestrian .374—a solid career at the plate, yes, but not one of Ruthian proportions. Couple that with the weak OPS and we see a mortal in the eyes of many melt to a man—a man to admire for sure, but not one to define an era by.