The Algorithm Ate the Scouting Report

Baseball trusted the eyes, then the data, now the machine.

You used to hear it all the time: “He’s just a ballplayer, a gamer.” Not a workout freak. Not a stat darling. Just someone who knew how to play the game, a guy who could dig out a bad hop, hit behind the runner, take the extra base when no one else would. Someone whose value was written in dirt and dugouts, not decimal points.

The scout in the stands saw…