I do have to question the use of PATH or any
other type of shadow-related stat in doing individual
stats when it comes to awards and the like. The raw
stats seem more fair in any case, even though it is
terribly annoying to have the All Star of a tournament be
a one man gang while many other great players
played on good teams.
Just the same, the stat is
valid. I see it much the same as looking at a Coors
Field batting average. While we all know that Todd
Helton is not as good a hitter as Coors makes him look,
if the man wins a batting title, he wins a batting
title. They don't do park adjustments for a crown.
However, as fans and analysts, we look at the stats
through that filter. So, we get a better idea of what
kind of hitter Todd Helton might really be by looking
at his park-adjusted numbers and placing him in the
context of his team and league.
PATH seems like
that to me. It is a useful stat after the fact, but it
shouldn't determine all stars.
Jason Russell