The HWA (Hit With Authority) Index
The HWA Index, another Intangible Statistic from AMAZINE
Carlos Delgado hit home runs number 27 and 28 yesterday to help the Mets defeat the Phils 7-2. The 440 foot homer in the 3rd inning was said to have an intangible quality that experts and players struggled to put into words. That home run was not unusually long, but according to Billy Wagner, it was hit with more “authority” than most home runs. (“There’s been further homers at Citizens Bank Park but not with that much authority.” ) This leads us to speculate as to the criteria for reckoning degrees of “authority” in a home run, and so we created the “Hit With Authority” (HWA) index as a way of ranking this most intangible quality and making it a tangible stastic that can be tabulated. We welcome all sports broadcasters to use this criteria in future broadcasts. Please refer back to this chart for future articles about Met home runs that score highly on the “Hit With Authority” index, as we will not be explaining it to you guys over and over again.
The HWA “HIT WITH AUTHORITY” INDEX.
5. Any ball that is hit with the degree of authority that Babe Ruth achieved in his “called shot” homer at Wrigley Field in 1932 is worth 5 points. That was hit with “total determination,” the highest mark of HWA.
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4. Any ball that is hit with the same degree of authority that Mike Piazza employed in hitting the grand slam at Shea that put the Mets ahead of the Braves in 2000 will be worth four “HWA” points. This “frozen rope” was hit “with a vengeance,” a high degree of “authority.” That was not long in time or distance, but made it over the left field fence at Shea without a change in altitude. He spanked that baby. Delgado's 440 foot homer ranks a 4.5 in HWA terms.
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3. Any ball hit with the degree of authority comparable to Roger Maris’ 61st homer in 1961 into the right field stands at Yankee Stadium will score a 3. That was hit with “certainty,” a moderately impressive degree of authority.
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2. Any ball hit with the degree of authority of Bill Mazeroski’s walk off homer later that same year for the Pirates will score a 2 in the HWA category. That was hit with “an ineffable quality of inner strength,” a measurable degree of authority.
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1. And any ball hit with no authority whatsoever that gets picked up by the wind and goes over the fence to everyone’s surprise, like Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard Round the World”, Bucky Dent’s “Green Monster Fluke” or Bob Lemon’s “Chinese” Home Run, will be worth 1 point on the HWA index.
Carlos Delgado hit home runs number 27 and 28 yesterday to help the Mets defeat the Phils 7-2. The 440 foot homer in the 3rd inning was said to have an intangible quality that experts and players struggled to put into words. That home run was not unusually long, but according to Billy Wagner, it was hit with more “authority” than most home runs. (“There’s been further homers at Citizens Bank Park but not with that much authority.” ) This leads us to speculate as to the criteria for reckoning degrees of “authority” in a home run, and so we created the “Hit With Authority” (HWA) index as a way of ranking this most intangible quality and making it a tangible stastic that can be tabulated. We welcome all sports broadcasters to use this criteria in future broadcasts. Please refer back to this chart for future articles about Met home runs that score highly on the “Hit With Authority” index, as we will not be explaining it to you guys over and over again.
The HWA “HIT WITH AUTHORITY” INDEX.
5. Any ball that is hit with the degree of authority that Babe Ruth achieved in his “called shot” homer at Wrigley Field in 1932 is worth 5 points. That was hit with “total determination,” the highest mark of HWA.
.
.
.
.
.
.
4. Any ball that is hit with the same degree of authority that Mike Piazza employed in hitting the grand slam at Shea that put the Mets ahead of the Braves in 2000 will be worth four “HWA” points. This “frozen rope” was hit “with a vengeance,” a high degree of “authority.” That was not long in time or distance, but made it over the left field fence at Shea without a change in altitude. He spanked that baby. Delgado's 440 foot homer ranks a 4.5 in HWA terms.
.
.
.
.
.
.
3. Any ball hit with the degree of authority comparable to Roger Maris’ 61st homer in 1961 into the right field stands at Yankee Stadium will score a 3. That was hit with “certainty,” a moderately impressive degree of authority.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
2. Any ball hit with the degree of authority of Bill Mazeroski’s walk off homer later that same year for the Pirates will score a 2 in the HWA category. That was hit with “an ineffable quality of inner strength,” a measurable degree of authority.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1. And any ball hit with no authority whatsoever that gets picked up by the wind and goes over the fence to everyone’s surprise, like Bobby Thompson’s “Shot Heard Round the World”, Bucky Dent’s “Green Monster Fluke” or Bob Lemon’s “Chinese” Home Run, will be worth 1 point on the HWA index.
posted by evan pritchard | 7:58 PM
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