AU vs. Jax St.

[LPTiger 5,167]

just saw the game was canceled...    I'm guessing Butch wants all pitchers rested and probably gave the position players another day off....

[augolf1716 21,219]

Good idea

[AUFightingSoldiers 685]

Not just that, but playing the game lowers our RPI even if we win. It's an absolute loss for Auburn in every way. 

[Mikey 16,636]

1 hour ago, AUFightingSoldiers said:

Not just that, but playing the game lowers our RPI even if we win. It's an absolute loss for Auburn in every way. 

I don't understand how winning against any opponent can lower a team's RPI. I'm not questioning what you said, I simply don't understand the details of RPI. Winning a game and being lower sounds irrational to me.

[Golden Eagle 368]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

I don't understand how winning against any opponent can lower a team's RPI. I'm not questioning what you said, I simply don't understand the details of RPI. Winning a game and being lower sounds irrational to me.

RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) is a metric used to measure a team’s strength of schedule, or their ability to win games against teams of different levels of competition. It’s calculated by taking into account the team’s wins and losses, their opponents’ wins and losses, and the opponents’ opponents’ wins and losses. The higher the RPI, the better a team is playing.

RPI = (team winning percentage x 0.25) + (opponents’ winning percentage x 0.50) + (opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage x 0.25)

As you can see from the formula, a team can only directly impact 25% of their RPI by either winning or losing a game.  The opponent's winning percentage accounts for half of the RPI.  So if Auburn has a higher win percentage than Jacksonville State, playing Jacksonville State would likely lower Auburn's RPI even if Auburn won.  And, of course, if Jacksonville State's opponents have a low RPI, that also factors into Auburn's RPI.

Edit:  Added the text below which I was not previously aware of.  The Jacksonville State game was scheduled to be played at Plainsman Park so a win by Auburn would only have counted as .7 of a win which also helps explains why Auburn's RPI would have dropped.

Ground Rules: Understanding the new R.P.I

The Rating Percentage Index (RPI) was adopted by the NCAA many years ago with the intent to rank teams based on their strength of schedule. Recommended changes to the RPI formula have been approved by the Division I Baseball Committee and will take effect at the start of the 2013 season. It will still be calculated using three statistical parameters:

1. Division I winning percentage (25%)
2. Opponent's Division I winning percentage (50%)
3. Opponents' opponents' Division I winning percentage (25%)

The new formula will value each home win as 0.7 and each road victory as 1.3, a change from the customary 1.0 of the past. Conversely, each home loss will be weighted as 1.3, and each road loss will count 0.7 against a team's RPI.

Neutral site games will continue to be weighted the same value of 1.0.

The new method is not quite as extreme as basketball's (1.4 for home losses and road wins, 0.6 for home wins and road losses), but the overriding factor with baseball is that the vast majority of games are played outside. Further, baseball schedules are also filled with three-game series as opposed to single games against opponents.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Golden Eagle
Added info re RPI changes implemented in 2013

[AUFightingSoldiers 685]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

I don't understand how winning against any opponent can lower a team's RPI. I'm not questioning what you said, I simply don't understand the details of RPI. Winning a game and being lower sounds irrational to me.

Golden pretty much nailed it. It's a faulty concept later in the season that can either punish a team for a win or help a team with a loss. For instance, South Carolina went to Kentucky with #5 RPI, got swept, and left Kentucky with the (drum roll please) #5 RPI because Kentucky also had a top 5 RPI. That's why that 16 conference win mark is a more important factor, to me, when it comes to hosting potential. Problem is the selection committee will take both in to account and weigh them as they see fit.

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

On 5/15/2023 at 5:30 PM, LPTiger said:

just saw the game was canceled...    I'm guessing Butch wants all pitchers rested and probably gave the position players another day off....

Probably been cancelled anyway or a long night of baseball. Had a pretty bad storm system blow through here close to start time.