The Process Revolution: Why MLB Teams Are Doubling Down on Habits, Not Hits
When it comes to statistics in baseball, there are so many of them that the waters often get murky—especially in player development. The Moneyball era of the Oakland Athletics marked a turning point, popularizing the idea of looking beyond traditional outcome-based stats and instead focusing on process-oriented measures of player performance.
For a long time, the game had no choice but to rely on results. We judged hitters by how often they put the ball on the grass or how many home runs they hit. That’s all we had. Metrics that could reflect controllable aspects of a player’s performance simply didn’t exist. And without them, it was incredibly difficult to focus on what a player could actually control.
The problem with results is that they’re noisy. A well-hit line drive can hang up just long enough to get caught. A borderline pitch might get called a strike instead of a ball, turning a walk into a strikeout. These moments skew how we evaluate performance.
As author and decision strategist Annie Duke explains:
“Resulting is when we judge the quality of a decision by its outcome, rather than the process that led to it.”
In baseball terms, it’s mistaking a bad swing that results in a bloop single for a good at-bat—or thinking a smart approach at the plate failed just because the ball didn’t fall in. If we want to develop players effectively, we have to be willing to separate the noise from the signal—to evaluate not just what happened, but why it happened. That’s where meaningful development begins.
This shift—from chasing results to tracking process—has become a wake up call. Organizations are now obsessed with metrics that reflect what’s happening under the hood. Why? Because these stats give coaches and players something actionable. Something repeatable. Something they can build on.
Take Exit Velocity as an example. It's not a result—it’s a process metric. And it’s highly predictive of outcomes. If a player consistently hits the ball hard, the results will follow over time. Coaches can now train toward improving this kind of metric, using it as both a benchmark and a feedback tool. It becomes less about the outcome of a single swing, and more about the habits and mechanics that produce strong contact.
It’s a lot like poker: making the right play doesn’t always mean you’ll win the hand. You can get your chips in with pocket aces and still lose to a lucky river card. But that doesn’t make it the wrong decision. In the long run, playing the odds the right way leads to success. Exit velocity works the same way—it’s about putting yourself in a position where good things are more likely to happen, even if they don’t every time.
And this process-focused mindset isn’t just theory—it’s happening in big-league organizations. In a story by Jeff Passan, he describes a small desk inside Cage 4 at the Red Sox Spring facility, where two binders sit: one in English and one in Spanish. Inside, the team outlines its “Core Four” hitting tenets: swing decisions, bat speed, bat-to-ball skill, and ball flight. These aren’t traditional stats—they’re process metrics. They reflect things hitters can actually control, and that coaches can train.
It’s a perfect example of how the modern game is shifting. Teams are building development programs around measurable, coachable skills that drive long-term success. It’s not just about whether a player gets a hit—it’s about whether they’re doing the things that consistently lead to hits.
Really, this is about building good habits and helping players focus on what they can control. It’s like a musician practicing scales. At first, it feels repetitive, but those basics become second nature and help them play more complex music. In baseball, focusing on small, controllable things like bat speed or pitch recognition lays the foundation for bigger success down the road.
Baseball is full of noise. Not every team’s win comes from barreling up 10 balls in a game or grinding an opposing pitcher with borderline pitch after borderline pitch. Sometimes, the dice just don’t roll our way. But here’s the truth: focusing on the process means we’re putting ourselves in a better position long-term—not chasing bloop singles or obsessing over hits. It’s about barreling baseballs—controlling what we can control—rather than hoping for good luck. The results will come if the process is solid.
It’s hard to think about baseball this way. We’ve all been conditioned to focus on the results—the hit, the home run, the win. It’s natural, but that mindset can blind us to what actually drives success. As Annie Duke puts it:
“Good decisions don’t always lead to good results, but bad decisions almost always lead to bad results.”
We can’t control the outcome, but we can control the process. That’s where the foundation for player performance is laid.