ATLANTA -- Baseball is a game full of numbers, and that's especially true for Georgia State's Joey Roach, on and off the field.
For the Panthers' all-conference catcher, his .347 batting average, five home runs and Sun Belt Conference-leading total of 31 runs batted in tell only part of the story.
Then there are the 17 runners he has thrown out on the base paths, including three pickoffs. And the much-improved 4.08 earned run average for the Panthers' pitching staff that he handles while catching nearly every inning this season for the Sun Belt leaders.
His impressive numbers extend to the classroom, where Roach sports a 3.92 grade-point average as a junior in Georgia State's J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
So it's no surprise that he loves all kinds of numbers.
"I'm an actuary science major," the Holly Springs, N.C., native said. "It's a lot of math and calculus. You can quantify risk and probability through actuary science. I like math. It's a challenging degree, and I want to challenge myself.
"MLB teams are actually starting to hire actuary science people to help determine the amount of money they sign players for," Roach continued. "They're also using them for fielding purposes. If it's a cloudy day with this temperature with a certain pitcher throwing, what is the probability of this guy getting a hit to the right side of the field versus the left side? It's similar to Money Ball, which focuses on on-base percentages.
"And the NBA is hiring actuary science people for shooting percentages. So sports are starting to learn how to use actuary science."
But as a catcher, Roach knows that words can be as important as numbers.
"It's very important to build a relationship with each pitcher," he said. "Each one is a different person, and you have to know how to encourage guys or get under their skin a little bit, know how each guy is motivated. Give them a couple of words that will mean something when you go to the mound."
With all that he does offensively and defensively, plus his leadership and toughness and the example that he sets off the field, it's hard to put into words just how much Roach means to his team.
Or maybe it's easy.
"What Joey Roach means to this team is ... everything," said head coach Greg Frady, whose Panthers lead the Sun Belt with an 8-3 conference mark, along with a 19-15 overall record.
"He's having a great year behind the plate because he's a great defensive catcher, he is throwing guys out and he creates a sense of confidence for our pitching staff to help them be at their best," Frady continued.
"Then on the offensive side, he's hitting in the middle of our order, he's protection for Matt Rose, he's hitting for a high average and driving in runs.
"Off the field, he's an academic leader and a model citizen. He's just a great person and teammate for everyone to be around."
The numbers say it all.
