Sabermetrics School and Analysis

[cambovenzi]

I also have a question, too. Is there any particular reason SwngStr% correlates to K/9? Does it just kind of happen or is there something to it? I've always wondered about this.

Well it only makes sense that if people swing and miss at your stuff more often then you are more likely to strike out more people.

[OneTuzSea]

Well it only makes sense that if people swing and miss at your stuff more often then you are more likely to strike out more people.

It's just weird to me that, chance are, if you have a 11% SwStr%, you're probably going to have around a 11 K/9.

[xnick5757]

what are the best stats for determining a player's performance (ie wOBA, WAR, etc)

[OneTuzSea]

what are the best stats for determining a player's performance (ie wOBA, WAR, etc)

I like wOBA and wRC+ for in season. wOBA is basically a better OPS, and wRC+ is a good overview on an easy-to-understand scale (100 is average, anything above is good, below is bad). I think the league average wOBA is usually somewhere around .333 but not totally sure.

WAR is good for comparing multiple seasons and long term success, but I don't like using it in season much.

[xnick5757]

I like wOBA and wRC+ for in season. wOBA is basically a better OPS, and wRC+ is a good overview on an easy-to-understand scale (100 is average, anything above is good, below is bad). I think the league average wOBA is usually somewhere around .333 but not totally sure.

WAR is good for comparing multiple seasons and long term success, but I don't like using it in season much.

thanks

EDIT: What are the best books that deal with sabermetrics?

[McJoe]

Is there a baserunning statistic? Like in the sense of getting thrown out? Maybe moreso a coaches stat but I don't think they keep those.

I only ask because Brian Butterfield seems to have a lot of guys thrown out at home.

[OneTuzSea]

Is there a baserunning statistic? Like in the sense of getting thrown out? Maybe moreso a coaches stat but I don't think they keep those.

I only ask because Brian Butterfield seems to have a lot of guys thrown out at home.

Fangraphs just instituted a stat called Bsr. Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but there isn't much on baserunning.

[northsider]

That, and the Cubs defense is terrible. He has a .382 BABIP (when he was on the Rays it was about .270 year-to-year) and an insanley high amount of infield hits are getting on base (16.7%).

The amazing thing is all his peripherals point to him getting better as the year goes on; with the only thing that will most likely starting going up and hurting him being home runs. A big part of it is his increased GB%. Combine every other hit being a groundball with 1 of every 3 batters getting struck out and you have a formula for success.

Since coming to the Cubs and playing in a different park he knew he would have to start not only striking out more players but, inducing more GBs so he did pick up throwing a **** ton more breaking pitches compared to his FB. Honestly it has actually lead to him having one of his best seasons aside from the results not showing.

Fangraphs did an article about it actually.


Question: When people use stats like UZR is it stupid to ever compare a OF's UZR to a IF's UZR? I mean especially when one position might be harder then the other same goes for measuring a RF to a CF? Basically if you were to compare a CF UZR obviously you would only compare him to other CF's right?

Man I am glad for this thread cause some of these questions are hard to ask cause you feel dumb as **** compared to some of these guys lol.

[northsider]

Also when they say the league WAR avg. for a full time fielder is 2 they mean for a full season?

[metsfan4ever]

i got a question, someone once told me this

hr: influenced by the park he plays in and the lineup around him
rbi: influenced by having a great lineup around him where guys are always on base
runs: influenced by having guys behind him to drive him in

basically these stats are more team driven and/or influenced by the environment the hitter plays in


So how do you rate a batter if its not threw these stats

[3mikee_]

This might seem like the stupidest question in the world, but I've never really been into this whole Sabermetrics thing, but what on earth is WAR... i hear it everywhere on these forums but I've never heard of it on TV/radio or w.e

[carson005]

This might seem like the stupidest question in the world, but I've never really been into this whole Sabermetrics thing, but what on earth is WAR... i hear it everywhere on these forums but I've never heard of it on TV/radio or w.e

Wins Above Replacement - http://www.fangraphs.com/library/index.php/misc/war/

[carson005]

i got a question, someone once told me this

hr: influenced by the park he plays in and the lineup around him
rbi: influenced by having a great lineup around him where guys are always on base
runs: influenced by having guys behind him to drive him in

basically these stats are more team driven and/or influenced by the environment the hitter plays in


So how do you rate a batter if its not threw these stats

The important thing is to not to judge a guy just based on one stat. You have to take into account everything he has done.

The two best offensive stats are probably wOBA and wRC+

wOBA -

Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) is based on a simple concept: not all hits are created equal. Batting average would have you believe they are, but think about it: what’s more valuable, a single or a homerun?

wOBA is on the same scale as OBP.

wRC+ -

Weighted Runs Creatd. This way, instead of looking at a player’s line and listing out all the details (e.g. 23 2B, 15 HR, 55 BB, 110 K, 19 SB, 5 CS), you could synthesize all the information into one metric and say, “Player x was worth 24 runs to his team last year.”

wRC+ is on the same scale as OPS+


For pure power numbers HR's are still a fair way to measure at least IMO. Also ISO(Isolated Power) is a good one. All ISO is, is SLG%-AVG. So it subtracts all the singles included in average, and gives you an idea how many extra base hits a guy has.

[OneTuzSea]

For pure power numbers HR's are still a fair way to measure at least IMO. Also ISO(Isolated Power) is a good one. All ISO is, is SLG%-AVG. So it subtracts all the singles included in average, and gives you an idea how many extra base hits a guy has.

This kind of comes down how you want to define power. Is it just "can they blast it out of the park" or is it "can they hit it hard all over the field." If it's the latter I'd take the guy with higher SLG and ISO anyday.

[carson005]

This kind of comes down how you want to define power. Is it just "can they blast it out of the park" or is it "can they hit it hard all over the field." If it's the latter I'd take the guy with higher SLG and ISO anyday.

Well just for a very extreme example but do you think Shane Victorino(slg % of .544) is a better power hitter than Adrian Gonzalez or Albert Pujols(.542 and .541 respectfully)?

SLG counts extra bases hits as "slugging" when really a triple is more likely the product of a fast player than a slugging player(these fast players can also leg out doubles).