Funny, They Never Say This About Jeter…
John Dewan’s Stat of the Week speaks towards Nate McLouth’s Gold Glove – here’s a snip (with a hat tip to BBTF):
[Nate] McLouth’s -40 was the worst plus/minus figure for any center fielder in baseball last year. Not only that, it was the worst plus/minus figure for any outfielder in baseball. Not only that, it was the worst plus/minus figure for any player in baseball.
Is he that bad? No, absolutely not. The fact that there are a significant number of managers and coaches that think he’s good definitely means something. There are aspects to being a good defensive outfielder that come into play other than catching balls hit in the air. They are lesser aspects, but important ones. I will get into more depth on these in The Fielding Bible—Volume II coming out in February of 2009. For example, we are planning a video review of all McLouth’s key fielding plays. But let me touch on a couple of things here.
All in all, I no longer think of McLouth as the worst center fielder in baseball. It means something that at least some of the managers and coaches think highly of him. And we see that two areas of his defense are above average: his ability to prevent baserunners from advancing on hits and his ability to make a play above and beyond the ordinary. But we also see that, despite this low error total, he has more than his share of defensive misplays. And the most important aspect of playing outfield defense is covering ground, and McLouth struggles here big time.
Some of these things stand out to me…
…the worst plus/minus figure…
…Is he that bad? No, absolutely not. The fact that there are a significant number of managers and coaches that think he’s good definitely means something…
…we see that two areas of his defense are above average…
…his ability to make a play above and beyond the ordinary…
Could not the same be said about Derek Jeter?
“Could not the same be said about Derek Jeter?”
Good call, Steve.
Obviously.
… going back on popups, Jeter excels
… positioning, remember the flip?
… as a cut-off man. Good positioning, good arm
… coming in on balls, he seems to be above average
However, his throws to 1B appear to be getting crappier.
While defensive stats are still somewhat inadequate, they have come a long way. Now, they video tape plays and view them with the eyes, which allows for better judgement and human interpretation. However, as Nate and Jeter show, there needs to be more categories to better cover the full variety/range of responsibilites a fielder has.
In many ways, as much as I believe in stats, they are still very primative in many ways. Look at relievers/closers. Holds? Saves? Useless! Inherited runners scored is important, but until you qualify the difference between allowing someone to score in a no-out, bases loaded situation vs. a 2-out, man on first situation, that stat is useless.
Same with RBI. These are situational plays. Shouldn’t you get more credit for driving a man in from first with 2-out, then hitting a sac fly with man or 3rd and no-out?
We need stats to be more reflective of actual game situations. Otherwise, RBI is useless and we should look only at RISP/Runner on.
Yep, definitely a good call. I don’t think I’ve ever read someone say that just because managers/coaches voted for Jeter, that means something, though I’m sure it’s probably been said, somewhere…