It confounds me how anyone who follows baseball, be it fan, executive or media member, could possess contempt for any of the innovative statistics and measures that have emerged over the past decade or two. Why wouldn't we want as many tools as possible to gauge these players and teams?
That's not to say that we should ignore what we see with the naked eye; I'd never want Armando Benitez or Kyle Farnsworth pitching for my team in a big spot, no matter what their stats tell us, and if it's the ninth inning in a playoff game, I'd take Derek Jeter over Alex Rodriguez. The best evaluations, however, integrate first-hand observation and cold, hard stats.
With that in mind, I enjoyed reading The Bill James Handbook 2007, an annual publication from the very bright folks at Baseball Info Solutions. With the blessing of sabermetrics godfatherJames, the BIS people take fresh looks at virtually every aspect of the game _ defense, baserunning, managing, pitching and hitting.
Here are some interesting discoveries about our two local clubs:
BIS' John Dewan has created a "plus/minus" number for fielders. A fielder gets a "plus" for every play made that at least one player at his position missed during the season, and a "minus" comes when a fielder misses a play that at least one player made. The higher your plus number, the more exceptional plays you have made (versus poor plays). By this measure, the best New York defensive player in 2006 was currently injured Mets second baseman Jose Valentin, a +22, tied with Toronto's Aaron HIll for the best in baseball for his position. Yankees first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz tallied a +16 while with Kansas City, second-best among first basemen (behind St. Louis' Albert Pujols, a +19), and Mientkiewicz started only 82 games at first last year.
The best New York baserunner in 2006? In this case, the complicated math matches your inclination: Jose Reyes, who ranked sixth in all of baseball. But Jeter's baserunning numbers rank below average, according to James; last year, Jeter went from first to third base on a teammate's single just nine of 36 times, compared to 8 of 19 for Reyes.
Joe Torre ranked fourth in the American League last year with 50 "quick hooks," more complex math to verity the early lifting of the starting pitcher, behind the Twins' Ron Gardenhire (60), Toronto's John Gibbons (58) and Detroit's Jim Leyland (52). Torre used 109 relievers in consecutive days, worst in the AL (although that would've placed him 10th in the NL). So the criticisms of Torre's in-game management are largely justified here.
There's much more good stuff. I recommend you check it out.
