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John Dewan's Stat of the Week
Are throws to first to hold the runner a waste of time?
August 31, 2009 A fast runner is at first and the pitcher keeps throwing over to hold the runner. Sometimes this can get pretty monotonous for us fans, especially after the first couple of throws. Is the pitcher getting anything out of this? About a decade ago, we examined the issue based on data in [...]
The Latest Scoop
August 26, 2009 In the previous edition of Stat of the Week, we took a small sample from Baseball Info Solutions' Enhanced Fielding data to compare Jason Giambi and Mark Teixeira's ability to scoop bad throws at first base. We showed that while Teixeira scoops more balls than Giambi, he also plays the field more often [...]
How many scoops?
August 03, 2009 The most recent edition of ESPN's Wednesday Night Baseball pitted the New York Yankees against the Tampa Bay Rays. Rick Sutcliffe, former major leaguer and current ESPN color commentator, was talking about the Yankee defense in 2009 and made note of the change at first base this year, from Jason Giambi to Mark [...]
A tribute to Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson
July 28, 2009 The Hall of Fame Class of 2009 includes two of the greatest left fielders of all time: Jim Rice and Rickey Henderson. During his prime, Rice was known as one of the most feared hitters in the league, and for good reason. Rice became the third player in history to lead the [...]
Mark Buehrle's Perfecto
July 24, 2009 I am on a baseball road trip with my son, Jason, and yesterday we were at Baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. There's a room called Today's Game that looks like a locker room with 30 lockers, one for each major league team. Each locker has a history of the team with photos, [...]
Who are the Defensive All-Stars?
July 15, 2009 Or, who are the leading contenders for this year's Fielding Bible Awards? We use the defensive statistic that we developed in The Fielding Bible—Volume II called Runs Saved. Runs Saved is based on a compilation of nine different methods to analyze defense including the Plus/Minus System. Here are the leaders at the All-Star [...]
Team Defensive Runs Saved update
July 07, 2009 The top defenses in baseball, based on defensive runs saved, currently all come from the American League. Here's a chart that shows the defensive runs saved by position for the five best defensive teams in baseball thus far. Defensive Runs Saved—Top Five through July 6, 2009 [...]
Who are the top defenders of 2009?
June 12, 2009 As we reach the middle of June, our sample size is getting larger and larger giving our defensive stats more and more credibility. Three of this year's top defensive teams, Toronto, Texas and Pittsburgh, also have the top individual fielders in baseball. Aaron Hill is no surprise here. He posted 25 Defensive [...]
Who are the top base-stealing teams of 2009?
June 29, 2009 As we near the season's midpoint, the Tampa Bay Rays are on an historic pace: Top Five Teams, Stolen Bases (through June 28th) Season Team Stolen Bases Caught Stealing Percentage 2009 [...]
What's wrong with Big Papi?
June 05, 2009 Much has been made of David Ortiz's slow start in 2009. The 33-year-old went 1-for-4 on Wednesday, raising his average to .187. Ortiz's power has also disappeared, with just one home run this year after hitting 23 in only 109 games last year, 35 in 2007 along with a .332 batting average, and [...]