To quote from the OOTP Glossary:
Quote:
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"Zone Rating" - developed by John Dewan, A player gets credit (a "plus" number) if he makes a play that at least one other player at his position missed during the season, and he loses credit (a "minus" number) if he misses a play that at least one player made. The size of the credit is directly related to how often players make the play. Each play is looked at individually, and a score is given for each play. Sum up all the plays for each player at his position and you get his total plus/minus for the season. A total plus/minus score near zero means the player is average. A score above zero is above average and a negative score is below average.
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As I understand it, Zone Rating is more like ERA+ or some other measure that compares a single player to a league average. This means that a fielder can perform exactly the same, but if other fielders at his position are poor, his zone rating will be higher, and if other fielders at his position are good, his zone rating will be lower.
I just looked up my CF Richie Ashburn career fielding stats. Compare his stats from two seasons ago in Gold League versus this season in Perfect League:
Code:
league IP TC PO A E DP PCT RF EFF ZR
DIAMOND 1333.0 516 504 12 0 3 1.000 3.48 1.039 +17.1
PERFECT 1334.2 522 505 15 2 4 .996 3.51 1.042 + 6.3
Virtually identical underlying stats, but the competition* in Perfect League draws Ashburn back to the pack.
*Number of Mike Trouts.