defensive WAR

spatrick4 · 06-24-2020, 12:39 PM

Are there any stats in the game for defensive/fielding WAR, or a similar proxy? Fielding stats like range, ZR and EFF are interesting but not sure how to convert that into wins or fully understand the impact, to weigh offense/defense. CERA most obvious. Thanks!

EDIT: I've assumed that WAR and WPA in batting stats are offensive solely, but please tell me if that's not accurate.

tbonetim · 06-24-2020, 07:54 PM

Generally the Zone Rating is considered a better barometer of how well a player is performing overall defensively (most gold gloves for perfect team leagues are usually awarded to those with the highest ZR). All defensive ratings are a bit of an analytics challenge as some can be skewed higher or lower depending on a number of factors. Brian Kenny covered this in a pretty good book on analytics called "Ahead of the Curve". Don't put too much stock in errors, however if you have a guy in the infield like at shortstop who is pretty solid in most defensive ratings (mid 90's or higher) but has an error prone rate between 60-75, I would recommend you train them to be a 3B where they won't have as many total chances coming there way as they would at SS or 2B. Granted that decision would also be based on your offensive capes as well. Same goes for LF/RF.

chazzycat · 06-24-2020, 08:57 PM

ZR is measured in runs above average. Runs convert to wins at *roughly* 10:1 (not precise, but should get you in the ballpark). The tricky part is that "average" and "replacement level" are pretty different things.

CBeisbol · 06-24-2020, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spatrick4

EDIT: I've assumed that WAR and WPA in batting stats are offensive solely, but please tell me if that's not accurate.

That's not accurate

WPA measures the 'timliness' of a hitters hitting
A leadoff single in the 9th inning of a time game has more impact on the outcome than a 5th inning grand slam in a game that's 12-0. For an example.
https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/wpa/

WAR is offense (hitting and baserunning), defense (fielding and pitching) and some adjustments - mostly for replacement level.

Chazzycat has ZR pretty well covered

06-24-2020, 12:39 PM	#1
spatrick4 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Jun 2020 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 25	defensive WAR Are there any stats in the game for defensive/fielding WAR, or a similar proxy? Fielding stats like range, ZR and EFF are interesting but not sure how to convert that into wins or fully understand the impact, to weigh offense/defense. CERA most obvious. Thanks! EDIT: I've assumed that WAR and WPA in batting stats are offensive solely, but please tell me if that's not accurate. __________________ Last edited by spatrick4; 06-24-2020 at 01:53 PM.

06-24-2020, 08:57 PM	#3
chazzycat All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 1,685	ZR is measured in runs above average. Runs convert to wins at roughly 10:1 (not precise, but should get you in the ballpark). The tricky part is that "average" and "replacement level" are pretty different things. Last edited by chazzycat; 06-24-2020 at 09:00 PM.

06-24-2020, 07:54 PM	#2
tbonetim Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2020 Posts: 172	Generally the Zone Rating is considered a better barometer of how well a player is performing overall defensively (most gold gloves for perfect team leagues are usually awarded to those with the highest ZR). All defensive ratings are a bit of an analytics challenge as some can be skewed higher or lower depending on a number of factors. Brian Kenny covered this in a pretty good book on analytics called "Ahead of the Curve". Don't put too much stock in errors, however if you have a guy in the infield like at shortstop who is pretty solid in most defensive ratings (mid 90's or higher) but has an error prone rate between 60-75, I would recommend you train them to be a 3B where they won't have as many total chances coming there way as they would at SS or 2B. Granted that decision would also be based on your offensive capes as well. Same goes for LF/RF.