Most Important Rating for Defensive Skills?

[WSR]

Hello everyone. I am two seasons into my fictional MLB season (after a long lay off from the game) and my team sucks at Defensive Efficiency. What coaches/player attributes should I be looking at to improve my defense this off season? Also, what is the most important statistic I should be looking at to help my team defensively?

Thank you in advance!

[DrPhilipino]

Range is the most important rating generally.

Make sure your shortstop has 65 range minimum, preferably higher, center fielder should be the same thing. Catcher framing is probably the most important rating for catchers.

If you can fill out the rest of the field with 50 range or higher players, you should be doing pretty well

[venflaalachi]

Agree with range generally. Arm is also good for 3rd and RF, and height for 1B. Up the middle would be the most important, so rangey players there will be a huge help.

[Mr. Marlin]

If you are playing stats only (it takes a special kind of masochist to rely on defensive stats only) UZR is my go to.

[bombboy85]

Originally Posted by venflaalachi

Agree with range generally. Arm is also good for 3rd and RF, and height for 1B. Up the middle would be the most important, so rangey players there will be a huge help.

I keep seeing people talk about height as important for 1B but when I've done regression analysis I have never found it to be statistically meaningful.

[jmuelly]

Originally Posted by bombboy85

I keep seeing people talk about height as important for 1B but when I've done regression analysis I have never found it to be statistically meaningful.

I need to begin to educate myself more on the advanced fielding statistics.

What are the most important ones for pitching and fielding that you would add to the statistical menus?

[Syd Thrift]

Depending on your era, error rate can be huge. In modern times not so much but it and arm are probably the two most important ratings for 3B in the 60s and 70s for example to the extent that even like a 35/80 error rating can produce Butch Hobson type numbers.

[venflaalachi]

Originally Posted by bombboy85

I keep seeing people talk about height as important for 1B but when I've done regression analysis I have never found it to be statistically meaningful.

There is a guy on youtube that says height helps somewhat, and I've seen in my saves taller 1B tend to have better ratings. I've never done a deep dive myself, just what I've seen and read.

[bombboy85]

Originally Posted by venflaalachi

There is a guy on youtube that says height helps somewhat, and I've seen in my saves taller 1B tend to have better ratings. I've never done a deep dive myself, just what I've seen and read.

Fair, height could possibly lead to higher ratings. When I've done regression I've used ratings and height as statistical predictors but never used height to see how it effects overall ratings themselves

[snepp]

Originally Posted by bombboy85

Fair, height could possibly lead to higher ratings. When I've done regression I've used ratings and height as statistical predictors but never used height to see how it effects overall ratings themselves

Given two players with identical infield ratings and experience, the taller one will have a better overall defensive rating at first.

[OutS|der]

Originally Posted by bombboy85

I keep seeing people talk about height as important for 1B but when I've done regression analysis I have never found it to be statistically meaningful.

If you edit a 1b and make them taller thier defense rating goes up

[crowhop]

https://ootpcalculator.com/position-calculator

Use this tool to see how different ratings impact the overall.

[bombboy85]

Originally Posted by snepp

Given two players with identical infield ratings and experience, the taller one will have a better overall defensive rating at first.

Originally Posted by OutS|der

If you edit a 1b and make them taller thier defense rating goes up

Yea I saw this and realized people meant for overall 1B ratings. I meant for effects on actual defensive statistics like ZR, Eff, RNG etc.

[Syd Thrift]

Originally Posted by bombboy85

Yea I saw this and realized people meant for overall 1B ratings. I meant for effects on actual defensive statistics like ZR, Eff, RNG etc.

I think that those stats are unlikely to account for height - and shouldn't so this is probably a good thing! - because ZR and range factor measure a player's performance on balls hit to their area. The *team* defensive efficiency should go down but that is going to be a number that's going to be absolutely lost in a sea of everything else unless there's a very, very strong effect (which, also, there shouldn't be).

[snepp]

Originally Posted by bombboy85

Yea I saw this and realized people meant for overall 1B ratings. I meant for effects on actual defensive statistics like ZR, Eff, RNG etc.

I can only speculate that it wouldn't be worth the effort to find out.

That said, now I'm curious of the difference between identical first baseman, with one of them being a foot taller than the other.