Stat Meanings??

[oldcatcher]

Please help me out a bit. What is the meaning/difference between range factor and zone rating? I am playing a draft league of current players but when I see these ratings I don't really understand what they are telling me. I want to turn my team into a good defensive team. What is the relationship between these numbers and their defense rating for a position(s).

Thanks!

[Hasta la vista pelota]

Originally Posted by oldcatcher

Please help me out a bit. What is the meaning/difference between range factor and zone rating? I am playing a draft league of current players but when I see these ratings I don't really understand what they are telling me. I want to turn my team into a good defensive team. What is the relationship between these numbers and their defense rating for a position(s).

Thanks!

From MLB.com


Range Factor (RF)

Definition

Range Factor is determined by dividing the sum of a fielder's putouts and assists by his total number of defensive games played.
More recently, Range Factor per nine innings has evolved as the more prevalent statistic because it addresses the discrepancies between a player who plays one inning in a given game and a player who plays the full game.
There are flaws with Range Factor -- namely that the circumstances for fielders can vary greatly. With ground-ball pitchers on the mound, for example, an infielder is bound to receive more opportunities to boost his Range Factor. The advent of defensive shifts has affected Range Factor further. For instance, a third baseman who is used frequently in shifts will likely have a higher Range Factor than one who isn't -- even though defensive positioning is generally determined by the manager or bench coach.
Still, Range Factor answers a pivotal question that went long unanswered when fielding percentage was used as the primary evaluative defensive metric: How many plays can a given fielder make? Or, put more simply, how much range does a fielder have?

Origin

Noted sabermetrician Bill James coined Range Factor as a means of assessing a player's defensive capabilities outside the realm of his fielding percentage. As many now agree, fielding percentage often produces a deeply flawed number, but at the time of James' invention of Range Factor, fielding percentage was the primary evaluative metric for defenders.





Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR)

Definition

UZR quantifies a player's entire defensive performance by attempting to measure how many runs a defender saved. It takes into account errors, range, outfield arm and double-play ability. It differs slightly from DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) in its formula, but the concept is the same.

The formula

UZR uses Baseball Info Solutions data to chart where each ball is hit. Say, for instance, a center fielder sprints to make a nice catch on a fly ball. Then, say data from BIS tells us that similar fly balls get caught 60 percent of the time. That center fielder gains, essentially, 0.4 bonus points for difficulty. If he can't make the play, he loses 0.6 points. At the end of the day, that player's overall score gets adjusted to the league average -- and then that score gets adjusted for how many runs the once-adjusted score is worth.

Why it's useful

Errors and assists barely scratch the surface of what makes a successful defender. UZR exists to help better value defenders on elements such as range, efficiency on double-play chances and first step.

Fantasy advantage

Looking at a team's collective UZR can help forecast whether a pitcher will be helped out by his defense. More specifically: For a fly-ball pitcher, it might be worth looking at his outfield's UZR. And for a ground-ball pitcher, one could take a look at his infield's UZR.

[jimmysthebestcop]

Originally Posted by oldcatcher

Please help me out a bit. What is the meaning/difference between range factor and zone rating? I am playing a draft league of current players but when I see these ratings I don't really understand what they are telling me. I want to turn my team into a good defensive team. What is the relationship between these numbers and their defense rating for a position(s).

Thanks!

I would concentrate on SS, 2B, CF and catcher for defense. The rest aren't as important. It'll help if they are good but not as much as a 50 hr 1b or RF that can't field for their life will.