Read Online The New Ballgame: Understanding Baseball Statistics for the Casual Fan by Glenn Guzzo - Free Book Online
Authors: Glenn Guzzo
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common to the '82 team. They had a
different closer and a different lead RBI man each time. But all three had this
in common: the swiftest outfield, and the swiftest lineup in baseball.
In each year, the Cardinals were last in the majors in homers, but twice
led the NL in scoring. At or near the top of the NL in walks each season, they
led the NL in on-base percentage each season, usually ranked high in doubles
and triples, and led the majors in stolen bases each time. Lonnie Smith was
second in the NL with 68 steals in 1982. Vince Coleman succeeded Smith in
left field and led the majors with 110 and 109 steals in '85 and '87. McGee,
Andy Van Slyke, Ozzie Smith, Herr and Terry Pendleton were also base stealing threats. Without homers, the Cardinals let their legs put them in constant
scoring position.
The Cardinals didn't hit 100 homers in any of these seasons. They had
a pathetic 67 in 1982. In 1987 the Cardinals hit 94 home runs-the only team
with less than 100 and nineteen fewer than any other team. Conversely, the
Cubs, a grass-field team in a division with four turf opponents, hit an NL-best
209 home runs and finished last in the NL East.
The benefit of tailoring a team to its surroundings was on frequent display during the turf era. In 1982, '85 and '87 the Cardinals reached the World
Series after beating grass teams in the NL League Championship Series. At
the same time, St. Louis won only one of those World Series-against the
grass-fed Milwaukee Brewers in '82, but lost to the turf teams from Kansas
City ('85) and Minnesota ('87).
In 1982, the Cardinals won the seven-game Series by winning all four of the games on their home turf. The Brewers were 3-0 on grass, but their
much slower outfielders had trouble tracking down the Cardinals' hits in St.
Louis. In 1987, the Cardinals again won all their home games. But without
home-field advantage, they lost all four in Minnesota's peculiar park, where
the dome lighting, the extra-springy turf, and the baggy outfield walls always
bothered unfamiliar visiting teams.
NOW WHERE ARE WE?
Dead balls and lively balls, expansion, integration, strike zones, rule changes,
ballpark variation-the array of these variables shows why it has been so
difficult to unearth the Holy Grail of statistics-a single number that will
measure a player's relative worth. It's not for lack of trying, as we will discuss
later in this book.
For now, keep this in mind:
In modern baseball encyclopedias and elsewhere, you may see statistics presented as "adjusted" stats-adjusted batting average, adjusted ERA,
adjusted OPS. These are statistics adjusted for the year in which they were
achieved, based on the norms of that year. Adjusted statistics tell us how different from average a player's numbers are. Adjusted statistics are especially
useful for comparing players from different eras.
Here's an example of how enlightening that can be.
Bill Terry, the last man to hit .400 in the National League, hit .401 in
1930, the year the entire NL hit .303. His average was 32% higher than the
norm.
Carl Yastrzemski (Yaz), whose .301 average in 1968 was the lowest
ever for a batting champion, hit 31 % higher than the American League norm of .230 that season, the Year of the Pitcher.
Terry: .401, 39 doubles, 15 triples, 23 homers, 57 walks, 1071 OPS
Yaz: .301, 32 doubles, 2 triples, 23 homers, 119 walks, 921 OPS
Terry and Yastrzemski's OPS-on-base plus slugging-numbers are
particularly noteworthy because they combine the effects of all the other statistics (batting average, walks, extra-base hits). As calculated in the ESPN
Baseball Encylopedia, Terry's adjusted OPS was 159, or 59% better than average for the 1930 NL.
Yaz' adjusted OPS was 168.
TAKE ME OUT
TO THE BALLGAME
Stats You Need to Know at the Ballpark
aseball has long enjoyed
the lowest-priced tickets of the
major team sports, but at today's prices
for parking, food and souvenirs, it's an
event, not a
different closer and a different lead RBI man each time. But all three had this
in common: the swiftest outfield, and the swiftest lineup in baseball.
In each year, the Cardinals were last in the majors in homers, but twice
led the NL in scoring. At or near the top of the NL in walks each season, they
led the NL in on-base percentage each season, usually ranked high in doubles
and triples, and led the majors in stolen bases each time. Lonnie Smith was
second in the NL with 68 steals in 1982. Vince Coleman succeeded Smith in
left field and led the majors with 110 and 109 steals in '85 and '87. McGee,
Andy Van Slyke, Ozzie Smith, Herr and Terry Pendleton were also base stealing threats. Without homers, the Cardinals let their legs put them in constant
scoring position.
The Cardinals didn't hit 100 homers in any of these seasons. They had
a pathetic 67 in 1982. In 1987 the Cardinals hit 94 home runs-the only team
with less than 100 and nineteen fewer than any other team. Conversely, the
Cubs, a grass-field team in a division with four turf opponents, hit an NL-best
209 home runs and finished last in the NL East.
The benefit of tailoring a team to its surroundings was on frequent display during the turf era. In 1982, '85 and '87 the Cardinals reached the World
Series after beating grass teams in the NL League Championship Series. At
the same time, St. Louis won only one of those World Series-against the
grass-fed Milwaukee Brewers in '82, but lost to the turf teams from Kansas
City ('85) and Minnesota ('87).
In 1982, the Cardinals won the seven-game Series by winning all four of the games on their home turf. The Brewers were 3-0 on grass, but their
much slower outfielders had trouble tracking down the Cardinals' hits in St.
Louis. In 1987, the Cardinals again won all their home games. But without
home-field advantage, they lost all four in Minnesota's peculiar park, where
the dome lighting, the extra-springy turf, and the baggy outfield walls always
bothered unfamiliar visiting teams.
NOW WHERE ARE WE?
Dead balls and lively balls, expansion, integration, strike zones, rule changes,
ballpark variation-the array of these variables shows why it has been so
difficult to unearth the Holy Grail of statistics-a single number that will
measure a player's relative worth. It's not for lack of trying, as we will discuss
later in this book.
For now, keep this in mind:
In modern baseball encyclopedias and elsewhere, you may see statistics presented as "adjusted" stats-adjusted batting average, adjusted ERA,
adjusted OPS. These are statistics adjusted for the year in which they were
achieved, based on the norms of that year. Adjusted statistics tell us how different from average a player's numbers are. Adjusted statistics are especially
useful for comparing players from different eras.
Here's an example of how enlightening that can be.
Bill Terry, the last man to hit .400 in the National League, hit .401 in
1930, the year the entire NL hit .303. His average was 32% higher than the
norm.
Carl Yastrzemski (Yaz), whose .301 average in 1968 was the lowest
ever for a batting champion, hit 31 % higher than the American League norm of .230 that season, the Year of the Pitcher.
Terry: .401, 39 doubles, 15 triples, 23 homers, 57 walks, 1071 OPS
Yaz: .301, 32 doubles, 2 triples, 23 homers, 119 walks, 921 OPS
Terry and Yastrzemski's OPS-on-base plus slugging-numbers are
particularly noteworthy because they combine the effects of all the other statistics (batting average, walks, extra-base hits). As calculated in the ESPN
Baseball Encylopedia, Terry's adjusted OPS was 159, or 59% better than average for the 1930 NL.
Yaz' adjusted OPS was 168.
TAKE ME OUT
TO THE BALLGAME
Stats You Need to Know at the Ballpark
aseball has long enjoyed
the lowest-priced tickets of the
major team sports, but at today's prices
for parking, food and souvenirs, it's an
event, not a
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