Outfield Defense and ERA

Via BBTF, Brian MacPherson explores the link between outfield defense and improved pitching in the Providence Journal:

Across the game, the correlation between outfield defense and runs shaved off a pitching staff’s predicted ERA was significantly higher than the correlation between infield and catcher defense and ERA.

In other words, while it’s possible to make an impact with either an elite infield or an elite outfield, the teams with elite outfields tended to help their pitchers more than teams with elite infields.

I find that outcome very interesting, since the middle infield positions are considered the most important defensively. My guess is that elite infielders and stopping relatively low run singles, while outfielders are stopping potential doubles and triples.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1OgIYYM