Defensive Metrics

Alex Chamberlain at The Hardball Times explores fielding data using Inside Edge data. One nice thing that falls out of the data is which players are having easy and difficult seasons in the field, in terms of the difficulty of balls in play. The conclusion:

I originally sought to better understand Inside Edge’s defensive data on my accord and articulate the context of the data here. But my exploration evolved when anecdotal evidence seemed to turn into something more. En route, I offered here limited but still quantitative evidence that WAR, as we now calculate it, fails to properly account for the difficulty of defensive seasons, at least in the tail ends of the distribution of difficulties. Further analysis may further illuminate my findings or invalidate them completely. Such is life. But I am curious to know how much farther we can take this research.

Excellent work, and well worth the read.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/29qiqFs