2009 World Series wOBA Positional Comps

by Justin Bopp on Oct 28, 2009 12:39 AM EDT in Visuals Above Replacement

	YANKEES	.wOBA	PHILLIES	.wOBA
C	POSADA	0.378	RUIZ	0.337
RF	SWISHER	0.375	WERTH	0.382
CF	CABRERA	0.331	VICTORINO	0.354
LF	DAMON	0.376	IBANEZ	0.379
3B	RODRIGUEZ	0.405	FELIZ	0.302
SS	JETER	0.390	ROLLINS	0.316
2B	CANO	0.370	UTLEY	0.401
1B	TEIXEIRA	0.402	HOWARD	0.393

I started this second one for fun, and it is supposed show the relative strength of each team at each position relative to the other team's same position. It has a slight 3D skew to it, and Jon Peltier is right. The easiest way to tell the visual is off is by looking at the data above for 1B (Tex's 402 vs. Howard's 393). If the visual discrepancy wasn't bad enough (and admittedly I could just take the 3D snazz off of there), how exactly would the X scale be labled? Techincally, the measure is the percentage of each postion's combined wOBA. The current labels kinda suggest that 3B is the "New Yorkiest" of any position. I like the idea but it just won't work for this comparison without a major overhaul.

Bad visual, bad measure, pointless chart. REJECTED.

Series-woba-2009-3d_medium

Any ideas how you would present the same data? Post yours and I'll put it in the OP.

Data Source: FanGraphs

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Comments

You could try labeling that second graph's x-axis just as you described it.

It’s the relative strength of each team at each position relative to the other team’s same position. Label the x-axis as that (maybe “Relative wOBA Difference in Positions” or something to that effect). Save the Blue-New York and Red-Philadelphia for a separate box inside or outside the main graph.

The other problem with that graph is that even though there’s a huge difference in 3B production (A-Rod vs. Feliz), the difference looks small visually. You could try having the outer edges start at 0.250 wOBA (instead of 0) for a better looking scale.

Because as it stands, the graph is plain wrong. Shortstop is clearly the New Yorkiest position in all of baseball.

And your dream, absolve.
And your path, dissolve.

by danmerqury on Oct 28, 2009 2:22 AM EDT reply actions

Differences in wOBA

You guys can pretty this up, but what about a different graph from each teams point of view – based upon the differences in wOBA by position?

Rough view

http://www.alltimebaseballsim.net/btb.htm

by All Time Baseball on Oct 28, 2009 7:09 AM EDT reply actions

I'm excited

Blasphemous as it may sound, I don’t usually listen to/watch the World Series all that often if my team(s) are gone, but this one intrigues me. For some reason, I feel a strange empathy towards the Yankees, like I want them to win or something. It’s pretty weird, I have to say.

I won’t be cheering for anyone probably, but I’m still excited to watch. And Sky, I promise to get some pieces in on the WS over the course of the next week.

Marlin Maniac, a Florida Marlins blog
Come attend Intro to Sabermetrics 101!
Check me out at Beyond the Box Score as well.

by SFiercex4 on Oct 28, 2009 9:05 AM EDT reply actions

I'm surprised

by how close Swisher and Werth are in wOBA. Without looking at the numbers, I’d have bet that Werth’s advantage was larger than .007.

by chuckb on Oct 28, 2009 9:28 AM EDT reply actions

And these aren't park-adjusted either, I'm guessing.

Marlin Maniac, a Florida Marlins blog
Come attend Intro to Sabermetrics 101!
Check me out at Beyond the Box Score as well.

by SFiercex4 on Oct 28, 2009 9:54 AM EDT up reply actions

Swisher kind of had an amazingly good year for a generally “meh” player, but you’re right, Werth was definitely better.

by quincy0191 on Oct 31, 2009 3:13 AM EDT up reply actions

And WAR Comparisons, which also take defense into account for the starting lineups.
vr, Xei

by Xeifrank on Oct 28, 2009 1:52 PM EDT reply actions

What's wrong with the original chart?

The original bar chart is perfectly fine. It allows a very good comparison between the two players at each position, and also between players at any position. For example, I can see that A Rod has the best wOBA of all the position players.

I’m not sure that the relative proportion of both team’s wOBA for a given position even means anything. None of the values in the second chart vary as much as those in the first chart do. Having equal wOBA at a given position is good to know, but you can see that they’re equal in the first chart, but also that they’re equal at a high or low level.

Jon Peltier

by JonPeltier on Nov 1, 2009 1:07 PM EST reply actions