Graph of the Day - 2008 Best and Worst Defensive Teams According to UZR Values

by Jeff Zimmerman on Jun 5, 2009 11:00 AM EDT

Using MGL's UZR defensive metric from Fangraphs for 2008, I took the top team, the Tampa Bay Rays (+74.2 UZR) and the bottom team, the Texas Rangers (-51.7 UZR) and mapped how each position contributed to the teams' overall numbers.

Note: The values in the legend correspond to the 20% cutoff points for all positions over the last three years. For example 20% of all fielders had a score of +9 UZR or better, 20% were between +3 UZR and +9 UZR, etc.

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Would be cool to see this for NL

The Rays apparently have some sick defense.

There's no "I" in team. There's also no "I" in "B-g Mac Land".

by mattybobo on Jun 5, 2009 12:38 PM EDT reply actions

The entire NL falls between the Rays and Rangers.

Just a coincidence that the best and worst team are in the AL.

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by bdalebs on Jun 5, 2009 3:22 PM EDT up reply actions

This is awesome. Thanks!

by astrostl on Jun 5, 2009 12:44 PM EDT reply actions

This is really neat. I like the presentation. You might want to save the images as .png’s instead of .bmp’s though.

Bay City Ball

by xanthan on Jun 5, 2009 2:04 PM EDT reply actions

Better quality?

It would’ve been cool to see the maps customized in the shape of the Trop and Arlington, respectively.

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by bdalebs on Jun 5, 2009 3:28 PM EDT up reply actions

I can make a graph like there is no tomorrow, but other graphics are not me

I took me longer to make these two, than all the graphs for the injury database.

by Jeff Zimmerman on Jun 5, 2009 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions

I assume you aren't counting the time it took to compile the database, right? ; )

Beyond the Boxscore // Calling BJ Upton lazy is lazy.

by Sky Kalkman on Jun 5, 2009 7:35 PM EDT up reply actions

How did you go about making the map shape to begin with?

You said you have OpenOffice, right? I don’t know how similar their PowerPoint equivalent is, but I use PP to make simple graphics like that all the time. Use the lock-in grid to create nice straight lines, with proper symmetry if desired. Group all the lines or shapes together when you’re satisfied with how it looks in black and white, then copy and paste it into Paint and fill in the shapes.

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by bdalebs on Jun 6, 2009 11:41 AM EDT up reply actions

It would be really interesting to compare the 2007 Rays and the 2008 Rays, as well as the 2008 Rangers and the 2009 Rangers. I’d wager to say that the change in the UZR map would be remarkably similar.

by thinkbluecrew on Jun 5, 2009 2:45 PM EDT reply actions