The Best Left Fielders of the Past 5 Years: Matt Holliday Far and Away the Best.

by Justin Bopp on Mar 30, 2011 3:43 PM EDT in Positional Reviews

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Note: DeJesus (1 year in left?), Dunn, Pierre.

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A weirdly underrated player, Holliday

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by Matt Klaassen on Mar 30, 2011 4:16 PM EDT reply actions 2 recs

For so long I think people just chalked it up to being in Colorado.

Now? He’s in the Pujols Shadow.

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 30, 2011 4:18 PM EDT up reply actions

As a Cards fan

I know firsthand how good he is. I’d actually rather have him at his current contract than Pujols at 10/$300M.

Yep, every Hall of Famer did something unique. Mike Schmidt played with his hat sideways. Roberto Clemente chewed other people's fingernails. Tris Speaker was Japanese. Lou Boudreau rode a dolphin into the batter's box. Nap Lajoie would only use John Wilkes Booth's dismembered leg as a bat. And he corked it. Johnny Mize was from the future. - FJM

by Choix003 on Mar 30, 2011 4:33 PM EDT up reply actions

Another thought:

I like how Dunn is essentially the second or third best hitter on the entire chart, but ranks behind guys like DeJesus, Ethier, Luke freaking Scott, etc, in terms of value. What a great way to visualize that all left fielders basically suck at fielding, but you can be SO BAD that you ruin your value.

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 30, 2011 4:21 PM EDT reply actions

A question about the positional component...

How come this can differ so much amongst players who play the same position? This is more evident on the center-field equivalent Justin posted a while back, where for some players the positional component is positive, and for others it’s negative. Is this just because some players have spent considerable time at other positions? (eg. Ichiro at right field)

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2011/3/23/2068036/the-best-center-fielders-of-the-past-5-years-ichiro-still-underrated

by nsnz on Mar 30, 2011 9:07 PM EDT reply actions

Yep

It’s primarily going to be time spent at other positions and differences in playing time.

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by stevesommer05 on Mar 30, 2011 9:31 PM EDT up reply actions

I'm actually pretty shocked that Soriano comes in third.

Off the top of my head, I probably wouldn’t even have ranked him top 10. Does this say more about my lack of appreciation for him, or the state of left-fielders right now?

by nathaniel dawson on Mar 31, 2011 3:00 AM EDT reply actions

It's probably just that he hasn't been the most effective hitter,

while having fewer negatives (fielding) than most of the other concrete shoe-laden LFs.

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 31, 2011 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Let me clarify:

Few think of him in such high regard precisely because his relative-to-other-LF value is harder to visually measure.

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 31, 2011 10:27 AM EDT up reply actions

I don't understand Soriano.

He used to be a good defensive player. But now he misses balls on a regular basis, sailing over his head, feet from his glove, or just generally doesn’t get to them. Something’s got to be failing in the metrics evaluating him (or other LFs) if it says he’s a defensive comp. to Carl Crawford, because that’s just not true. Watch Soriano chase down a ball to his front right and watch Crawford.

Thoughts?

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by dtpollitt on Mar 31, 2011 12:49 PM EDT reply actions

Well, this is a 5-year data capture.

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 31, 2011 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions

Yeah, I understand that.

And I know Soriano’s been noted in places as having/had a great arm. However, he is 35 and the numbers for the last two years have to be terrible. Because he’s been a terrible defensive liability.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Mar 31, 2011 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions

Ok, let's look. One sec while I pull the data.

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 31, 2011 1:08 PM EDT up reply actions

Soriano, Fielding Runs Based on UZR:
2006 - 24.3
2007 - 20.6
2008 - 16.8
2009 - 17.4
2010 - 18.3

Crawford, Fielding Runs Based on UZR:
2006 - 21.8
2007 - 20.9
2008 - 16.1
2009 - 22.4
2010 - 22.1

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 31, 2011 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions

How much does UZR consider balls one does not get to?

Stick with a hypothetical with me: Soriano’s got a ball to his left and rather than running after it, hops (Trademarked, Soriano 2008), then jogs to the ball. Somebody like Crawford runs full out and misses it. Are both considered in range?

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Mar 31, 2011 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions

From what I understand, yes.

Which is precisely why traditional measures like Errors are a poor way to gauge talent (because those with greater range will have more opportunities to reach slightly-out-of-reach balls).

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 31, 2011 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions

I love stats. It's my doctorate minor.

But this is a good example of when one should not rely on the data. There’s just no way Soriano is a good defensive player, not over the last two years.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Mar 31, 2011 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions

Dude your designs are dope as hell.

I’m going to buy a few.

"The riches of the game are in the thrills, not the money." --Ernie Banks

by dtpollitt on Mar 31, 2011 3:44 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks a ton!

Tell your friends, tell your kids, tell your wife. There’s some artwork goin down in here!

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by Justin Bopp on Mar 31, 2011 4:27 PM EDT up reply actions

someone said

on BCB, the other day, that he is playing like he is 39 – watching the game on WGN last weekend I think its more like 93…either creaky legs or too timid worrying about injury

by hansman1982 on Mar 31, 2011 8:03 PM EDT up reply actions