Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
September 13, 2003
Defensive Rankings

Back in June I posted runs created against the defense. Basically, I took the most current runs created formula STATS has, took out stats that are attributable to the pitcher, (HR, BB, HBP, K), and figured runs created per 27 defensive outs. Here's the chart through yesterday:

TeamRuns Created Against Defense
Mariners 2.84
Dodgers 2.86
Athletics 2.88
Giants 3.18
Devil Rays 3.29
Angels 3.32
Astros 3.36
White Sox 3.38
Indians 3.38
Braves 3.39
Cubs 3.41
Phillies 3.44
Tigers 3.52
Expos 3.52
Pirates 3.58
Padres 3.66
Cardinals 3.77
Diamondbacks 3.77
Twins 3.77
Mets 3.79
Marlins 3.82
Royals 3.84
Brewers 3.87
Orioles 3.91
Reds 3.94
Rockies 4.03
Blue Jays 4.07
Red Sox 4.14
Yankees 4.23
Rangers 4.37

It looks like the Giants have really improved their defense. They wee ranked 14th in early June, 4th today. The White Sox having a better defense than the Twins was not an anomoly. I think most people would assume the Twins are the better defensive team, but it's just not true. So much for having a great defensive first baseman. The AL East is a waste land. It makes me wonder if these teams have good offenses because they play each other so often. (I just checked, and the Red Sox and Yankees scored higher outside of the division, the Blue Jays score the same in or out). There's lots of room for improvement here. Bernie Williams is 35 today. At this point, I think Matsui is the better centerfielder. It's time to switch the two of them in the outfield. The west coast, on the other hand, is all defense. Five of the top six teams border the Pacific Ocean. I haven't taken park effects into account, so that may be helping these teams. I welcome any comments on this stat.

Posted by David Pinto at 09:31 AM | Defense | TrackBack (0)