Statistics DUGOUT CHAT Tom Magedanz - 05.30.2001

Statistics are one of baseball’s basic foundations, but some of us probably get more caught up in stats than is healthy. For example, I can tell you my number of total chances for the 1963 season playing for the "B" League Wolves when I was 13 (in Aberdeen; we weren’t too bad, actually -- we had Danny Wollman and Craig Hayes, both future Smittys standouts. My family moved to Yankton for Teeners and Legion -- I have stats for that too.). I can also tell you how many strikeouts per inning Dalton Decker, Ben Gloe, and Charlie Magedanz averaged while pitching for the Dodgers in 1995 when they were eleven; so I’ve infected succeeding generations. Stats are interesting and I know I’m not the only parent or player out there who makes a bigger deal out of
statistics than may be wise. However, I can’t help myself and have given up trying. For the last four or five years I’ve been allowed to run the scoreboard in the best seat in the house at Hyde Stadium, and I’ve done the semi-official statistics for the ’99 A-Teeners and the ’00 and ’01 Legion teams, thus relieving the coaches of some extra work. (They don’t seem to suffer from the same compulsive stat behavior.)

Seriously, I am guaranteed to make a number of mistakes during the season (a lot of detail done in a hurry), and if you see something in the team statistics or box scores that needs correcting, please contact me and I will check it out. Sometimes it’s just a clerical error; sometimes it’s a judgment call; sometimes it’s a matter of interpretation or application of the rules of scoring.

Which leads me to Chapter 10.00 of the Official Rules of Baseball, "The Official Scorer." It’s all in there, what’s a hit, what’s an error, what’s an earned run, special situations where the catcher gets credit for a putout. Browse through Chapter 10.00 with your attorney and you will be able to quickly settle scoring questions and disputes and get on with the important stuff (figuring the stats). If you don’t have an attorney, however, Chapter 10.00 can get obscure. Some of this language is very old and you may have to look in a couple of places to determine the call (look at the discussion on what is scored as a hit, but there is additional information in the section on errors). I suppose it would be nice if we didn’t worry so much about statistics and just tried to win the game, but the fact is that individual performances combine to determine what the team does. Stats have a powerful appeal and they’re probably here to stay.

One of the most common scoring problems is separating hits from errors. The batter wants a hit, and the fielder doesn’t want an error. However, if it’s scored a hit, the pitcher is charged with allowing a hit and a potential earned run is on base, which will hurt the pitcher’s earned run average. If it’s scored an error, it will not be an earned run and won’t hurt the ERA. The scorekeeper’s only choice is to call ‘em as he sees ‘em and do it in thirty seconds or so before something else happens and before the memory fades.

The rulebook concept of "ordinary effort" plays a big role in separating hits from errors, although I think the more accurate modern term might be "ordinary effort and ability." Chapter 10.00 refers several times to "ordinary effort" and basically awards a hit if the fielder could not, in the scorer’s judgment, be expected to make the play with ordinary effort. That raises the question of hustling or not hustling, which is why I think it’s better to look at both effort and ability. In other words, if the average, ordinary fielder at this level normally makes this play, and this fielder doesn’t, it’s an error. If the average fielder at this level does not make this play, it’s a hit. Another way to look at it is the difference between "could have" and "should have." If the fielder could have made the play with extra skill (beyond the average player at this level) or extra luck, but didn’t, it’s a hit. If the player at this level should have made the play, but didn’t, it’s an error. And whether the fielder touches the ball or whether the ball was reachable doesn’t really matter; what matters is whether the average player at this level of competition should be expected to make this play. The rulebook specifically directs the scorer to give the benefit of the doubt to the hitter in these situations, but the whole question of hits and errors is a murky one. Obviously, scorekeeper’s judgment on these is just a fact of life.

Another dicey area is determining earned runs for figuring earned run averages. The rule of thumb is that the run is considered earned if it was somehow the pitcher’s fault. Hits, walks, and wild pitches are the pitcher’s fault. Errors and passed balls are not the pitcher’s fault. So, if a batter is safe on an error and the next hitter hits a homerun, it’s one earned run and one unearned run. If a runner on third scores on a wild pitch, it’s an earned run; if he scores on a passed ball, it’s an unearned run. But if the next guy gets a hit, the run is probably earned, because the guy on third would have scored anyway, unless he reached base in the first place or
advanced to scoring position on an error, which gets it back to being an unearned run. The point is, tabulating earned runs by amateur scorers like myself is a little iffy. I don’t put a lot of stock in ERA at this level, partly because of score keeping defugelties and partly because Legion/high school ERA is based on seven, rather than nine, innings, so ERA numbers aren’t directly comparable with higher levels anyway. I look at opponents’ batting average, and at hits, walks, and strikeouts per inning as a measure of how a pitcher is doing, because these aren’t directly affected by how the rest of the team performs.

RBIs are interesting too. Most are pretty straightforward. If you get a hit and the runner scores, you get an RBI (run batted in). Unless the runner scored because of an error. For example, with a runner on first, hitter gets a clean single and the baserunner tries to advance to third; the throw gets by the third baseman and runner scores -- no RBI because he would not have scored without the error, even though it was a clean hit. It’s possible to get an RBI on a groundout or even on an infield error or a dropped fly ball, but only if the scorer believes that the run would have scored even if the ball had been fielded cleanly. Usually a runner can score from third on a groundout to the second baseman or shortstop if they are playing at normal or medium depth. The hitter gets an RBI. However, runners usually cannot score from third on groundouts to the third baseman or first baseman because of the shorter throw, and they usually can’t score from third if the shortstop and second baseman are playing in on the grass to cut off the run at the plate. If the infielder elects to throw to the plate and the runner is safe, the hitter reaches base on a fielders choice (not a hit) but he gets an RBI. The judgement part comes when a runner scores from third on a groundball error. The scorer would award an RBI if he
believes the run would have scored even without the error. If the runner scores on a groundball to third with an error, no RBI is given because he probably would not have scored with no error. If the runner scores on a groundball to shortstop with an error, however, the hitter does get an RBI because the runner would probably have scored anyway --- unless the shortstop was playing in on the grass to cut off the run, then no RBI. One exception is that the rulebook specifically says that no RBI is to be given for a runner scoring from third on a groundball double play. A hitter also gets an RBI if he walks, is hit by a pitch, or reaches by catcher’s interference with the bases loaded. Like I said, RBIs are interesting.

The result of all this hair splitting is a set of individual and team statistics. The official rules recognize traditional stats, such as batting average, earned run average, fielding average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and so on, but in recent years an number of new types of statistics and new and possibly more meaningful methods of analyzing performance have been devised. These range from batting average with runners in scoring position to OPS ratings (on-base percentage plus slugging average). Again, baseball thrives on statistics and we keep inventing more of them.

For Post 8 we will provide batting averages, on-base averages, plate appearances per strikeout (hitters), and fielding averages as well as won-loss records, earned run averages, and opponents batting averages (for pitchers). In addition, the stats will include the basic raw data to enable us to calculate these averages and percentages (at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, triples, strikeouts, innings pitched, walks allowed, putouts, assists, errors, and so on).

Batting average is still the most basic and familiar measure of how a hitter is performing. We all hope to hit .300, although lower levels of competition often produce higher batting averages. Batting average is simply the number of hits divided by the number of at-bats. At-bats do not include walks, sacrifices, getting hit by the pitch, or reaching base by catcher’s interference; at-bats do include hits, outs, force outs, reaching on error, and flyball outs that advance the runner but do not score him (it’s only a sac fly if the runner scores). This is why everyone has more plate appearances than at-bats. Many little leaguers report hitting .750 because someone counted fielders choices and reaching on errors as hits; not so, only true hits count as hits for the batting average.

On-base percentage is an important, but somewhat overlooked, statistic that provides a broader measure of offensive performance. On-base percentage is (hits + walks + hit by pitch) divided by (at-bats + walks + hit by pitch + sacrifice flies) --- not sure why the sac flies are in the denominator, but that’s what the rulebook says. Reaching base on error and reaching on a force out do NOT count as being on base for calculating your on-base percentage because these aren’t anything you achieved. (I do keep track separately of reaching on error, however, because I think it indicates putting pressure on the defense and helping your team, but it doesn’t help your on-base percentage.) Anyway, on-base percentage is an important offensive statistic and should also be considered, along with extra base hits, RBIs, runs scored, stolen bases, and low strikeout percentages.

Fielding averages are usually less familiar to the average baseball fan/player/parent. Fielding average equals putouts plus assists divided by the total of putouts plus assists plus errors. Fielding averages provide useful information, but they can also create confusion because of the differences between the various defensive positions and some of the quirks of the official scoring rules. Fielding averages must be compared WITHIN specific positions; they have no meaning comparing players who play different positions. Compare shortstops with other shortstops and catchers with other catchers, but do not compare shortstops with catchers. Fielding averages can also be distorted if a player plays more than one position, such as a third baseman’s fielding average being pumped up when he also plays a lot of first base (a position which usually has a higher average).

I looked at some team websites for high schools and small colleges to compare statistics, and it seems at this level, we are happy to have a shortstop who can field .900. It’s a difficult position and is often the best athlete on the team (although all positions have their advantages and disadvantages). High school second basemen should field in the .925-.935 range. Third basemen, like shortstops are doing well if they can reach .900; they get some difficult fielding chances, but they do not have the double play and stolen base responsibilities that middle infielders have. First basemen, catchers, and outfielders usually have higher fielding averages --- hopefully .950 or .960 in high school. First basemen get a high number of putouts (each time they catch a throw at first from another infielder), and if the throw is bad, the error usually goes to the thrower, not the first basemen. Catchers get credit for a putout for each strikeout, and they are not charged with errors for passed balls or wild throws on stolen bases (unless the throw lets the runner advance beyond the base being stolen). Outfielders have few assist opportunities, usually catch their fly balls, and generally have high fielding averages. Pro shortstops are in the .960-.970s, second basemen in the .970-980s, third basemen in the
.950-960s, and first basemen, outfielders and catchers in the .980-.990s. Fielding statistics are interesting, but be careful who is being compared with whom.

There’s a lot more to scoring and statistics, of course, quite often leading to conversation in Hyde Stadium’s press box as follows: "What was THAT?.... I suppose you have to give him a hit....No way was that a hit; it was right there, all he had to do was reach down and catch it (former pitchers say this).... Was that a ball or a strike? I was watching the throw to second again.....Where are the 50-50 girls?.....Whose CD is that; I thought Cody said those lyrics are OK for the PA system......Are we gonna do the anthem and introductions? Does the other team know this?......What’s the count?......Tyler, time out for a second, OK.....OK, so the pitcher went to right, rightfielder to left, left fielder is out, second baseman is pitching, third baseman went to second, and number 25 is at third? So what’s his name?.....We need coaches with better penmanship..... Is somebody going to call those scores into the radio stations?......etc, etc, etc."

I will stop here. We will attempt to provide up-to-date statistics and box scores for Post 8 Legion and Teener ballplayers for the 2001 season. We will wait a while for statistics because we need to accumulate some at-bats for the stats to be meaningful. Again, if you feel we made a mistake, please contact us and we’ll check on it. Have a good season.