Offense Statistics
Please, dear God, whatever you may do, do not use batting average or RBIs to evaluate a player’s talent level. I don’t know if I can stress the fact enough, but those statistics are good describers of what has happened on the playing field, but they are very poor evaluative tools. They’re the batting version of Wins and ERA, both of which are also quite overrated statistics. Think about it: who gets more RBIs, a lead-off hitter or a number three? Now answer this question: who comes to bat with runners on base more often, a lead-off hitter or a number three? RBIs are simply a matter of opportunity, with skill figuring into it quite minimally.
Not convinced? Read this. Afterward, if you’re interested in properly assessing a player’s offensive value, a good place to start is OPS and OPS+. They’re not perfect metrics, but they’re a step in the door and will help you understand the more complex stuff.
Interested in the best metrics to use? I’d recommend to stick with wOBA, wRAA, batted ball data, rate statistics, plate discipline stats, and home run rates. That may sound like a lot, but it’s always best to take a wide view on a player and use as much data as you can.
Links for Further Reading:
Sabermetrics 101: Offense – Lookout Landing
An Early Look at HITf/x – Hardball Times
Thank you so much for getting something like this up. The sooner evaluations are made based on information that doesn’t sound good coming out of Joe Morgan’s mouth, the better.
Please, dear God, whatever you may do, do not use batting average or RBIs to evaluate a player’s talent level. I don’t know if I can stress the fact enough, but those statistics are good describers of what has happened on the playing field, but they are very poor evaluative tools. They’re the batting version of Wins and ERA, both of which are also quite overrated statistics. Think about it: who gets more RBIs, a lead-off hitter or a number three? Now answer this question: who comes to bat with runners on base more often, a lead-off hitter or a number three? RBIs are simply a matter of opportunity, with skill figuring into it quite minimally.
+1