2009 Bill James Handbook

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The 2009 Bill James Handbook arrived in the mail. With the proliferation of baseball-reference.com and oter media sites, one might wonder the value of an annually produced career register. Every year though, the crew at Baseball Info Solutions finds new details to add, providing more unique information to the reader not readily available elsewhere.

 

The big newsmaker is the Fielding Bible awards and the accompanying fielding statistics. Baseball Info Solutions (BIS) uses a system called plus/minus to evaluate fielders. Explaining the system in full would take several parapgraphs but in short, it compares plays made by a fielder to an average fielder at the position. Hit locations, trajectories and velocity are taken into consideration. If there is a weakness to the system, I think it is that not all missed plays are created equally. A third baseman who misses a play to his left creates a single, one to his right creates a double. Otherwise, I think the system is effective.

 

A look at the numbers might reveal some obvious truths. Nate McLouth rates dead last among center fielders. Coincidently, the Pirates' pitchers posted some surprisingly bad numbers. Are the two related? And on a similar note, might the Pirates' run prevention overall skyrocket if McLouth is moved to a corner and replaced with say, Andrew McCutchen? Statistical analysists long underrated defense, but it has become apparent that a large portion of what we consider good pitching is in fact, defense. Good defense creates good pitching, as more confident pitchers locate the strike zone, avoid nibbling and carry longer into games.

 

The book lists both the 2008 leaders and trailers, but also the 2006-08 leaders. Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz and Chase Utley all finished in the top two in their positions over the last three seasons. Is it any wonder that Joe Blanton and Jamie Moyer came up big this season?

 

Another less publicized but much appreciated section is baserunning data. The staff tracks how often a player took an extra base on a hit, again comparing it to the MLB average. Runners are penalized for outs on the basepaths, and stolen base data is taken into account. Willy Taveras rates as the best baserunner, Dioner Navarro as the worst. Among teams, the Phillies proved the most efficient baserunning team. Much of that however is their advantage in basestealing. In terms of pure baserunning, the Texas Rangers score surprisingly the highest with the Florida Marlins trailing close behind. The Washington Nationals rate as MLB's worst baserunning team.

 

Leaderboards are provided, leading to some interesting observations. The shortest average home run distance belongs to Kevin Millar, perhaps a harbinger of things to come. Justin Upton is responsible for the longest average home run distance. Who knew? Bobby Abreu swings at the first pitch the least often of any hitter. Jesse Litsch throws the fewest fastballs of any non-knuckleballer. Ben Sheets throws the curveball most often, Edison Volquez throws the most changeups while Armando Galarraga throws the most sliders. Ubaldo Jimenez throws the fastest average fastball, Tim Wakefield the slowest (Jamie Moyer is second). Matt Lindstrom is fastest on average among relievers, but Jonathon Broxton throws them over 100 mph the most often.

 

Win Share data is here. The Young Talent Inventory is back, but without Bill James' insightful comments about the individual players, it is wasted. You'll find player projections, expansive park data, relief pitching statistics, and many other sections. Currently, the book is available for $16.29 on Amazon.com. At that price, it is well worth the price for baseball fanatics.