Deconstructing Major League Baseball, 1991-2004: How Statistics Illuminate Individual and Team Performances

by William Darby

Overview

Baseball is a readily quantifiable sport, and baseball historians, journalists and front office personnel often use sabermetric statistics to rank the performance of a particular player or team. To many, these statistics can be intimidating and unwieldy, and the reliance on numerical data to explain a cherished pastime often meets with skepticism and confusion. For researchers and for serious fans, however, the truth is in the numbers, and statistical rankings offer an easy and accurate way to understand the game.

Covering almost a decade and a half, this work scrutinizes statistics from both leagues and proves just how useful and straightforward numerical rankings can be. It examines pitching, offense, defense, and competition based on the information reflected in various stats. Many of these figures are explained, simplifying seemingly complex metrics while illuminating 14 years of baseball. Twelve appendices cover topics ranging from fielding averages, starting pitchers' won-loss records and leading closers' saves versus blown saves to total team offensive efficiency, and quarterly standings in divisional races.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786425372
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	09/29/2006
Pages:	516
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.03(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

William Darby teaches English in Detroit. He is also the author of John Ford’s Westerns (1996).

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Introduction     
Part I. Measuring The Majors
1. Pitching     
2. Offense     
3. Defense     
4. Longevity and Patterns of Competition     

Part II. Appendices: Performance Records and Statistics
A. Starting Pitchers’ Adjusted Won-Loss Records     
B. Relievers’ Shutout Performances vs. Run-Yielding Performances     
C. Leading Closers’ Saves and Blown Saves, 1991–2004     
D. Total Offensive Averages     
E. Team Total Offensive Efficiencies     
F. Winning and Losing Teams, Winning Percentages, Average Won-Loss Levels and Runs-Per-Game for Seasonal Offensive Efficiency Levels     
G. Starters’ Fielding Averages and Percentages     
H. Double Plays     
I. Errors     
J. Team Fielding Efficiency Percentages     
K. Quarterly Standings in Divisional Races     
L. Won-Lost Records by Run Differentials     

Bibliography     
Index     

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