The Baseball Analysts: Lederer: The Bill James Handbook 2008 - Part One

Still waiting for Lederer to get around to re-reviewing Bill James’ 1989 Baseball Abstract…oh? no?..Ok…..on to the 2008 Handbook then!

Dewan points out that Manny Ramirez had the worst plus/minus in all of MLB over the last three years (-109). “Does that make him baseball’s worst defender? Maybe, but there is a question because of the wall in Fenway Park. Are his numbers hurt by the wall? The answer is clearly yes. Balls that hit the wall might be catchable in other parks. It’s an adjustment we need to make but haven’t gotten around to as of yet, mostly because unique park configurations like Fenway are not as common elsewhere. Ramirez was below average in road games as well, though nowhere near as poor as his overall numbers would suggest.”

The author proceeds to ask if Derek Jeter (-90) is the worst defender? “Well, Jeter’s poor numbers do not have a caveat like Manny’s do. There are no significant park effects clouding his stats. The numbers suggest that Jeter has hurt his team defensively as much or more than any other player in baseball. Having said that, you can still make a good case for Jeter being the best shortstop in the game. Given all that he brings to the team – hitting, baserunning, leadership, overall baseball savvy (including as a defender) – nearly every basebll general manager would prefer Jeter over almost any other shortstop. But, defensively, he’s not the best. Do I personally think he’s the worst defensive shortstop in baseball? No, but he’s far from deserving to be a guy who will probably win his fourth Gold Glove in as many years. He’s a below-average defender who should never have received a Gold Glove in the first place.”