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Posted By: Kevin Cummings

Jay:

I know one should never say "never," but I think SABR will never be able to quantify fielding as easily as they can hitting. A home run is basically exactly what it says it is, but fielding has so many intangible impacts that statistics probably won't ever tell the complete story.

Calculations like the league range factor attempt to provide a yardstick against which individual performers at a given position can be measured, but how does SABR attempt to account for one team who is stocked with sinkerball/groundball pitchers that might skew the statistics in favor of their infielders as compared to infielders who play in Denver behind fastball/flyball pitchers? And with the way pitchers are relieved these days, that impact can change several times in a single game.

I'm not saying not to try to come up with meaningful fielding statistics, just that it's a far more iffy proposition than measuring a batting average.

Kevin