As we enter the last month of regular season baseball you’re likely to see more discussion about who’s going to win each league’s MVP, Rookie-of-the-Year (ROY), and Cy Young (best pitcher) honors. Most television and radio broadcasts keep to the basic hitting and pitching statistics that average fans are familiar with, e.g. home runs, hits, strikeouts, wins, etc. But under the surface, there are a plethora of advanced stats that, if properly analyzed, reveal who the best batters and pitchers actually are. These advanced statistics are commonly referred to as Sabermetrics. These statistics are incredibly helpful for a variety of reasons, but there are two main (and simple) advantages to them.

First, some are weighted to show how above (or below) average a player is. Consider batting average, probably the most commonly looked at stat for batters. A player with a batting average above .300 is generally considered pretty good, but if more players start hitting .300 then that player is less above average than they were before. Weighted stats change to account for the MLB average, making it easier to see what players are actually the best in the game today.

Second, some statistics are designed to include things such as the ballpark a player is in (since every MLB park has different outfield dimensions) as well as the era they played in. Pitching in the dead-ball era was considerably different than how it is today (the live-ball era), so that is accounted for as well. These are helpful because it means players in different leagues at different times with different rules can be looked at on an “even playing field”.

Today we’ll discuss nine of the most introductory advanced stats, including how they are calculated, how to read them, and what they tell you about a player.

Batting

There are a handful of batting statistics that at first make no sense, but are actually quite simple to calculate and comprehend. These statistics take away a player’s “luck” and give more weight to hits and runs that were harder to “earn” based on the defensive situation.

1. OPS+

On-base Plus Slugging Plus takes the traditional stat of OPS, which accounts both for how often a batter gets on base and how hard they hit the ball, and weights it according to the MLB average. This stat is affected by the performance of all batters in the game as well as league and park factors. This means a hit in a batter-friendly park like Coors Field is worth less than the same hit in a pitcher-friendly venue like Oracle Park because it’s easier to achieve that hit at Coors Field.

This stat is read as a whole number, with 100 being the league average. For example, in 2018 Angels OF Mike Trout had an MLB-leading OPS+ of 198, meaning his traditional OPS was 98% better than the average player! In comparison, Orioles 1B Chris Davis had an OPS+ of 49 last season, meaning he was 51% worse than the average player.

2. BABIP

Batting Average on Balls-In-Play looks at a player’s batting average on balls that are actually affected by the defense, e.g. ground outs, line drives, singles, doubles. This means strikeouts and home runs do not count toward this average, as strikeouts only include the pitcher and home runs don’t give the defensemen any chance to make an out. The actual formula is (H – HR)/(AB – K – HR + SF).

For example, a batter who goes 2-6 with one home run and one strikeout would have a modified hits/at-bat record of 1-4 or a .250 BABIP.

This stat is useful for determining contact hitters and power hitters. Power hitters may have a low BABIP because they tend to have lots of home runs and strikeouts, whereas a contact hitter may have a higher BABIP showing that they can hit safely in a variety of situations which is helpful in driving in other runners.

Last year Red Sox DH/OF J.D. Martinez led the MLB with a BABIP of .375. Martinez earned two silver slugger awards for his hitting prowess.

3. RC

Runs Created estimates how many runs a player contributed to a team. This is different from how many runs they actually scored, as that is affected by other batters that follow them. Instead, it tries to convert the total bases a player has into the number of runs those bases produced. The formula is TB x (H + BB) / (AB + BB).

As part of his 2018 NL MVP campaign, Brewers OF Christian Yelich had an RC of 140.

4. wRC+

Weighted Runs Created Plus simply turns the cumulative value of RC and averages normalizes it against the MLB average, as well as accounting for ballpark and era factors. Like OPS+, it is a whole number with 100 as the league average.

Red Sox OF Mookie Betts, the 2018 AL MVP, had a wRC+ of 185, second-highest in MLB behind Mike Trout’s 191.

5. wOBA

Weighted On-base Average adds character to the traditional OBP stat by weighting the different ways a batter gets on base rather than just how often. For example, a home run is worth more than a hit, which is worth more than a walk, which is worth more than an intentional walk or HBP. The multipliers change year to year based on the frequency of events throughout the regular season.

Unlike wRC+, wOBA is expressed as a value out of 1.000. For example, in 2018 the then Nationals OF and destroyer of baseballs Bryce Harper had a wOBA of .376.

Pitching

Most pitching statistics are either very basic (such as strikeout percentage) or very complicated. These are a couple that I think are particularly helpful without causing brain damage as you try to read them.

1. ERA+

Adjusted Earned Run Average is similar to OPS+ as it shows how above or below average a pitcher’s ERA was relative to the park, league, and time he played in. Like OPS+ and wRC+, it is a whole number with 100 as the league average.

Mets SP Jacob deGrom sported an ERA+ of 218 last season, meaning he was an incredible 118% better than the MLB average. He was awarded the 2018 NL Cy Young for his stellar performance on the mound. Rockies SP Jon Gray had an ERA+ of 93 during his down year, meaning he was 7% below the MLB average.

2. Game Score

Game Score is another discrete number used to evaluate starting pitchers. Unlike ERA+ which is only an adjustment of the pitcher’s ERA, a Game Score reflects several factors in their performance. MLB.com uses the following formula:

• Start with 40 points
• Add 2 points for each out recorded (or 6 points per inning)
• Add 1 additional point for every strikeout
• Remove 2 points for each walk allowed
• Remove 2 points for each hit allowed
• Remove 3 points for each run allowed (earned or unearned)
• Remove 6 additional points for each home run allowed

Average scores range from 40-70, with exceptional outings reaching (and possibly exceeding) 100. Houston SP Gerrit Cole was the only pitcher in 2018 to earn a Game Score of 100. He also had the eighth-highest average GmSc with 62.5.

3. K/BB

Also written as SO/W, our last pitching statistic is extremely simple but very important. Any pitcher’s Strikeout to Walk rate is a quick and clear indication of their control. It simply shows if they strike out more batters than they walk. Lots of K’s and few BB’s shows they have great command of the strike zone and are reliable in tough situations. For closers (i.e. relievers put in to end the game) this is extremely important.

This stat is expressed as a decimal number. For example, Houston SP Justin Verlander (who threw his third career no-hitter today!) had a K/BB rate of 7.84, meaning for every walk he issued he struck out roughly 8 batters.

WAR

Our final statistic is a bit more involved. WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement and indicates how many wins a player contributed to their team compared to a replacement-level player, i.e. someone from AAA, the highest level of Minor League Baseball. There are different formulas for batters and pitchers and different ways of calculating WAR. The two main versions are the ones computed by Fangraphs, often written as fWAR, and Baseball-Reference, written as bWAR or rWAR. WAR is supposed to be an all-inclusive statistic that shows how much a player is worth to a team, but it does not say how they generated that worth so it is only a starting reference point.

An average player will produce 1-2 WAR each season, while an All-Star level player generally has 5+. MVPs typically have 8+ for a single season. WAR can also be negative. A negative WAR indicates that the player should probably be switched for someone else as they are having an overall negative impact on the team.

bWAR is generally considered to take more defensive skill into account rather than fWAR, but the deviations between a player’s two values are usually only 0.1-04 WAR. There are also offensive and defensive specific WAR calculations as well that can be used to determine what player is superior.

 

I hope you have found this guide helpful! These advanced statistics can be a little confusing at times, but overall they reveal a much clearer and balanced picture into which players are truly the best on the diamond. For expanded definitions and explanations, please refer to the MLB Glossary. As always, special thanks to both Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference for their statistics. Please follow me on Twitter @LTS_tweets to stay up to date on all the latest news, op-eds, and analysis from the sports you love!