Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The Baseball Blog: 2011 Horse Collar Awards Part V (All-League and Defense Teams)

All-League Teams


The Kirby Puckett Memorial All-American League Team

Catcher: Alex Avila (Detroit)

First Base: Miguel Cabrera (Detroit)

Second Base: Dustin Pedroia (Boston)

Shortstop: Jhonny Peralta (Detroit)

Third Base: Adrian Beltre (Texas)

Left Field: Alex Gordon (Kansas City)

Center Field: Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston)

Right Field: Jose Bautista (Toronto)

Designated Hitter: David Ortiz (Boston)

Left-Handed Starter: Ricky Romero (Toronto)

Right-Handed Starter: Justin Verlander (Detroit)

Left-Handed Middle Reliever: Scott Downs (Anaheim)

Right-Handed Middle Reliever: David Robertson (New York Yankees)

Left-Handed Closer: Chris Sale (Chicago White Sox)

Right-Handed Closer: Jose Valverde (Detroit)

Comments: These are my all-star or all-pro teams, so to speak. It’s all around performance, including fielding. Postseason only included to separate very close calls.

One of the more annoying tasks was picking catcher. The answer might seem obvious. Mike Napoli hit .320/.414/.631/1.046 with 25 doubles, 30 homers, and 75 RBI and we all know what he did in the postseason. However, Napoli didn’t come close to qualifying for rate stats, which makes his power stats more impressive but his rate stats less legit. Much more importantly, Napoli just didn’t play that many games at catcher during the regular season. Here are his starts and games played by position this season: Catcher: 57/61; 1B: 27/35; DH: 18/18. Only 55.9% of his 102 starts and only 55.5% of his 114 games played came at catcher.

By contrast, Avila made 130 of his 135 starts at catcher and played 133 of his 138 games at catcher. In the end, I decided to leave Napoli off the list. That’s one of the problems with “all-star” teams like this: versatile players without a single position can end up getting disqualified completely.

With Napoli disqualified, the catcher’s spot had to go to Avila, although Matt Wieters and Carlos Santana had good years. There were only 6 qualified AL catchers, but Avila still finished 1st in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and RC27. He was also 1st in RC and had 19 homers and 82 RBI.

Miguel Cabrera was the easy choice at first base, even though Adrian Gonzalez and also Paul Konerko had great years. MC led all AL first basemen in AVG, OPS, SLG, OPS, BB, doubles, RC, and RC27. He was also 3rd in homers and tied 3rd in RBI.

Deciding between Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano at 2B was close to a tossup. They both played for winning teams in great hitter’s parks. They both played excellent defense. Cano was tied 1st among AL 2B with 46 doubles; tied 2nd with 7 triples; and 2nd with 28 homers. He was 1st among AL 2B in RBI, SLG, and OPS; 2nd in AVG, RC, and RC27; and 4th in OBP. He stole 8 bases in 10 tries.

Pedroia led AL 2B in AVG, OBP, RC, and RC27. He was 2nd in OPS, SB, and BB; tied 2nd in RBI; and 3rd in SLG, doubles, and homers. He stole 26 bases in 34 tries (76.5%). In the end I went with Pedroia since he was 1st in RC and RC27.

Jhonny Peralta only played 146 games but he was actually a pretty easy choice at SS. In fact, he was the only choice. That’s not to say he didn’t have a good year, it’s just that not many other AL SS had good years. Peralta isn’t a typical middle infielder, as he doesn’t have any speed, but he has power and he played solid defense in helping the Tigers reach the postseason and eventually the ALCS.

Peralta was 1st among AL SS in AVG, OPS, and RC27; 2nd in SLG, RBI, and RC; 3rd in homers with 21; and 4th in OBP. If you believe in the Total Zone Runs stat then you would credit him for playing good defense as well, as he led all AL SS in that category.

Adrian Beltre was an easy choice at 3B. Evan Longoria is a great player but he didn’t have his best year and Kevin Youkilis’ season was derailed by injuries. Beltre was 1st among AL 3B in AVG, SLG, OPS, doubles, RBI, RC, and RC27. He was 2nd with 32 homers and 4th in OBP.

Plus, Beltre is widely considered to be the top defensive 3rd baseman in the game. Signing as a FA with Texas, Beltre helped lead the Rangers into the playoffs and to the brink of a WS championship.

I went with a former 3B for my left fielder. Alex Gordon was certainly the top AL left fielder in 2011. Josh Hamilton is a good player and he had a good year but not nearly as good as Gordon. Gordon blossomed in 2011, finishing 1st among AL LF in AVG, OBP, BB, hits, and RC27. He was 1st in doubles with 45 (15 more than the next best guy) and 1st in RC (+24.3 on the next best guy). He was 2nd among AL LF in SLG and OPS; 3rd in RBI; and 4th in homers with 23.

Alex Gordon had 4 triples and stole 17 bases, although he only had a 68.0% success rate. Gordon also excelled in the field. He led all AL OF with 20 assists and was 1st in Range Factor/GM for left fielders and Fielding Percentage for left fielders.

Curtis Granderson had a monster year for the Yanks in center field. He had 10 triples, 41 homers, 119 RBI, 25 SB, and a .916 OPS. Still, Jacoby Ellsbury was clearly the top AL CF in 2011. He was 1st among AL CF in AVG, OBP, SLG, doubles, RC (+16.9 over next best guy), and RC27 (+0.72 over the next best guy). He had 5 triples and finished 2nd with 32 homers. He also finished 2nd in RBI and in SB with 39 (72.2% success rate).

Ellsbury was a steady force in center field, leading all AL OF in putouts and finishing tied for 1st with a perfect Fielding Percentage. Ellsbury wasn’t the reason the Sox collapsed, as he actually played very well down the stretch.

Jose Bautista wasn’t head and shoulders above the competition in the AL for right fielders; he was head, shoulders, knees, and toes above the competition. Bautista led AL RF in the following stats, with his edge over the next best guy noted for each category: AVG (+.017), OBP (+.073), SLG (+.099), OPS (+.231), HR (+14), RBI (+16), BB (+37), runs (+24), RC (+46.1), and RC27 (+3.84). So he was pretty good in comparison to other AL RF this season.

The DH spot wasn’t too tough to decide for me. Michael Young had another great year, hitting .338 with 213 hits, 41 doubles, 6 triples, 11 homers, and 106 RBI. But Big Papi was once again the man at DH.

Both guys played in good hitters parks for good teams. However, Papi was definitely superior. He led all DH’s in OBP, SLG, OPS, homers, and RC27. He was tied 1st in BB; 2nd in RC; 3rd in AVG and RBI; and tied 3rd in doubles. He was nearly 100 points higher than the next best guy in OPS (.099 to be exact), had 10 more homers than the next best guy, and was 0.77 better than the next best guy in RC27.

My right handed starter (Justin Verlander), right handed middle reliever (David Robertson), and right handed closer (Jose Valverde) were all obvious choices and their exploits have been discussed ad nauseum already in this blog/epic poem.

The left handed pitchers were perhaps not as clear cut. There wasn’t a truly awesome lefty starter this year but there were a number of good candidates, including CJ Wilson, CC Sabathia, Jon Lester, and David Price.

I went with Ricky Romero, because while he hasn’t had as good results in the past as those other guys, I thought he was the best lefty starter in the AL this year. Most people would probably not have reached that conclusion and maybe I shouldn’t have either. But I know this: Romero and Sabathia are the only choices. They were the top 2 lefty starters for sure.

Sabathia might have been better. He led AL lefties with 237.1 IP, 230 K, and a 19-8 record. He pitched +12.5 more innings than Romero, threw 52 more K’s, had 4 more wins, and 3 fewer losses. Sabathia also ranks ahead of Romero in most of the SABR pitching stats.

However, W-L records are not always great indicators of how well guys pitch, and that is certainly the case with Romero this season. Also, it’s not as if Romero was nowhere near CC in terms of IP. He threw 225 IP himself over 32 starts, while CC threw 237.1 IP with 1 additional start. Romero was 15-11 (.577%), while CC was 19-8 (.704%). The Jays were 18-14 (.563%) with Romero on the mound, while the Yanks were 22-11 (.667%) with Sabathia on the mound.

But let’s take a closer look at those win-loss records. Romero had zero Cheap Wins (wins in non-quality starts) and 5 Tough Losses (losses in quality starts). Sabathia had 3 Cheap Wins and 2 Tough Losses. So Romero was a net -5 in CW/TL, while Sabathia was a net +1.

Romero had 5 Wins Lost (starts in which he exited in position for win and BP blew lead) and zero Losses Saved (starts in which he exited in position for loss but team came back to tie or take the lead). Sabathia had 2 Wins Lost and 1 Losses Saved. So Romero was a net -5 in WL/LS, while Sabathia was a net -1.

Romero saw 11 of his 22 bequeathed runners score (50.0%), while Sabathia’s BP mates only allowed 5 of his 18 bequeathed runners to score (27.8%). The Jays scored 4.5 runs per game during Romero’s starts and 5.1 runs per game while he was in the game. The Yanks scored 5.7 runs per game during CC’s starts and 5.4 runs per game while he was in the game.

Romero threw 25 QS in 32 starts for a QS% of 78.1. CC threw 22 QS in 33 starts for a QS% of 66.7. Romero notched 4 complete games and 2 shutouts, while Sabathia had 3 complete games and 1 shutout. Sabathia averaged 7.19 IP/GS and 109 pitches/GS, better than Romero. But Romero was solid, averaging 7.03/GS and 105 pitches/GS.

To summarize, Sabathia’s big edge in W-L record had little to do with each pitcher’s performance, and a lot to do with the performance of each pitcher’s team. Sabathia’s edge in stamina was not very big. And otherwise, Romero was his equal or better outside of strikeouts.

Among AL LH starters, Romero was 1st in ERA, QS, QS%, AVGA, and H/9. He was tied 1st in CG; 2nd in WHIP, IP, and OBPA; 3rd in SHO; and 4th in SLGA and OPSA.

In addition, Romero is one of the best fielding pitchers in the AL. He led all AL pitchers with 41 assists.

So that’s my argument. You can buy it or not.

Scott Downs for LH middle reliever was one of the easier choices. Downs made 60 appearances, going 6-3 with 26 holds, 1 save, 3 blown saves, a 1.34 ERA, and a 1.01 WHIP over 53.2 innings. Downs led all AL left handers in holds. Among AL LH relievers (min. 40 IP relief), Downs was 1st in ERA (-0.95 better than next guy), WHIP (-0.10 better than the next guy), AVGA, OBPA, SLGA, and OPSA.

That should be clear enough. Downs’ biggest competition for the spot would have been Chris Sale, but he gets the nod at LH closer even though that’s not really what he is. Specializing for LH closer has gotten a bit more difficult now that Billy Wagner has retired and Brian Fuentes and Mike Gonzalez are no longer the primary closers on their team. Fuentes has won the spot by default in the past and I thought I might have to do it again this season, as he did have the most saves of any LH (12) and he had a less than awful 3.70 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.

But since Fuentes wasn’t really a closer anyway, I figured I would give it to Sale, who did have 8 saves (2nd best behind Fuentes) and 16 holds (tied 5th) against only 2 blown saves and was a much better reliever than Fuentes.

Sale made 58 appearances and went 2-2 with 79 K (1st among AL LH relievers) over 71 innings (1st), posting a 2.79 ERA (4th) and a 1.11 WHIP (3rd). He led AL LH relievers with a 10.01 K/9 (min. 40 IP relief) and was 3rd in AVGA, SLGA, and OPSA. He was 4th in OBPA and 6th in K/BB.

Sale was very good this season but he is more of a middle reliever than a closer. However, he’s the closest thing to a LH closer in the AL, so he takes that spot.


The Ernie Johnson Sr. Memorial All-National League Team

Catcher: Miguel Montero (Arizona)

First Base: Prince Fielder (Milwaukee)

Second Base: Brandon Phillips (Cincinnati)

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki (Colorado)

Third Base: Aramis Ramirez (Chicago Cubs)

Left Field: Ryan Braun (Milwaukee)

Center Field: Matt Kemp (Los Angeles)

Right Field: Lance Berkman (St. Louis)

Left-Handed Starter: Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles)

Right-Handed Starter: Roy Halladay (Philadelphia)

Left-Handed Middle Reliever: Jonny Venters (Atlanta)

Right-Handed Middle Reliever: Tyler Clippard (Washington)

Left-Handed Closer: Antonio Bastardo (Philadelphia)

Right-Handed Closer: John Axford (Milwaukee)

Comments: If you’re surprised by my selection at catcher, don’t worry, so was I. I started off thinking that I would probably end up taking Yadier Molina over Brian McCann, as Mac didn’t have a great year at the plate and had quite a bad season behind the plate. Molina had a very solid year at the plate but he isn’t the defensive weapon he used to be.

While I was trying to decide between Molina and McCann I noticed 2 things. First, Montero easily had the best offensive season for an NL catcher. Second, he may also have had the best defensive season for an NL catcher. Eventually there was no other choice I could make.

Montero hit .282/.351/.469/.820 with 36 doubles, a triple, 18 homers, and 86 RBI. There were only 4 qualified NL catchers (Montero, Mac, Molina, and John Buck). Montero was 1st in OBP, SLG, OPS, double, RBI, TB, EXBH, and RC. He was 2nd in AVG, homers, and RC27. You can see why I came to the conclusion that he had the best offensive season.

Montero made 11 errors which was 2nd most among NL catchers. He also allowed 8 PB. But he led NL catchers in CS% at 40%. Molina was at 29% and Mac was at 22%. He was tied 2nd in base stealers thrown out with 26. He made 4 pickoffs (3rd) and had 39 Runner Kills (tied 2nd). He was tied 3rd in total assists for catchers.

Montero was by far the NL catching leader in Total Zone Runs Above Average. While Molina was near the top in this category, Mac was dead last among 63 NL catchers. Montero was tied 2nd among NL catchers in Catcher Runs Above Average (based on runner kills). Molina was tied 14th in this; Mac was tied 58th.

Montero had a 4.5 WAR (1st among NL catchers; 17th overall in NL). Molina had a 3.9 WAR (2nd among NL catchers; 23rd overall in NL). Mac had a 2.5 WAR (6th among NL catchers; 46th overall in NL).

Montero had a 3.6 Offensive WAR (1st among NL catchers; 21st overall in NL). Molina had a 3.2 Offensive WAR (3rd among NL catchers; 26th overall in NL). Mac had a 3.2 Offensive WAR (2nd among NL catchers; 24th overall in NL).

Montero had a 0.9 Defensive WAR (1st among NL catchers; 26th overall in NL). Molina had a 0.7 Defensive WAR (2nd among NL catchers; 35th among all NL players). Mac had a -0.7 Defensive War (63rd among NL catchers; 690th among all NL players).

In the end, while I never would have expected it, I had to admit that Montero was the top catcher in the NL this season.

First base was a loaded position in the NL this year. Joey Votto, Michael Morse, and Albert Pujols all had excellent years, but Prince Fielder was the best. Among NL 1B, Fielder was 1st in homers (38), RBI (120), SLG, OPS, TB, EXBH, RC, and RC27; 2nd in OBP and BB; tied 2nd in doubles (36); and 4th in AVG.

Second base wasn’t too tough. Dan Uggla had a huge 2nd half and ended up crushing 36 homers (by far the most for an NL second baseman) but his 1st half was so awful that he still ended up having a down year (.311 OBP and .764 OPS). Rickie Weeks had a very good year but he missed time with injury.

Brandon Phillips was the clear choice. Among NL 2B, BP was 1st in AVG, runs, hits, doubles, TB, and RC (+10.8 ahead of next best guy). Phillips was 2nd among NL 2B in OBP, SLG, OPS, EXBH, and RC27; tied 2nd in RBI; and tied 4th in homers with 18. Phillips stole 14 bases (tied 3rd) but unfortunately he had only a 60.9% success rate. He had 2 triples, 5 SH, and 6 SF.

Phillips was 1st among NL 2B and 19th overall in the NL with a 4.1 WAR. He was good in the field, finishing in the top 5 in the NL among 2B in putouts, assists, Range Factor/Game, and Fielding PCT.

NL shortstop was an interesting one. Starlin Castro’s season may get ignored due to the MVP-like seasons of Jose Reyes and Troy Tulowitzki, but he had a very good year.

Reyes was the early front runner for MVP before he was slowed and then sidelined by injuries. He still had a hell of a season, hitting .337/.384/.493/.877 with 101 runs, 31 doubles, 16 triples, 7 homers, and 39 SB in 46 attempts. He was 1st among NL SS in both RC and RC27. The fact that he was able to do all of that while playing in only 126 games—and playing a good portion of those at less than 100%--is pretty amazing.

Troy Tulowitzki was also bugged by injuries that limited him to 143 games but he had a monster season. He led NL SS with 30 homers and 105 RBI and he was 9 of 12 in SB tries. Tulo was 1st among NL SS in SLG, OPS, TB, and EXBH; tied for 1st in doubles and BB; 2nd in OBP, RC, and RC27; and 3rd in AVG. Tulo and Reyes had 5.8 WAR but Tulowitzki was slightly better, finishing 1st among NL SS and 5th overall in the NL, while Reyes was 2nd and 6th respectively.

What separates the two is defense. Reyes is an erratic and dopey defender without a strong arm and with limited range (but otherwise he’s pretty good out there). Tulo, on the other hand, is perhaps the best defensive shortstop in the league.

Tulo had a 1.3 Defensive WAR (2nd best among NL SS and 13th best overall in the NL), while Reyes had a -0.4 Defensive WAR (645th overall in the NL). Tulowitzki finished in the top 5 among NL SS in putouts, assists, and Total Zone Runs. He led all NL SS in Range Factor/Game, Range Factor/9, and Fielding Percentage.

Third base was a tricky one. There were only two candidates: Aramis Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. The trouble was that the Kung-Fu Panda had only played in 117 games and didn’t qualify for any of the rate stats. Ramirez led in most counting stats and he also led in all of the rate stats because Sandoval didn’t qualify. This would seem to make AR the only answer.

However, Sandoval still managed to have an excellent year, hitting .317/.357/.552/.909 with 26 doubles, 3 triples, 23 HR, and 70 RBI. And he put up those numbers in an extreme pitchers park. In addition, Sandoval was one of the best defensive 3B in the NL this season, while Ramirez was one of the worst.

Sandoval ended up 1st among NL 3B and 4th overall in the NL with a 6.1 WAR, getting a major boost from his 1.5 Defensive WAR. Ramirez, on the other hand, was 2nd among NL 3B and 26th overall in the NL with a 3.6 WAR that was dragged down by his -0.9 DWAR (701st among all NL players).

However, Ramirez played in 153 games—36 more than Sandoval—hitting .306/.361/.510/.871 with 35 doubles, a triple, 26 homers, 93 RBI, and 8 SF. He led all NL 3B in hits, doubles, homers, RBI (+23 over the next best guy), TB (+53 over the next best guy), EXBH (+10 over the next best guy), and RC (+23.0 over the next best guy). Among qualified NL 3B, Ramirez was 1st in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, and RC27.

In the end I decided that Sandoval’s superior defense and the park factor weren’t enough to knock AR out of the spot.

Ryan Braun obviously ran away with it in left field. Braun was 1st in the NL among LF in almost every offensive stat: AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, runs, hits, homers (33), RBI (111), SB (33/39, 84.6%), TB (+75 over next), EXBH (+17 over next), RC (+39.0 over next), RC27 (+2.10 over next) and WAR (7.7). He was also tied 1st with 38 doubles; tied 2nd with 6 triples; and 3rd in BB.

He played excellent defense in LF, finishing 3rd in both RF/9 and RF/GM among NL LF. He had 8 assists and led all NL LF in Fielding PCT. And of course, Braun and his teammate Prince Fielder led the Brew Crew back to the postseason. Braun was awesome in the playoffs, helping the Brewers reach the ALCS.

Matt Kemp was just as far ahead in CF as Braun was in LF. Kemp led NL CF in AVG, OBP,SLG, OPS, runs, hits, homers (39), RBI (126), TB (+92 over next), EXBH (+14 over next), RC (+35.6 over next), RC27 (+1.74 over next), and WAR (10.0; +4.5 over next). Kemp was tied 2nd in SB (40/51, 78.4%); 3rd in BB; and 5th in doubles. He had 4 triples and 7 SF.

Kemp had a 1.0 DWAR. He was tied 3rd in OF assists (11) and 5th in putouts for NL OF.

Right field was the most wide open spot in the NL. Hunter Pence, Carlos Beltran, Justin Upton, Mike Stanton, Jay Bruce, and Corey Hart all had very productive seasons. You could make a case for several guys but I went with Lance Berkman.

Among NL RF, Berkman was 1st in OBP, SLG, OPS, BB (+18 over next), and RC 27 (+1.13 over next); 2nd in AVG and runs; 3rd in RBI (94), RC, and WAR (5.2); tied 3rd in homers (31); and 6th in TB and EXBH. Berkman isn’t great in the field. He had a -0.7 DWAR. However, it isn’t enough to kick him out of this spot. Berkman helped keep St. Louis afloat when A-Pu was out and he came up with some big hits for them in October on the way to the championship.

The NL pitchers were easier for me to do because I had already decided on 5 of the 6 spots. The top lefty starter (Clayton Kershaw), top righty starter (Roy Halladay), top lefty middle reliever (Jonny Venters), top righty reliever (Tyler Clippard), and top righty closer (John Axford) had all separated themselves in pervious categories and have been written about extensively already.

But then there was of course the problem of the left handed closer. Like Sale for the AL, Antonio Bastardo is really a middle reliever but he takes the LH closer spot because he’s the closest thing.

Bastardo led all NL LH in saves with 8 in 9 tries (88.9%). He also had 17 holds (7th among NL LH). Bastardo blew only 1 save all year and was 6-1 in 64 games, posting a 2.64 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP with 70 K against 26 BB over 58 innings. Bastardo allowed only 4 of 32 inherited runners to score (12.5%).

Among NL lefty relievers (min. 40 IP relief), Bastardo was 1st in WHIP, AVG, and OBP; 2nd in OPSA; 3rd in K/9; 4th in SLGA; and 6th in ERA and K/BB. He had a 1.4 WAR.


The Skip Caray Memorial All-Horse Collar Team (MLB)

Catcher: Alex Avila (Detroit)

First Base: Miguel Cabrera (Detroit)

Second Base: Dustin Pedroia (Boston)

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki (Colorado)

Third Base: Adrian Beltre (Texas)

Left Field: Ryan Braun (Milwaukee)

Center Field: Matt Kemp (Los Angeles)

Right Field: Jose Bautista (Toronto)

Designated Hitter: David Ortiz (Boston)

Left-Handed Starter: Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles)

Right-Handed Starter: Justin Verlander (Detroit)

Left-Handed Middle Reliever: Jonny Venters (Atlanta)

Right-Handed Middle Reliever: Tyler Clippard (Washington)

Left-Handed Closer: Antonio Bastardo (Philadelphia)

Right-Handed Closer: Jose Valverde (Detroit)

Comments: The best part about making this team is that you only have to consider 2 players for each spot.

Avila was an easy choice for catcher, as he bested Montero in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS (+.075), homers, RC (+13.8), RC27 (+1.52), and WAR (+0.9).

Prince Fielder had 8 more homers and 15 more RBI than Miguel Cabrera, but Cabrera was on top in just about every other category: AVG (+.045), OBP (+.033), SLG (+.022), OPS (+.052), runs (+16), hits (+27), doubles (+12), BB (+1), K (-17), SB (+1), TB (+13), EXBH (+3), RC (+9.7), RC27 (+1.02), and WAR (+1.9).

Pedroia was an easy choice at 2B. He finished higher than BP in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS (+.051), HR, RBI, SB (+12), CS (-1), BB (+42; even in K’s), TB, EXBH, RC (+23.9), RC27 (+1.29), WAR (+2.7), and DWAR (+0.8).

Troy Tulowitzki over Jhonny Peralta was one of the more lopsided decisions. Tulo was better in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS (+.092), runs, hits, doubles, homers, RBI, SB, BB, K, EXBH, TB, RC (+22.0), RC27 (+1.43), WAR (+1.4), and DWAR (+0.3).

Third base was one of the tougher calls. Beltre was better than Ramirez in SLG, OPS, runs, HR, RBI, K, and EXBH, but Ramirez was ahead of Beltre in AVG, OBP, hits, doubles, triples, BB, TB, RC (+14.9), and RC27 (+.023).

In the end, I went with Beltre because of his gigantic edge in the field. Beltre had an edge of 1.6 on Ramirez in WAR but it was all due to his edge in defense. Beltre had a 1.3 DWAR while Ramirez had a -0.9 DWAR, a difference of 2.2.

Braun was miles ahead of Alex Gordon, finishing better than him in runs, hits, triples, homers (+10), RBI (+24), SB (+16), CS (-2), K (-46), AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS (+.115), TB, EXBH, RC (+16.0), RC27 (+2.01), and WAR (+1.8).

I thought deciding between Kemp and Ellsbury would be really hard but it wasn’t. Kemp bested him in homers, RBI, SB (+1), CS (-4), BB, AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS (+.058), RC, RC27 (+0.76), WAR (+2.8), and DWAR (+0.6). It’s remarkable that he didn’t win the NL MVP this season.

Bautista had a dramatic edge over Berkman in RF, finishing with better numbers than him in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS (+.097), runs, hits, doubles, homers (+12), RBI, SB (+7), CS (-1), BB (+40), TB (+45), EXBH (+13), RC (+30.3), RC27 (+1.82), WAR (+3.3), and DWAR (+1.1).

It took me a long time to decide on the top ML DH but eventually I went with David Ortiz over David Ortiz. It was really close because they had really similar numbers. Okay, I’ll stop now.

The awards for top LH starter (Clayton Kershaw), RH starter (Justin Verlander), LH MR (Jonny Venters), RH MR (Tyler Clippard), and RH closer (Jose Valverde) were all decided by previous awards and have been discussed thoroughly already.

Bastardo got the nod over Sale for left handed closer, even though they are both really middle relievers. They both had great years but Bastardo was a bit stronger. Sale and Bastardo each had 8 saves. Bastardo had 17 holds and 1 BS while Sale had 16 holds and 2 BS. Bastardo was 6-1 in 64 appearances, while Sale was 2-2 in 58 games. Sale pitched in 13 more innings, but Bastardo had better numbers in ERA, WHIP, K/9, AVG, OBP, SLG, and OPS.

Bastardo wasn’t Billy Wagner but he was the closest thing to a LH closer in the game in 2011. Well, I guess maybe Brian Fuentes was because he had the most saves amongst lefties with 12, but I wasn’t putting him on my All-Horse Collar team again this year.


The Roberto Clemente Memorial Major League Baseball Gold(ish) Glove Team

Pitcher: Mark Buehrle (Chicago White Sox)

Catcher: Matt Wieters (Baltimore)

First Base: Albert Pujols (St. Louis)

Second Base: Omar Infante (Florida)

Shortstop: Alex Gonzalez (Atlanta)

Third Base: Adrian Beltre (Texas)

Left Field: Brett Gardner (New York Yankees)

Center Field: Carlos Gomez (Milwaukee)

Right Field: Justin Upton (Arizona)

Comments: This was just my 2nd year giving out defensive awards. At this point I feel less confident in my knowledge of the best defensive players in the game than ever before and I have less faith in those who say they know who the best defensive players are than ever before.

I’ll be honest, there was no consistent formula used here. This defensive team was put together through a combination of my own eyes, various traditional and non-traditional defensive stats, reputation, and the Fielding Bible Awards. I get really frustrated with the lack of good defensive measurables that you can really trust and with the whole debate about defense. It doesn’t seem like anybody has come up with a way to measure defense that isn’t prone to spitting out silly results here and there.

And yet, people continue to act as if they do know who the best defenders are or as if they are able to prove with stats who the best defenders are. I think the Fielding Bible people have a better system than the GG voters (who, to be fair, don’t really have a system at all) and I basically value the opinion of everyone on their panel.

However, I have to admit to being incredulous and rather disappointed when I checked out their voting results and realized that Jason Heyward finished 2nd in the voting for top defensive right fielder in the majors. I only miss 2 or 3 Braves games throughout the entire season and I probably watch every pitch of 120 or so. I’ll be honest, I don’t think there were 3 times all season that I thought to myself, “Heyward made a tremendous play there.”

On the other hand, there were dozens of times where Heyward either misplayed or misread fly balls or just failed to get to a ball that I thought he could have had. Heyward made 6 errors in right which seems like a lot, especially when 5 of the 6 were fielding errors (as opposed to throwing errors), meaning they likely resulted in a lost out and a base runner reaching and not just a runner getting an extra base.

In addition, most of Heyward’s misplays didn’t result in errors because he didn’t get a glove on the ball and at times wouldn’t even make what you would call a real attempt. He has a good arm but he only had 4 outfield assists and I don’t believe runners and base coaches are afraid of Heyward’s arm (the in depth opportunity/held/advanced/kill numbers support me in this). When he has to put everything behind a throw it usually results in a highly inaccurate toss.

It’s entirely possible that Heyward is constantly making difficult plays look routine and I just don’t realize it. But I think it’s more likely that the 2nd place finish in the FBA came as a result of a combination of false assumptions (Heyward is a great athlete therefore he is a great fielder) and supposedly meaningful fielding stats that are masking Heyward’s bad plays.

Anyway, my whole point here is that it’s still hard to know who or what to pay attention to when it comes to fielding stats/awards. I think the various SABR defensive stats get us a lot closer than the counting numbers and Fielding PCT, but there is still an awful lot of head scratching.

I mean, Carlos Lee was tied for 2nd this season among all ML players in Total Zone Runs Above Average with 20 (12 in left field and 8 at 1st base). See, that’s kind of weird because Lee is big and slow and old and very inexperienced at first base. But what’s really odd is that Lee was -20 in Total Zone Runs Above Average in 2010. So either Lee went from being one of the worst defensive players to one of the best defensive players at the age of 35, or maybe these stats don’t mean that much after all.

I mentioned earlier that this all-defense team represents a combination of theories and ways of determining who the best defenders are. There’s also some rebellion here because I didn’t follow reputation or the FBA all the time and I occasionally made choices that would be panned by the FBA voters and would go against the general opinion among baseball people.

Sometimes I went with rep or with the FBA guys, but sometimes I decided to go with my eyes. If people are going to create supposedly superior systems (like those used by the FBA such as total zone runs saved and such) and come up with results that have to be wrong (like Jason Heyward being the 2nd best RF in baseball) then maybe my own eyes and just watching a lot of games isn’t as worthless for judging defense as they would have us believe.

There were other times were I decided to go with the other SABR numbers like range factor. If people are going to use range factor and zone runs as if they are worthwhile stats, then you can’t just disregard those stats when giving out awards, even if the results don’t seem to make any sense.

Buehrle gets the pitcher spot based on my own eyes and his rep over the years, but more importantly he won both the AL GG and the FBA with 9 out of 10 1st place votes (left completely off “fan” ballot).

I wanted to give Kelly Shopach the catcher’s spot, as he led MLB catchers in CS% and Total Zone Runs Saved Above Average but he only played in 86 games at catcher. Then I thought I’d give it to Montero because he was high in all the SABR numbers and was best in the NL in CS%.

However, I eventually went with Matt Wieters because he was at or near the top in all of the SABR stats, he won the AL GG, and he won the FBA for catchers with a 97 voting score when the max was 100. He got 8 1st place votes. So stats and reputation was the method for him.

Pujols got the award based on my own eyes, reputation, and stats. Despite missing time with injuries, he was 2nd among 1B in assists. He led all 1B in RF/9 and RF/G and was 4th in Total Zone Runs for 1B. Pujols narrowly won the FBA over Adrian Gonzalez.

Omar Infante got the award at 2nd base because he was at the top in all of the stats. He has a reputation as an average at best defensive second baseman but he must’ve been doing something right this season. He led all ML players in assists. He was 1st among ML 2B in TZR, 2nd in RF/G, and 4th in RF/9. He was also near the top in putouts and Fielding PCT. He finished tied for 10th in the FBA voting.

Alex Gonzalez got the SS spot based on my eyes. He had a stellar year, making at least 1 great play in almost every game of the year. He was near the top in a number of SABR stats but he wasn’t the best. He did finish 3rd in the FBA voting, receiving 1 1st place vote. He was definitely my top defensive shortstop.

Beltre won the third base spot based partially on stats but mostly on reputation. He won the FBA with a 98 out of a possible 100 score.

Gardner got the awards based on reputation and stats. Gardner led all of baseball with 35 TZR, 15 better than anyone else. He won the FBA, getting a 99 score out of a possible 100.

Gomez got the nod in CF based on stats. He was 1st among outfielders in RF/9 and tied for 1st with a perfect fielding percentage.

Justin Upton is my right fielder but I don’t have a lot of conviction behind that one. He was near the top in a lot of stats and he did win the FBA with 3 1st place votes. My only thing is he did make 13 errors which is just a lot for an outfielder. There isn’t an elite defensive RF in the game today. He’s not a bad pick for the best.

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