{"id":1817,"date":"2016-11-01T14:50:29","date_gmt":"2016-11-01T14:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.rose-hulman.edu\/rickert\/?page_id=1817"},"modified":"2016-11-01T14:57:41","modified_gmt":"2016-11-01T14:57:41","slug":"average-short-stop-leaders","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.rose-hulman.edu\/rickert\/average-short-stop-leaders\/","title":{"rendered":"Average Short Stop Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November-December, 1997, there was a discussion on SABR-L<\/span><\/u><\/a> about the Hall-of-Fame cases for Phil Rizzuto and Pee-Wee Reese. One of the issues raised was how Rizzuto compared to the “average” shortstop<\/span><\/u><\/a>. One way to look at this is to take the average totals of the regular shortstops for each team in the league and then total these over a player’s career. After compiling these numbers I made a few “leaders” lists. Here they are <\/a><\/p>\n

Most years as a team’s regular shortstop<\/h4>\n

18 Luis Aparicio
\n17 Bill Dahlen, Ozzie Smith
\n16 Dave Concepcion
\n15 Luke Appling, Larry Bowa, Bert Campaneris, Tom Corcoran, Jack Glasscock, Rabbit Maranville, Cal Ripken, Germany Smith, Alan Trammell
\n14 Dave Bancroft, Herman Long, Roger Peckinpaugh, Pee Wee Reese, Gary Templeton, Honus Wagner, Bobby Wallace
\n13 Mark Belanger, Donie Bush, Greg Gagne, Alfredo Griffin, Dick Groat, Don Kessinger, Roy McMillan, Chris Speier, Joe Tinker
\n12 Dick Bartell, Joe Cronin, Tim Foli, Ozzie Guillen, Billy Jurges, Ed McKeon, Bill Russell
\n11 Ed Brinkman, Leo Cardenas, Frank Crosetti, Mickey Doolen, Leo Durocher, Bud Harrelson, Marty Marion, George McBride, Fred Patek, Phil Rizzuto, Arky Vaughan, Robin Yount
\n10 Jay Bell, Lou Boudreau, Monte Cross, Al Dark, George Davis, Shawon Dunston, Tony Fernandez, Art Fletcher, Art Irwin, Barry Larkin, Eddie Miller, Spike Owen, Dick Schofield Jr., Everett Scott, Maury Wills
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Top Peak OWL<\/h4>\n

One of the things that I looked at was the player’s “Runs Created per Game” (RC\/G) computed using the `simple’ version of the Bill James formula; RC\/G = (H+BB)*TB\/(AB+BB)*25.5\/(H-AB)<\/span>. I then used Bill James’ “Pythagorean” formula to compute an “Offensive Won-Lost percentage” (OWL) relative to the league-average shortstop. (OWL= (RC\/G)^2 \/ [(RC\/G)^2 +(avg RC\/G)^2]<\/span>) For this list, I computed the five-year averages for the league RC\/G and the player’s RC\/G. I used only years in which the player was the team’s regular shortstop. I then computed the OWL and listed the highest. Since all of the highest OWL’s belong to Honus Wagner, I took only the player’s best five-year OWL. The list shows all players with a “peak” 5yr.-OWL of at least .650.<\/p>\n

NOPS is “normalized On-base Plus Slugging average” over the five year period. RF is the difference between the player’s “Range Factor” ( (putouts + assists)\/games) relative to the league average. FA is the player’s Fielding Average relative to the league. DP is the player’s Double Plays per game relative to the league.<\/p>\n

Years      Player           OWL NOPS   RF    FA   DP\r\n1904-08    Honus Wagner    .850  145  +.21 +.003 +.006\r\n1934-38    Arky Vaughan    .784  132  +.01 +.002 -.042\r\n1871-75    George Wright   .756  127   NA   NA    NA\r\n1955-59    Ernie Banks     .736  130  -.01 +.005 +.009\r\n1980-84    Robin Yount     .724  125  +.58 +.004 +.075\r\n1988-92    Barry Larkin    .717  122  +.45 +.004 -.003\r\n1921-25    Joe Sewell      .709  121  +.28 -.000 +.005\r\n1894-98    Hugh Jennings   .709  119  +.66 +.019 +.061\r\n1929-33    Joe Cronin      .703  121  +.29 +.008 +.033\r\n1964,66-70 Denis Menke     .700  122  -.32 -.006 -.062\r\n1914-5,7-9 Ray Chapman     .697  120  +.21 -.003 -.038\r\n1897-1901  George Davis    .696  118  +.52 +.013 +.078\r\n1982-86    Cal Ripken      .695  122  +.50 +.005 +.092\r\n1984-88    Alan Trammell   .694  120  +.00 +.006 +.002\r\n1944-48    Lou Boudreau    .692  118  +.26 +.018 +.117\r\n1882-86    Jack Glasscock  .685  117  +.38 +.031 +.041\r\n1966-70    Rico Petrocelli .676  120  +.02 +.005 +.014\r\n1926-30    Travis Jackson  .673  118  +.29 +.007 +.044\r\n1942-46    Vern Stephens   .672  119  -.19 -.003 -.124\r\n1978-82    Roy Smalley Jr. .668  118  +.39 +.003 +.122\r\n1977-81    Gary Templeton  .662  116  +.59 -.009 +.116\r\n1933-37    Luke Appling    .660  114  +.35 -.006 +.057\r\n1880-1,3-5 Tom Burns       .658  116  -.21 -.017 -.023\r\n1971-2,4-6 Toby Harrah     .657  116  +.05 -.009 +.012\r\n1892-86    Bill Dahlen     .656  116  +.57 -.000 +.079\r\n1888-92    Ed McKean       .656  115  -.27 -.003 -.057\r\n1936-9,41  Cecil Travis    .653  113  -.10 +.003 +.085\r\n1942,46-49 Pee Wee Reese   .652  115  +.15 +.003 +.063\r\n1921-3,5-6 Dave Bancroft   .651  114  +.48 +.001 +.028\r\n<\/pre>\n
All eligible players with a peak OWL above .690 are in the Hall of Fame except for Denis Menke, who was a regular shortstop for only five seasons (and appears to have been a poor fielder) and Ray Chapman. The not-yet-eligible players are Robin Yount, Barry Larkin, Cal Ripken and Alan Trammell. <\/a><\/p>\n
Top Peak RF<\/h4>\n
One of the things that I looked at was the player’s “Range Factor” relative to the league. The player’s RF was computed by adding the player’s putouts and assists and then dividing by the number of games played at SS. The same was done for the league. I used the totals for five years and then subtracted the league average from the player’s RF and listed the highest. Since most of the highest relative RF’s belong to Ozzie Smith, I took only the player’s best five-year RF difference. The list below shows all players with a five year RF difference of +.40 or more.<\/p>\n
FA is the player’s Fielding Average relative to the league. DP is the player’s Double Plays per game relative to the league.
\nOWL is the player’s “Offensive Won-Lost percentage” relative to the league average shortstop. NOPS is “normalized On-base Plus Slugging average” over the five year period.<\/p>\n
Years      Player             RF     FA    DP   NOPS  OWL\r\n1980-84    Ozzie Smith       +.91  +.012 +.133   98  .473\r\n1891-2,4-6 Hugh Jennings     +.74  +.020 +.072  109  .617\r\n1978-82    Robin Yount       +.70  +.001 +.060  121  .693\r\n1977-81    Rick Burleson     +.69  +.008 +.179  107  .577\r\n1884-88    Germany Smith     +.66  +.006 -.030  102  .517\r\n1893-97    Bill Dahlen       +.65  +.000 +.108  115  .645\r\n1916-20    Dave Bancroft     +.62  +.002 +.065  102  .523\r\n1914-17,19 Rabbit Maranville +.59  +.008 +.098  101  .504\r\n1977-81    Gary Templeton    +.58  -.009 +.116  116  .662\r\n1976-80    Roy Smalley Jr.   +.58  +.001 +.185  114  .628\r\n1934-38    Dick Bartell      +.56  +.004 +.069  106  .566\r\n1911-15    Donie Bush        +.53  -.002 -.008  106  .548\r\n1897-1901  George Davis      +.52  +.013 +.078  118  .696\r\n1884-88    Jack Glasscock    +.51  +.019 +.044  109  .615\r\n1987-91    Ozzie Guillen     +.51  +.001 +.055   92  .423\r\n1991-95    Jay Bell          +.51  +.007 +.061  109  .588\r\n1982-86    Cal Ripken        +.50  +.005 +.092  122  .695\r\n1889-93    Herman Long       +.49  -.010 +.070  108  .589\r\n1971-75    Fred Patek        +.47  -.001 +.154  101  .501\r\n1988-92    Barry Larkin      +.45  +.004 -.003  122  .717\r\n1985-89    Shawon Dunston    +.45  -.001 +.032  103  .524\r\n1932-36    Luke Appling      +.44  -.005 +.062  112  .639\r\n1942-46    Eddie Miller      +.43  +.018 +.092   93  .409\r\n1958-62    Luis Aparicio     +.42  +.010 +.015   96  .462\r\n1924-28    Joe Sewell        +.41  +.016 +.038  116  .674\r\n<\/pre>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
Top single season OWL(unadjusted)<\/h4>\n
One of the things that I looked at was the player’s “Runs Created per Game” (RC\/G) computed using the `simple’ version of the Bill James formula; RC\/G = (H+BB)*TB\/(AB+BB)*25.5\/(H-AB)<\/span>. I then used Bill James’ “Pythagorean” formula to compute an “Offensive Won-Lost percentage” (OWL) relative to the league-average shortstop. (OWL= (RC\/G)^2 \/ [(RC\/G)^2 +(avg RC\/G)^2]<\/span>) These numbers are not park adjusted and include all OWL above .800.<\/p>\n
Year     Player         OWL NOPS   RF    FA     DP\r\n1871  George Wright    .888  153   NA     NA    NA\r\n1907  Honus Wagner     .877  153  +.18  +.001 -.101\r\n1935  Arky Vaughan     .876  150  -.31  +.002 -.148\r\n1906  Honus Wagner     .851  144  +.44  +.005 +.070\r\n1890  Irv Ray          .849  141 -1.09  +.006 -.116\r\n1986  Hubie Brooks     .847  147  -.13  -.009 -.073\r\n1908  Honus Wagner     .844  144  +.09  +.003 +.012\r\n1904  Honus Wagner     .843  143  -.11  +.005 +.027\r\n1905  Honus Wagner     .833  139  +.39  +.001 +.028\r\n1909  Honus Wagner     .828  140  +.41  +.011 +.062\r\n1996  Alex Rodriguez   .825  140  -.05  +.005 -.031\r\n1878  Bob Ferguson     .819  136  +.93  -.001 +.052\r\n1903  Honus Wagner     .818  137  +.73  +.015 +.110\r\n1969  Rico Petrocelli  .817  144  +.02  +.012 +.098\r\n1991  Cal Ripken       .811  140  +.58  +.013 +.098\r\n1982  Robin Yount      .810  139  +.32  -.000 +.038\r\n1880  Mike Moynahan    .802  134  -.66  -.018 +.003\r\n1923  Joe Sewell       .801  134  +.27  -.018 +.033\r\n<\/pre>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
Top Peak RF<\/h4>\n
One of the things that I looked at was the player’s “Range Factor” relative to the league. The player’s RF was computed by adding the player’s putouts and assists and then dividing by the number of games played at SS. The same was done for the league. I then subtracted the league average from the player’s RF and listed the highest. All such differences greater than .90 are listed<\/p>\n
Year     Player          RF     FA    DP  NOPS  OWL\r\n1876 Davy Force        +1.21  +.031 -.011   79 .258\r\n1980 Garry Templeton   +1.21  -.011 +.189  121 .715\r\n1980 Ozzie Smith       +1.10  +.005 +.165   93 .413\r\n1981 Robin Yount       +1.09  +.016 +.259  114 .637\r\n1877 John Peters       +1.08  +.014 +.148  108 .594\r\n1889 Herman Long       +1.05  -.011 +.044  113 .643\r\n1982 Ozzie Smith       +1.03  +.016 +.162  100 .492\r\n1897 Bill Dahlen       +1.03  +.016 +.249  115 .633\r\n1984 Cal Ripken        +1.01  +.007 +.157  130 .754\r\n1895 Hugh Jennings     +1.00  +.032 +.110  127 .775\r\n1978 Robin Yount       +1.00  -.008 +.028  117 .665\r\n1885 Germany Smith      +.97  +.002 -.075  105 .553\r\n1899 George Davis       +.96  +.025 +.124  116 .680\r\n1984 Ozzie Smith        +.94  +.018 +.224  112 .618\r\n1884 Germany Smith      +.94  +.051 -.075  120 .686\r\n1944 Ray Hamrich        +.93  -.009 +.177   85 .322\r\n1894 Bill Dahlen        +.93  -.006 +.184  125 .737\r\n1878 Bob Ferguson       +.93  -.001 +.052  136 .819\r\n1880 Art Irwin          +.93  +.015 +.073  109 .587\r\n1981 Ozzie Smith        +.93  +.014 +.049   88 .360\r\n1914 Rabbit Maranville  +.92  +.008 +.215   95 .489\r\n1896 Hugh Jennings      +.92  +.018 +.103  117 .715\r\n1887 Jack Glasscock     +.92  +.010 +.140   93 .433\r\n1986 Shawon Dunston     +.92  -.005 +.109  105 .529\r\n1981 Rick Burleson      +.91  +.010 +.173  114 .653\r\n<\/pre>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n
The tallest regular shortstops<\/h4>\n
6’4″ Cal Ripken
\n6’3″ Bill Almon, Ron Hansen, Jeff Huson, Derek Jeter, Tony Kubek, Andre Rodgers, Alex Rodriguez, Roy Smalley Sr., Virgil Stallcup
\n6’2.5″ Jerry Kindall
\n<\/a><\/p>\n
The shortest regular shortstops<\/h4>\n
5’3″ Dickey Pearce
\n5’4″ Davy Force, Billy Gilbert
\n5’5″ Sparky Adams, Bill Keister, Rabbit Maranville, Tom McMillan, Fred Patek, Jackie Taverner
\n5’5.5″ Bill McClellan
\n<\/a><\/p>\n
The heaviest regular shortstops<\/h4>\n
The weights of these players are taken (mostly) from Total Baseball<\/span><\/u><\/a> which gives a “career weight” for most of the players listed in the TB.
\n215 lbs. Cal Ripken
\n200 lbs. Hubie Brooks, Ron Hansen, Jim Peoples, Andre Rodgers, Honus Wagner
\n198 lbs. Tim Bogar
\n195 lbs. Phil Lewis
\n191 lbs. Tony Kubek, Tom Tresh
\n<\/a><\/p>\n
The lightest regular shortstops<\/h4>\n
The weights of these players are taken (mostly) from Total Baseball<\/span><\/u><\/a> which gives a “career weight” for most of the players listed in the TB.
\n129 lbs. Zeb Terry
\n130 lbs. Davy Force, Tom McMillan, Jim Snyder
\n138 lbs. Joe Bean, Mike McGeary, Jackie Tavener
\n140 lbs. Donie Bush, Ike Davis, John Radcliffe
\n143 lbs. Harvey McClellan
\n144 lbs. Houston Jimenez, Henry Kessler
\nIf any one can explain to me why there are three shortstops at 138 pounds (but none at 139,137,136,135,…) I’d love to hear from<\/span><\/u><\/a> them.<\/p>\n
Goto<\/p>\n