Betts’ defense several notches above
Mookie Betts’ offensive production might be the most attention-grabbing aspect of his MVP-caliber season, but his performance with the glove has arguably been even more valuable to his team.
There are several advanced metrics that attempt to quantify defensive performance, but the two most common ones, Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), run on similar principles. Both statistics determine the location and speed of each batted ball and credit fielders for plays made on those balls. The more difficult the play, the more credit the player receives. There are several adjustments made to these figures, but the end result is a number that shows how many runs above or below average a fielder is at his position.
Baseball-Reference.com, which uses DRS in its Wins Above Replacement (WAR) calculation, considers Betts to be the top defensive player in baseball relative to his position, worth 29 more runs than the average right fielder. (Statistics calculated through the beginning of the week.) Remarkably, that figure bests the 25 runs above average that Baseball-Reference considers Betts to have provided with his bat. Given that 10 runs are roughly equivalent to a win in the WAR metric, Betts has provided close to three wins of value with his glove alone.
Betts’ contributions have been a large reason why the Boston Red Sox have been comfortably above average in fielding as a team, with DRS valuing them at 37 runs above average. The division-rival Toronto Blue Jays are similarly valuable with the glove, having accumulated 38 DRS, led by the stellar defense of center fielder Kevin Pillar.
Those teams have a large defensive edge over their closest American League East rivals, the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees. The Orioles are ranked as the fourth-worst defensive team in the AL by DRS and fifthworst by UZR. Averaging their DRS and UZR sees them as worth 27 runs below average. The chief culprit is their outfield, which ranks as the worst in the majors by both measures. Not only does UZR consider Baltimore’s outfield to have the worst range in the majors (26 runs below average), but DRS calculates that it has had the fourth-least-valuable arms in the major leagues, at 12 runs below average.
The saving grace for Baltimore’s defense is its infield. Manny Machado and J.J. Hardy are an elite combination at third base and shortstop, respectively. Much of their value comes from their ability to turn double plays. Information provided by FanGraphs.com shows that Orioles infielders have provided eight DRS through this aspect of the game, the best figure in the majors.
The worst team at turning the double play is the Yankees, at seven runs below average. The combination of second baseman Starlin Castro and shortstop Didi Gregorius has largely been the reason behind the combined -21 DRS accrued, bringing down an otherwise solid defensive Yankees team that ranks ninth in overall DRS. This poor middle-infield defense is one reason the Yankees have been unable to keep pace in the division.
In total, the Red Sox and Blue Jays have earned over two wins more than the Yankees through defense alone and over seven wins more than the Orioles. In such a tight pennant race, those are significant gains.
Both DRS and UZR have the Chicago Cubs as the best defensive team in the major leagues. An average of their DRS and UZR values them at 81 runs above average. No other team has a DRS/UZR average of more than 50. By DRS, they have the best defensive shortstop (primarily Addison Russell), center fielder (primarily Dexter Fowler) and right fielder (primarily Jason Heyward) in the National League, while the defensive contributions from their pitchers, catchers, first basemen and second basemen rank in the top five in the majors. This across-the-board defensive talent has contributed to the Cubs’ .254 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) allowed, which would be the lowest figure in the NL since 1975.
The San Francisco Giants’ potential involvement in October baseball is firmly in the balance, and they have their defense to thank. DRS accounts for catcher framing and game-calling in addition to the usual stolen-base and passed-ball considerations, which means Buster Posey is ranked highly by the metric. Posey and backup catcher Trevor Brown have combined for a 16 DRS, second best in the majors.
Posey helps his value with the little things, too. He has converted each of the 15 bunt attempts he has fielded into outs, a skill that has provided an extra four runs above average, according to Mark Simon of ESPN. No other player in the majors has added more than two such runs of value from fielding bunt attempts.
The St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets are seen as middling teams by DRS, but the Cardinals are valued at 31 runs below average by UZR. Some of this figure might be explained by the pitch-calling and framing value captured by DRS but not by UZR — even at 34, Yadier Molina rates as above average by these measures.
The Giants’ defensive advantage over their wild-card competitors has kept them in the postseason mix despite the Mets’ eminence in pitching and the Cardinals’ superior hitting. A team’s defensive value is the summation of many individual plays over the course of a season and can mean the difference between October baseball and elimination from contention.
At this stage of the year, with each game carrying extra importance, those individual plays come into sharper focus and the outcome of a team’s season can depend on whether a line drive is turned into an out or whether a key double play can be made.
Best teams by Defensive Runs Saved, 2016: Best teams by Ultimate Zone Rating, 2016: High Heat Stats is an affiliate of USA TODAY Sports digital media properties.