2nd Basemen Results and Era-adjusted Formulas for Fielding Linear Weights

First, I will give you the formulas so you know how I arrived at the numbers I did.  I believe my method for second basemen works for all eras, and I hope by the end of this you will see things my way on it too. 

1900-1944 Formulas

2^nd Base:

Putouts plus Assists plus Double Plays (divided by 3),       divided by Errors (divided by 1.5), divided by 8

Range Factor above 5.75 (+10 runs)

Range Factor above 5.25 (+5 runs)

Range Factor in 5.25-5.15 (0 runs)

Range Factor in 5.15-4.70 (-5 runs)

Range Factor in 4.69-4.00 (-10 runs)

 

1945-1966

Putouts plus Assists plus DP (divided by three) divided by errors (divided by 1.3), divided by 8

Range Factor above 5.50 (+10 runs)

Range Factor above 5.25 (+5 runs)

Range Factor in 5.24-5.00 (-5 runs)

Range Factor in 5.00-4.50 (-10 runs)

 

1967-1997

Putouts plus Assists plus DP (divided by 3) divided by errors, divided by 8

Range Factor above 5.50 (15+ runs)

Range Factor in 5.49-5.30 (10+ runs)

Range Factor in 5.30-4.80 (3+ runs)

Range Factor in 4.79-4.50 (-2 runs)

Range Factor in 4.49-4.20 (-7 runs)

 

 

 

 

1998-2014

Putouts plus Assists plus DP (divided by 3) divided by errors, divided by 8

Range Factor above 5.50 (25+ runs)

Range Factor above 5.00 (10+ runs)

Range Factor in 5.00-4.60 (3+ runs)

Range Factor in 4.59-4.00 (-5 runs)

Range Factor below 4 (-15 runs)

I realize these are not 100% perfect, one may argue I placed to much value on the statistic of Range Factor.  I see what you are pointing at but I think the entire method, 90% of the time sorts good fielders from bad fielders and vice versa.

 

The results are from the years 1916, 1945, 1967, 1998, the 2nd basemen are chosen from the NL and AL, one league on year, then to the next.  So, now enjoy the results.  Remember to use this post   http://mlbrumblings.blogspot.com/2014/04/2nd-base-era-fielding-stats.html   to look at all the below players stats like putouts, assists, range factor. 

 

Name	Fielding Linear Weights	Fielding Runs
Nap Lajoie	14	27
Eddie Collins	10	-7
Ralph Young	9	-6
Joe Gedeon	0	-13
Del Pratt	17	20
Ray Morgan	-5	-11
George Cuftsaw	6	6
Bert Niehoff	4	1

The other night, if you happen to be one of my 40 followers on Twitter (@CastroRizzo) I talked on the subject of Nap Lajoie and his fielding stats.  By Fielding Runs, Nap actually rivals Bill Mazeroski as the best fielding player of all time.  This is in part because of his outstanding Range Factor, even in those times it was exceptionally high.  Bill James in his massive Win Shares book lays out an argument like this.  "In 1916, at least, Nap was that fielder that made plays.  He was surrounded by minor league veterans and rookies who would never play in the Majors again.  Every team has somebody that makes the plays, because all teams must get 27 outs to complete a game.  Nap was that 41 year old guy that did on a team that went 37-116."  Anyway, moving off the topic of Nap, Del Pratt was an outstanding fielder, getting tons of putouts and assists.  He had the highest range factor of this bunch at 5.88.  Only Nap comes close with 5.51 mark. 

 

 

Name	Fielding Linear Weights	Fielding Runs
Don Johnson	11	15
Emil Verban	2	-21
Eddie Stanky	14	9
Pete Coscarart	3	21
George Hausmann	15	2
Whitey Wietelmann	-5	-5
Woody Williams	0	-8
Tony Daniels	-2	4

 

Not much to say about this group, except Emil Verban, I don't understand the hate on him from Fielding Runs.  My system says he was slightly above average at 2+.  He had the 4th highest Range Factor, turned a lot of double plays, and made few errors compared to the other fielders in this bunch.

 

Name	Fielding Linear Weights	Fielding Runs
Julian Javier	7	-18
Tito Fuentes	-1	17
Glenn Beckert	7	-2
Tommy Helms	2	-20
Cookie Rojas	-1	-1
Bill Mazeroski	22	21
Woody Woodward	11	10
Ron Hunt	3	-12
Joe Morgan	9	1
Jerry Buchek	-1	-3

 

Bill Mazeroski is unsurprisingly seen as the best fielder in 1967 2nd basemen.  My system compares very closely to Fielding Runs on him.  Julian Javier is rated way lower then he should be.  I don't understand this one at all.  High range factor, errors higher then most guys but still.  Julian is unfairly treated which is hard coming out of my mouth, I'm a Cubs fan, and he was a Cardinals player. 

 

Name	Fielding Linear Weights	Fielding Runs
Roberto Alomar	11	21
Miguel Cairo	9	17
Joey Cora	-11	-35
Ray Durham	0	1
Damion Easley	19	26
Chuck Knoblauch	2	1
Mark McLemore	8	-5
Jose Offerman	8	6
Todd Walker	1	-20
Scott Spiezo	0	-3

Joey Cora, I must say is a dreadful fielder.  In my system it's just plain hard to get below -10 runs, which I most likely will eventually fix but if anybody deserves it, it's him.  3.66 Range Factor is terrible.  Damion Easley was pretty good, one of the few things the systems agree on. 


Ok, so that's something I'm going to do for the other seven positions I'm going to do.  It should be done faster now that I know more what I'm doing.  Thanks for reading!