re: The ATL Thread 6/16: Giants @ Barves

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Honestly, does WAR, UZR, DRS, AIDS, HIV, STDS, and every other acronym used now a days REALLY play that much of a role in player performance?

What happened to the good ol days when you knew how good a player was based on batting average, and on base percentage?

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As TH said, it simply gives you a more accurate look at what the player has done, and what they might do in the future. Batting average and OBP don't even tell you everything about how a hitter has performed. Whenever I see someone talk about the good old days I have to laugh though, because managers like Branch Rickey back in the 50s were developing their own advanced stats, many of them using the exact same stats SABR guys are using now. The fact that many of these stats didn't catch on in baseball until the late 80s and 90s just shows you how slow baseball is to adapt.

Anyway, WAR (wins above replacement) is just the number of wins a player would be worth over the average player, and includes a combination of offensive and defensive WAR. The defensive WAR part typically uses ultimate zone rating, which I'm not a huge fan of, though it can be decent guide. I prefer defensive runs saved, which I think gives a better picture of how good a player is defensively.

The defensive stats are hardly perfect, but they definitely give you a better idea of the overall value of a player. For example, anyone who has watched Chris Johnson play 3B for the Braves this year should be able to observe by now that he's terrible defensively, but all of us that look at defensive stats knew he was one of the worst 3B in baseball defensively already. Watching his terrible range and ability there for us just kinda confirms it.