Thu Nov 21, 2013 5:36 pm
The preliminary results of this league are now in, and the conclusion is that excellent fielding beats excellent pitching which beats excellent hitting. Through Game 93, the East Division teams have 202 wins, compared to 188 for the Central and 168 for the West. Run differentials correspond to wins: 111, 4 and -115.
The top run scoring teams are all in the West. The East teams averaged a put out on a fielder (X) about 83% of the time, the Central 72 to 75% (depending on whether the fielder was playing his primary position or not), and the West fielders got a put out 68% of the time on a fielder (x). In addition, the East teams benefited from an average of 31 more GIDP as compared to the Central or the West. There was no difference in outfielder assists or double plays.
What it comes down to is this: in each game, the East teams get 1.0 more out on a fielder (X), and 0.33 more GIDP, for a total of 1.33 more outs per game.