ATG9 - Unfair Fielding Ratings

Some of SOM's legacy fielding ratings are wildly at odds with modern analytics. I would suggest that prior to ATG9, the community crowdsource a list of recommended revisions. This would make some cards - especially outfielders with 4 range - much more usable. There are also instances where SOM's fielding ratings have been overly generous. Below are some obvious examples (where multiple online resources agree on quality of fielding).

1940 Hank Greenberg – LF 4(+5)e15

-2 Total Zone (Fangraphs)
-.8 Defensive War (B-R.com)

Was asked to move from 1B to LF, so that Rudy York could move from catcher to 1B. Although Greenberg had never played outfield in the majors, stats indicate Greenberg was a competent leftfielder with about average range and 14 assists. Should be upgraded to LF 3(+1)e15

1989 Lonnie Smith - LF 4(+3)e3

23 Total Zone (Fangraphs)
2.1 Defensive WAR (B-R.com)
6.5 FRAA (Baseballprospectus)

Lonnie Smith had a reputation as kind of a clutz, but his fielding numbers in 1989 were off the charts (that 23 Total Zone rating is in Willie Mays territory). Should be: LF 2 or 3(+3)e3.

1973 Darrell Evans - 3B 3e25

15 Total Zone (Fangraphs)
2.2 Defensive War (B-R.com)
23.2 FRAA (Baseballprospectus)

1974 Darrell Evans - 3B 3e27

20 Total Zone (Fangraphs)
2.7 Defensive War (B-R.com)
20.5 FRAA (Baseballprospectus)

Darrell Evans is one of baseball history’s chronically underrated players, with advanced stats way better than many Hall-of-Famers. His fielding stats from ’73 & ’74 are on par with Mike Schmidt in his prime. Both cards are loaded with power & walks – will be great combined with gold glove fielding. Should be upgraded to 1e25 and 1e27

1964 Dick Allen – 3b 4e39

-2 Total Zone (Fangraphs)
.3 Defensive War (B-R.com)
9.6 FRAA (Baseballprospectus)

Allen’s fielding got worse and worse as his career progressed. However, in spite of a horrendous 39 errors, advanced stats indicate that as a 22 year old, he had good range at 3B. Should be upgraded to 2e39 or at the very least, 3e39.

1973 Bobby Grich – 2B 2e5

29 Total Zone (Fangraphs)
4.0 Defensive War (B-R.com)
13.5 FRAA (Baseballprospectus)

One of the greatest fielding seasons ever for a second baseman. This card should be added to the set with 1e5 fielding rating.

Derek Jeter – all seasons

Wow - painful to post this on the day he gets elected to the Hall of Fame. Jeter was a great offensive player, but all advanced metrics have his fielding deep in negative numbers. All three Jeter cards have 1 range, however, should be downgraded to 2 range (and even that's probably generous).

Only two of Jeter's cards have 1 ratings. His cheapest card is a 2e10.

thanks for the info.i'm surprised by dimaggio's fielding numbers. all you read about is how great he was in CF?

Yeah, Joe Dimag looks like he might be a 2 rather than 1 range, although 37, 39, and 41 are all his better rated fielding years. He's not a truly egregious example.

Here's another one...

1953 Eddie Mathews - 3b 3e31

'53 | ' 57 | '59 | '61
3.0 | 3.0 | - 2.0 | -1.0 Total Zone (Fangraphs)
0.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 Defensive War (B-R.com)
-1.1 | -9.9 | -3.0 | -14.8 FRAA (Baseballprospectus)

...so all three system agree. 1953 was the best defensive performance in these 4 seasons. The 1953 Mathews card should be rated 3b 2e31 (and maybe even 1e31)

While I don't disagree with any of your conclusions, I think unfortunately Strat-O-Matic rarely if ever changes old cards. I hope for your sake and the sake of the game I am wrong. - Titanius Anglesmith Fancy Man of Cornwood.

While I don't disagree with any of your conclusions, I think unfortunately Strat-O-Matic rarely if ever changes old cards. I hope for your sake and the sake of the game I am wrong. - Titanius Anglesmith Fancy Man of Cornwood.

Good point. I would not expect Strat-O-Matic to make changes to the core product, ratings can be modified specifically for the online game. For the online game, this has already been done in many instances, so not really suggesting anything radical.