This seems to be the best of both worlds. Some objective data-driven input combined with the old subjective voting of peers. The main gripe was that offensive ability was leaking too much into the peer voting. This should help the guys who are valued for their glove so much that the coach is willing to allow a .230 hitter to remain in the lineup. That in and of itself should tell you all you need to know about a guys defensive value. But now we've found a way to quantify the value and take the offensive bias out of the process a little bit.
"As we looked to marry ‘The Art of Fielding with the Science of Baseball™,’ the composition of the SABR Defensive Index is exactly what we were hoping to achieve,” said Mike Thompson, senior vice president of marketing for St. Louis-based Rawlings. "Since its inception in 1957, the Rawlings Gold Glove Award has relied on the major-league managers and coaches’ invaluable insights and keen understanding of the art of fielding to reward the best defensive players in the game. The new sabermetric component in the selection process is just another example of how the iconic Award has evolved throughout history as the industry standard honoring defensive excellence at the highest level of baseball.”
from SABR.org
Details on SABR Defensive Index and new Rawlings Gold Glove Awards selection process | SABR:
Here are some more details about the new selection process for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, presented by SABR:
SABR is a respected leader in the baseball industry, with a special expertise in baseball data and analysis. As we sought out the "experts" in this field, it became clear that SABR was the ideal choice. As a non-profit, independent third party, SABR has no commercial interest in defensive measurement. This combination of objectivity and expertise was important to Rawlings.
How was the SABR Defensive Index (SDI) developed?
SABR formed the SABR Defensive Committee, led by SABR President Vince Gennaro. From its 6,000 members, SABR identified and appointed recognized experts in fielding data and analytics, some of which have put two or more decades of effort into measuring defensive performance. This group met throughout the spring and summer to evaluate the historical and current body of work on fielding measurement. The committee developed a framework and criteria to evaluate existing metrics and ultimately aggregated the leading metrics in a balanced way to create the SDI — a bottom-line measure of an individual player's defensive performance.
What fielding metrics make up the SDI?
The SDI is built from two types of defensive metrics — those that come from batted ball location-based data, and those which originate from the play-by-play records of games. We gave more weight (70%) to the batted ball location-based metrics, which evaluate the degree to which a fielder makes plays in specific zones on the diamond. The player's performance is measured in comparison to his peers. The play-by-play based metrics (30% of the SDI) are important in that they approach defensive measurement from an alternative vantage point — a more generalized approach that estimates the number of batted balls hit into a fielder's area.
Within the batted ball location-based category, we've included 3 measures — Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) from John Dewan's company, Baseball Info Solutions; Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), authored by noted sabermetrician Mitchel Lichtman; and Runs Effectively Defended (RED) from Chris Dial. The play-by-play based metrics include two measures:Defensive Regression Analysis (DRA) from Michael Humphreys and Total Zone Rating(TZ).
What are some of the defensive elements that are measured within the SDI's components?
Fielding metrics included in the SDI capture a fielder's range, his throwing arm, his sure-handedness, his ability to turn double-plays (for SS and 2B), his ability to convert bunts into outs (primarily P, C, 3B, and 1B), scoops of throws in the dirt (1B), as well as the number of "excellent" and "poor" fielding plays. In addition, for outfielders, his ability to prevent runners from taking an extra base is also rated. For catchers, blocking balls in the dirt and stolen bases/caught stealing are also included in their ratings. Finally, for pitchers, we include his ability to control the running game by holding runners on base, in addition to many of the above criteria. (Pitch framing by catchers is not currently included in the defensive metrics that comprise the SDI.)
How will you blend the SDI with the managers' and coaches' votes?
The committee has created a simple way to convert the SDI—which is expressed in the number of runs a fielder "saves" his team—into 30 "votes" for each Rawlings Gold Glove Award awarded.
What percent of the overall RGGA criteria will the SDI represent?
The 30 votes originating from the SDI will be added to the votes we typically receive from the managers and coaches. Each manager and up to six (6) coaches on the major-league staff is allowed to vote for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. NOTE: managers and coaches cannot vote for their own players. Based on the number of votes typically submitted from managers and coaches, the SDI will represent approximately 25% of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award criteria, depending on the number of votes received from the managers and coaches.
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