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Value is a measure we place on things, in terms of how much they are worth to us. It can be defined as:
-The regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.
–The material or monetary worth of something.
–The worth of something compared to the price paid or asked for it.
What happens in Japan when there are two outs and a runner on second? In close games, managers often bring the outfield in to prevent the runner from second scoring on a single into the outfield.
This drives me nuts because now and then routine flies, that should be the final out, drive in a run, and set up a potential big inning.
What are the real costs and benefits of pulling the outfield in? For one, teams appear to be drastically reducing their chances of recording the third.
The ideal data way to understand this would be through something like StatCast that defines outfielders’ positioning and the ball’s speed and trajectory. But there is a substitute. NPB’s website describes where hits land: in front of or behind a fielder or to either side.
While we can’t identify when the outfield is being played in, we can see the effect this has by comparing ALL these 2,559 plate appearances in 2019 to those PAs to times when the defensive team is focused exclusively on recording an out: the 38,406 times when no one was on base.
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