These are measures of what happens when the ball goes to the different outfield positions in NPB. How does each team fare in terms of limiting opposing scoring opportunities by throwing out or holding runners?
It’s the part of outfield defense that is not at all about range, but about what happens after outfielders get to the ball. On occasion, this is going to involve plays in the infield that the outfielder, and it will include fumbles and misplays in the outfield.
Who’s the best?
To kill the suspense, the measures indicate a few positions as being consistently strong or weak in NPB combined from 2017 to 2018. Again, these scores have nothing to do with range, and the frequency of extra-base hits, so a fast player who gets good jumps and has good hands, may score really poorly, while a player who gets to few balls but is reliable once he has the ball could rate very highly.
The strongest — relative to their league and position
- Hiroshima Carp RF — Seiya Suzuki
- Nippon Ham Fighters RF — mostly Taishi Ota and Go Matsumoto
- SoftBank Hawks CF — Yuki Yanagita
- Yomiuri Giants LF — mostly Alex Guerrero and Yoshiyuki Kamei
- Chunichi Dragons LF — mostly Zoilo Almonte and Alex Guerrero
- SoftBank Hawks RF — Seiji Uebayashi
The weakest — relative to their league and position
- Yakult Swallows LF — Wladimir Balentien
- Hanshin Tigers RF — Yoshio Itoi and Kosuke Fukudome
- Orix Buffaloes RF — cast of 1,000s but mostly Stefen Romero and Masataka Yoshida.
- Yakult Swallows RF — Yuhei Takai
- Rakuten Eagles RF — Carlos Peguero
How it’s measured
Each play and situation — for example a single to right with runners on the corners with one out — has been tagged with the run expectancy after the play is resolved through runners taking extra bases or being thrown out or balls being dropped or throws going wide.
It’s mostly about the ability of outfielders to get off accurate throws quickly, but it is a team approach and so it’s not quite appropriate to call it an “arm rating.”
Unfortunately, no measure is made of the speed of the runners on base or how deep balls are hit or whether they are fly ball singles or ground ball singles into the outfield. Each team is graded for every type of play and situation and compared to the league average.
For example, with no outs and no one on, a single to right in which the runner stops at first changes the batting team’s run expectancy in the inning to .833. In 2018, every play of this type ended that way. But in 2017, three runners were thrown out trying to stretch a single to a double, while two advanced to second on misplays. Those latter two plays increased the opposing run expectancy for the inning to 1.101.
In 2017, the Rakuten Eagles right fielders fielded 52 singles with no outs and the bases empty. One play was messed up, and their right fielders were charged (just for those 52 plays) with increasing opposing run scoring chances more than the league average by 0.42 runs over the course of the season. Each team’s total for a position is the number of runs increased above average for the course of the season. A negative number is good.
The Hiroshima Carp had the other no-out, bases-empty miscue on a single to right, but were only charged with giving away 0.32 runs because the average run expectancy on those plays was slightly higher than in the PL. 0.832 to 0.830.
The tables
In the tables, separated by each league and position, with the player who had each team’s most innings at the position as well as his assist total for the season. They are sorted by season totals below the league average indicating how many runs the team saved in these situations that seasons.
CL teams left field defense and base runners, 2017 - 2018Year | League | Team | Name R | Innings | Assists | Total rel to league | Team Sum |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | CL | Dragons | Zoilo Almonte | 974.33 | 5 | -4.39 | -5.88 |
2017 | CL | BayStars | Yoshitomo Tsutsugo | 1132.33 | 6 | -4.06 | -1.98 |
2017 | CL | Giants | Yoshiyuki Kamei | 460.67 | 2 | -3.59 | -6.63 |
2018 | CL | Giants | Alex Guerrero | 620 | 2 | -3.04 | -6.63 |
2017 | CL | Dragons | Alex Guerrero | 700 | 7 | -1.49 | -5.88 |
2018 | CL | Carp | Takayoshi Noma | 636.33 | 1 | -1.33 | +1.33 |
2017 | CL | Tigers | Kosuke Fukudome | 439.67 | 0 | +0.85 | +2.74 |
2018 | CL | Tigers | Kosuke Fukudome | 883.33 | 6 | +1.89 | +2.74 |
2018 | CL | BayStars | Yoshitomo Tsutsugo | 1105 | 5 | +2.08 | -1.98 |
2017 | CL | Carp | Ryuhei Matsuyama | 566.67 | 3 | +2.66 | +1.33 |
2018 | CL | Swallows | Wladimir Balentien | 1022 | 3 | +4.78 | +10.4 |
2017 | CL | Swallows | Wladimir Balentien | 993.33 | 6 | +5.62 | +10.4 |
Year | League | Team | Name R | Innings | Assists | Total rel to league | Team Sum |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | PL | Lions | Yuji Kaneko | 587.33 | 3 | -4.01 | -1.85 |
2017 | PL | Eagles | Takero Okajima | 571 | 3 | -3.63 | -1.42 |
2017 | PL | Fighters | Taishi Ota | 705.67 | 3 | -3.15 | -2.08 |
2018 | PL | Marines | Katsuya Kakunaka | 488 | 6 | -0.27 | +1.56 |
2018 | PL | Hawks | Akira Nakamura | 774.67 | 2 | -0.13 | +1.22 |
2018 | PL | Fighters | Kensuke Kondo | 759.33 | 2 | +1.07 | -2.08 |
2018 | PL | Buffaloes | Masataka Yoshida | 777 | 1 | +1.11 | +2.54 |
2017 | PL | Hawks | Akira Nakamura | 1125.67 | 6 | +1.35 | +1.22 |
2017 | PL | Buffaloes | Takahiro Okada | 939 | 3 | +1.43 | +2.54 |
2017 | PL | Marines | Katsuya Kakunaka | 673.33 | 5 | +1.83 | +1.56 |
2017 | PL | Lions | Yuji Kaneko | 430.67 | 2 | +2.16 | -1.85 |
2018 | PL | Eagles | Hiroaki Shimauchi | 696.67 | 3 | +2.21 | -1.42 |
Year | League | Team | Name R | Innings | Assists | Total rel to league | Team Sum |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | CL | Giants | Yang Dai-kang | 755.33 | 0 | -2.71 | -3.51 |
2017 | CL | BayStars | Masayuki Kuwahara | 1285 | 4 | -2.24 | +0.05 |
2018 | CL | Dragons | Yohei Oshima | 1242.67 | 7 | -1.63 | -0.13 |
2018 | CL | Giants | Yang Dai-kang | 506 | 3 | -0.8 | -3.51 |
2018 | CL | Swallows | Norichika Aoki | 1026 | 4 | -0.58 | -0.95 |
2017 | CL | Swallows | Tomotaka Sakaguchi | 559.67 | 3 | -0.37 | -0.95 |
2018 | CL | Carp | Yoshihiro Maru | 1070.67 | 1 | +0.2 | +2.73 |
2018 | CL | Tigers | Shunsuke Fujikawa | 342.33 | 1 | +0.52 | +1.81 |
2017 | CL | Tigers | Yoshio Itoi | 424 | 1 | +1.29 | +1.81 |
2017 | CL | Dragons | Yohei Oshima | 1070.67 | 2 | +1.5 | -0.13 |
2018 | CL | BayStars | Masayuki Kuwahara | 851.67 | 4 | +2.29 | +0.05 |
2017 | CL | Carp | Yoshihiro Maru | 1278.67 | 1 | +2.53 | +2.73 |
Year | League | Team | Name R | Innings | Assists | Total rel to league | Team Sum |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | PL | Hawks | Yuki Yanagita | 993.67 | 8 | -3.87 | -6.85 |
2017 | PL | Hawks | Yuki Yanagita | 1091.337 | 6 | -2.98 | -6.85 |
2017 | PL | Buffaloes | Shunta Goto | 543.67 | 2 | -0.16 | -0.13 |
2017 | PL | Marines | Takashi Ogino | 526 | 5 | -0.05 | +0.25 |
2018 | PL | Buffaloes | Yuma Mune | 574.33 | 3 | +0.03 | -0.13 |
2017 | PL | Fighters | Haruki Nishikawa | 996.33 | 2 | +0.04 | +2.13 |
2018 | PL | Marines | Takashi Ogino | 674 | 7 | +0.3 | +0.25 |
2018 | PL | Eagles | Kazuki Tanaka | 924 | 4 | +0.32 | +1.96 |
2018 | PL | Lions | Shogo Akiyama | 1277.33 | 4 | +1.12 | +2.63 |
2017 | PL | Lions | Shogo Akiyama | 1269.67 | 7 | +1.51 | +2.63 |
2017 | PL | Eagles | Hiroaki Shimauchi | 1135 | 4 | +1.64 | +1.96 |
2018 | PL | Fighters | Haruki Nishikawa | 1227 | 4 | +2.09 | +2.13 |
Year | League | Team | Name R | Innings | Assists | Total rel to league | Team Sum |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | PL | Hawks | Yuki Yanagita | 993.67 | 8 | -3.87 | -6.85 |
2017 | PL | Hawks | Yuki Yanagita | 1091.337 | 6 | -2.98 | -6.85 |
2017 | PL | Buffaloes | Shunta Goto | 543.67 | 2 | -0.16 | -0.13 |
2017 | PL | Marines | Takashi Ogino | 526 | 5 | -0.05 | +0.25 |
2018 | PL | Buffaloes | Yuma Mune | 574.33 | 3 | +0.03 | -0.13 |
2017 | PL | Fighters | Haruki Nishikawa | 996.33 | 2 | +0.04 | +2.13 |
2018 | PL | Marines | Takashi Ogino | 674 | 7 | +0.3 | +0.25 |
2018 | PL | Eagles | Kazuki Tanaka | 924 | 4 | +0.32 | +1.96 |
2018 | PL | Lions | Shogo Akiyama | 1277.33 | 4 | +1.12 | +2.63 |
2017 | PL | Lions | Shogo Akiyama | 1269.67 | 7 | +1.51 | +2.63 |
2017 | PL | Eagles | Hiroaki Shimauchi | 1135 | 4 | +1.64 | +1.96 |
2018 | PL | Fighters | Haruki Nishikawa | 1227 | 4 | +2.09 | +2.13 |
Year | League | Team | Name R | Innings | Assists | Total rel to league | Team Sum |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | CL | Carp | Seiya Suzuki | 1032.33 | 10 | -7.29 | -10.65 |
2018 | CL | Carp | Seiya Suzuki | 1011.33 | 8 | -3.36 | -10.65 |
2018 | CL | Giants | Hisayoshi Chono | 591.67 | 0 | -1.34 | -2.32 |
2018 | CL | Dragons | Ryosuke Hirata | 1143.667 | 9 | -1.12 | -1.5 |
2017 | CL | BayStars | Takayuki Kajitani | 1202 | 4 | -1.11 | -1.81 |
2017 | CL | Giants | Hisayoshi Chono | 987.67 | 2 | -0.98 | -2.32 |
2018 | CL | BayStars | Neftali Soto | 544 | 2 | -0.7 | -1.81 |
2017 | CL | Dragons | Ryosuke Hirata | 596 | 3 | -0.38 | -1.5 |
2018 | CL | Swallows | Yuhei Takai | 972.33 | 4 | +2.88 | +6.01 |
2017 | CL | Swallows | Yuhei Takai | 571 | 3 | +3.13 | +6.01 |
2018 | CL | Tigers | Yoshio Itoi | 968 | 4 | +3.64 | +10.28 |
2017 | CL | Tigers | Kosuke Fukudome | 559 | 1 | +6.64 | +10.28 |