February 8, 2005
BASEBALL: Running to Stand Still
What's more important to outfield range - positioning or speed? David Pinto makes the counterintuitive case that Sammy Sosa turns more batted balls into outs than Ichiro Suzuki because Sosa takes fewer chances and positions himself more consistently where the ball is likeliest to be hit. (Warning: Math alert! And double-dog math alert on tangotiger's analysis in the comments, in which he pokes at the issue of whether Pinto's conclusions are over-influenced by park factors or other conditions that result in Ichiro being measured against a much higher bar than Sosa. The comments are worth reading).