A History of Team Defense (Part II of II)

Part I here.
The 1950s
Baseball started moving west with the Braves’ move to Milwaukee in 1953, and the resulting shakeup ended the stranglehold of old, mostly smaller ballparks in the East. High walk rates, more power hitters and a few more strikeouts meant that balls in play rates were dropping, while defenses got stingier – the 71.6% of balls in play turned into outs in the NL in 1956 remains the league record.
I’ve written before about the advantage Casey Stengel’s Yankees got from their defense and how it played into the superior performance of pitchers in pinstripes. But it was the Indians who were the true defensive juggernaut of that era, leading the AL seven times in the decade between 1947-56. The AL was truly defensively stratified in those years, with the upper tier of the Yankees, Indians and White Sox at the top and weak sisters like the Browns, Senators, A’s and Tigers at the bottom. Park effects were part of that picture for the Yankees – for example, in 1955 the Yankees and their opponents had a BABIP of .265 at home, .278 on the road, compared to .272 at home, .269 on the road for the 1954 Indians.
The 111-win Indians were the best defensive team of the decade (the 1909 Pirates, who finished one point behind the Cubs, are the only team to win 110 games in a season without leading the league in DER), Durocher’s 1950 Giants the best NL team, the 1955 Pirates and 1950 Browns the worst; the Pirates were perennially hapless. Four pennant-winning teams in each league led the league in DER, although as I’ve noted the Yankees often finished second or third in DER while winning the pennant, and the 1953 Dodgers and 1957 Braves just narrrowly missed the league lead.
I’d expected the Ashburn-era Phillies to lead the league more than once; the strangest league leaders were the 1952 Cubs, an also-ran team that featured one of the more plodding sluggers (Hank Sauer) ever to win the MVP.
National League

	BIP%	NL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1950	77.7%	707	NYG	729	103.11%	CHC	693	98.02%
1951	78.9%	711	NYG	721	101.41%	PIT	697	98.03%
1952	78.1%	713	CHC	723	101.40%	PIT	703	98.60%
1953	77.5%	702	MIL	715	101.85%	PIT	687	97.86%
1954	77.8%	707	NYG	722	102.12%	PIT	687	97.17%
1955	76.8%	714	PHI	728	101.96%	PIT	688	96.36%
1956	76.8%	716	BRO	730	101.96%	PIT	702	98.04%
1957	76.6%	706	BRO	717	101.56%	CHC	698	98.87%
1958	75.8%	703	MLN	721	102.56%	LAD	693	98.58%
1959	75.4%	701	CHC	714	101.85%	STL	685	97.72%

American League

	BIP%	AL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1950	77.6%	700	CLE	721	103.00%	SLB	676	96.57%
1951	78.6%	706	CLE	720	101.98%	SLB	686	97.17%
1952	77.9%	713	CHW	723	101.40%	DET	700	98.18%
1953	78.5%	706	CHW	720	101.98%	DET	682	96.60%
1954	77.9%	711	CLE	735	103.38%	PHA	689	96.91%
1955	76.7%	710	NYY	733	103.24%	WSH	689	97.04%
1956	75.3%	705	CLE	722	102.41%	WSH	683	96.88%
1957	76.6%	713	NYY	727	101.96%	WSH	694	97.34%
1958	76.2%	712	NYY	726	101.97%	WSH	697	97.89%
1959	76.0%	712	CLE	730	102.53%	KCA	691	97.05%

The 1960s
Rising strikeout rates, with the onset of expansion, new pitchers’ parks in LA and Houston, and the expansion of the strike zone in 1963, are a major part of the story of pitching dominance in the Sixties; the AL in 1961, the year of Maris and Mantle, became the first league to see balls in play drop below 75% of plate appearances, and by 1964 it was down to 72.9%, the lowest it would be until 1987. Unsurprisingly, that started to loosen the relationship between defense and success – only three NL pennant winners led the league in DER, four in the AL, and the 1967 Twins came within a game of becoming the first team to finish first while being last in the league in DER.
Meanwhile, the story on balls in play showed a real split between the leagues: DERs actually declined in the NL, while reaching historic highs in the AL. The 724 DER in the AL in 1968 is the highest in Major League history, and the 743 figure by the 1969 Orioles is the highest ever recorded by a team. That Brooks Robinson-Mark Belanger-Davey Johnson infield and Paul Blair-led outfield really was impenetrable, and even adjusted for the league was the best of the decade, powering the O’s to 109 wins. (Home/road split: .275 at home, .278 on the road).
The Dodgers of the Sixties did well on balls in play, even as they dominated the pitcher-controlled aspects of defense (if I recall correctly, the 1966 Dodgers still hold the team K/BB ratio record).
The 1962 Mets, surprisingly, did not have the league’s worst DER (unlike the 1969 Seattle Pilots), finishing a point above the Astros; the 1969 Mets did lead the league (in fact, they led three years in a row from 1968-70), but other surprise teams of the decade did not – the 1967 Red Sox were just below the league average at 715, and the 1960 Pirates were also below average. Probably no team in this sample surprised me more with their poor defensive stats than the Pirates of the 1960s, finishing last in DER in 1961 and 1964 despite a lineup stocked with legendary defensive players like Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente and Bill Virdon as well as other respected glove men like Dick Schofield Sr. The other surprise, more on which later, was the persistent poor performance of the Astros.
The Yankee dynasty’s collapse was reflected defensively, as the Yankees were second in DER in 1964 (at 726), but ninth in 1965 at 707.
National League

	BIP%	NL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1960	75.0%	703	LAD	714	101.56%	PHI	694	98.72%
1961	75.0%	699	MLN	721	103.15%	PIT	683	97.71%
1962	74.7%	695	SFG	710	102.16%	HOU	680	97.84%
1963	74.8%	706	MLN	721	102.12%	NYM	694	98.30%
1964	75.7%	698	LAD	709	101.58%	PIT	682	97.71%
1965	74.5%	704	LAD	727	103.27%	PHI	687	97.59%
1966	75.4%	699	STL	712	101.86%	HOU	687	98.28%
1967	75.1%	703	SFG	719	102.28%	HOU	683	97.16%
1968	75.8%	707	NYM	719	101.70%	HOU	690	97.60%
1969	73.6%	701	NYM	729	103.99%	HOU	683	97.43%

American League

	BIP%	AL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1960	75.8%	712	NYY	732	102.81%	BOS	688	96.63%
1961	74.7%	708	BAL	731	103.25%	KCA	689	97.32%
1962	74.7%	710	NYY	719	101.27%	LAA	702	98.87%
1963	74.4%	713	NYY	725	101.68%	WSA	701	98.32%
1964	72.9%	711	CHW	733	103.09%	BOS	683	96.06%
1965	73.3%	715	CHW	728	101.82%	BOS	692	96.78%
1966	73.9%	717	CHW	728	101.53%	BOS	704	98.19%
1967	73.4%	718	CHW	735	102.37%	MIN	704	98.05%
1968	74.0%	724	BAL	740	102.21%	WSA	702	96.96%
1969	73.7%	714	BAL	743	104.06%	SEP	691	96.78%

The 1970s
In the 1970s, even after the arrival of the DH, AL teams with top defenses tended to finish first in their divisions – 8 times in 11 years from 1969-79. In the NL, it was a different story, as teams like the Big Red Machine and the late-70s Pirates seemed often to lead the league in years other than the years those same teams finished first. The Dodgers led the league in DER four times between 1972 and 1978, and won the division the three years they didn’t.
You’ve met two of the five teams since 1900 to better the league average in DER by 5% or more, the 1906 Cubs and 1939 Yankees, both great teams that left the rest of their league in the dust. But the third team was one left in the dust by another juggernaut: the 1975 Dodgers, who led the league in DER by 20 points over the 108-win Reds, while finishing 20 games behind them (it didn’t help that the Dodgers underperformed their Pythagorean record by 7 games). Oddly, the very best Dodger defense came in a season when Bill Russell missed a good deal of time, but the then-youthful infield of Garvey, Lopes and Cey was otherwise tremendously durable, while 33-year-old Jimmie Wynn anchored the outfield defense (Wynn had also played on those late-60s Astros teams that perennially finished last in DER; go figure). Park effect? The Dodgers and their opponents combined for a .268 BABIP at home, .276 on the road, so the park seems to have had something to do with it. What about a pitching staff effect? Knuckleballer Charlie Hough had the team’s lowest BABIP (.219), but Hough threw only 61 innings. 321 innings were thrown by curveballer Andy Messersmith, and there may be something to that – pitcher BABIP are available since 1950, and Messersmith has the lowest career BABIP of any pitcher with 2000 or more career innings at .243 (rounding out the top 10, he’s followed by Catfish Hunter at .246, Hoyt Wilhelm at .250, Jim Palmer at .251, Hough at .253, Mudcat Grant at .258, Koufax at .259, Early Wynn at .260, and Tom Seaver and Warren Spahn at .262). The fact that that persisted across three teams (Angels, Dodgers and Braves) before he broke down in 1977 and that only Hunter’s even close to him suggests that Messersmith may have had some ability in that area. On the other hand, you have knuckle-curve specialist Burt Hooton, making the case for it being the team: Hooton’s BABIPs with the Cubs from 1972-94 were .278, .303 and .322, and .400 in the early going in 1975; after arriving with the Dodgers it dropped to .236, and was .253 over the next three seasons. Whether that’s the defense or the park, it’s evident that Hooton’s sudden improvement was due to the environment he pitched in.
The best AL defense of the decade was the Orioles again in 1973 (featuring much of the same cast, but this time with Bobby Grich at second); Earl Weaver’s defenses remained outstanding for years, as did Billy Martin’s when he arrived in New York (and brought in Paul Blair, among others). The worst were the 1974 Cubs and 1970 White Sox. Those Cubs featured Bill Madlock at third, 31 year old Don Kessinger at short, and an outfield of three guys who later became professional pinch hitters (Rick Monday, Jose Cardenal and Jerry Morales) and a DH at first (Andre Thornton). That said, BABIPs were higher at home – .312 at home, .296 on the road – so even aside from the home run ball, the park likely exaggerated the Cubs’s defensive failings in that era. Not for nothing did Rick Reuschel retire with a career BABIP of .294.
National League

	BIP%	NL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1970	73.3%	697	NYM	721	103.44%	STL	686	98.42%
1971	75.6%	706	CIN	727	102.97%	STL	689	97.59%
1972	74.7%	707	LAD	721	101.98%	HOU	695	98.30%
1973	75.1%	704	LAD	729	103.55%	CHC	687	97.59%
1974	75.9%	702	ATL	720	102.56%	CHC	672	95.73%
1975	76.3%	700	LAD	737	105.29%	CHC	673	96.14%
1976	77.0%	704	LAD	723	102.70%	SFG	691	98.15%
1977	75.2%	698	PIT	711	101.86%	ATL	677	96.99%
1978	76.2%	706	MON	718	101.70%	CIN	697	98.73%
1979	76.3%	700	HOU	719	102.71%	CHC	680	97.14%

American League

	BIP%	AL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1970	73.7%	710	OAK	728	102.54%	CHW	684	96.34%
1971	74.8%	714	OAK	730	102.24%	CHW	701	98.18%
1972	75.3%	718	BAL	740	103.06%	BOS	699	97.35%
1973	75.7%	701	BAL	731	104.28%	TEX	683	97.43%
1974	77.0%	702	BAL	716	101.99%	MIN	691	98.43%
1975	76.1%	703	BAL	731	103.98%	DET	683	97.16%
1976	77.7%	705	NYY	729	103.40%	CHW	693	98.30%
1977	76.3%	698	NYY	714	102.29%	CHW	682	97.71%
1978	77.7%	706	NYY	723	102.41%	TOR	690	97.73%
1979	77.4%	700	BAL	727	103.86%	OAK	678	96.86%

The 1980s
DERs in the AL finally dropped back in line with the NL by the late 70s, and the two leagues have mostly remained even since then. Balls in play percentages dropped in 1986, perhaps reflecting the rise in strikeouts occasioned by, among other things, the popularity of the split finger fastball and the increasing specialization of bullpens.
Best defensive team of the 80s: the Billyball A’s of 1980. In the NL: the far less remembered 1982 Padres. Worst: the 1981 Indians and 1984 Giants. The Whitaker-Trammell-Chet Lemon Tigers also stand out, although they are not as remembered as a defensive unit (but see the career of Walt Terrell). Their DER was also 713 when they had their big year in 1984, 705 in 1987.
The 1980s might be the decade that defense mattered least. Only two teams, the 1985 Blue Jays and 1989 A’s, finished first while leading the league in DER; the 1982 Giants came within two games of being the first team to finish first while being last in the league in DER, and a year later the “Wheeze Kids” Phillies turned the trick, remaining to this day the only team to be first in the standings and last in DER (the league hit .286 on BABIP against Cy Young winner John Denny, .329 against Steve Carlton). Those two teams had two things in common – an aging lineup (which for the Giants included Darrell Evans and Reggie Smith, the Phillies Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Gary Maddox, Mike Schmidt and Gary Matthews) and specifically, Joe Morgan at second base. I have to wonder about Morgan – it’s not a surprise that he would be found on poor defensive teams as his bat kept a decaying glove in the lineup in his late 30s (don’t forget, these were still good teams), but the Reds’ only league lead in DER in the 70s was in 1971, the year before Morgan’s arrival, and the Astros had routinely finished last during his years as their second baseman in the 60s. Could all be a coincidence, as Morgan’s defensive stats seem to suggest he was a fine glove man in his prime, but it bears closer examination.
The 1989 Yankees became the first Yankees team to finish last in the league in DER since 1933. The Mets finished second in the NL in DER in 1985, third in 1986. The Red Sox at 686 were below average in 1986, but at least not in the cellar as they were in 1985 and 1987.
National League

	BIP%	NL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1980	77.0%	700	LAD	715	102.14%	CHC	680	97.14%
1981	77.2%	704	HOU	721	102.41%	CHC	686	97.44%
1982	76.3%	701	SDP	725	103.42%	SFG	688	98.15%
1983	74.9%	702	HOU	718	102.28%	PHI	685	97.58%
1984	75.1%	698	SDP	721	103.30%	SFG	676	96.85%
1985	75.0%	706	STL	718	101.70%	ATL	691	97.88%
1986	73.3%	700	HOU	721	103.00%	CHC	678	96.86%
1987	73.1%	696	PIT	711	102.16%	CHC	677	97.27%
1988	75.3%	708	CIN	723	102.12%	ATL	692	97.74%
1989	74.3%	709	SFG	725	102.26%	PHI	699	98.59%

American League

	BIP%	AL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1980	77.7%	698	OAK	727	104.15%	TEX	676	96.85%
1981	77.6%	711	DET	740	104.08%	CLE	678	95.36%
1982	76.6%	704	DET	725	102.98%	CHW	688	97.73%
1983	77.0%	699	DET	726	103.86%	CAL	683	97.71%
1984	76.1%	699	BAL	715	102.29%	SEA	683	97.71%
1985	75.2%	703	TOR	724	102.99%	BOS	690	98.15%
1986	73.5%	699	DET	719	102.86%	SEA	670	95.85%
1987	72.7%	697	CHW	714	102.44%	BOS	674	96.70%
1988	75.1%	702	DET	718	102.28%	CLE	692	98.58%
1989	75.3%	698	OAK	715	102.44%	NYY	683	97.85%

The 1990s
DERs dropped sharply in 1993, inaugurating the era of…well, the Steroids Era, if you prefer. Or in the NL, perhaps the Mile High/Coors era. There were also ever fewer balls in play, with more and more homers, strikeouts and walks. Four NL teams finished first in DER and first in their division, three AL teams including the 1998 Yankees (the only Jeter-era Yankees team to finish either first or last in DER).
The worst defensive teams of the decade were the 1999 Rockies and 1997 A’s (the start of the “Moneyball” era – the A’s often fielded Jason Giambi and Matt Stairs in the outfield corners – although the winning A’s teams of a few years later would be above-average defensively, leading the AL in 2005). The Rockies’ home/road splits were so vast – .374 at home, .306 on the road in 1999 – that it’s almost impossible to evaluate their defense as such.
The 1990s also brought us the fourth of the five great defensive teams, the 1999 Reds, who led the league by a margin of 17 points over the Mets on the way to losing a one-game playoff for the wild card when their bats were stifled by Al Leiter. That Reds team is not recalled as widely as a great defense – it was the Mets that year who got the Sports Illustrated cover asking if they had the best infield ever – but with Barry Larkin, Mike Cameron and Pokey Reese, they had an outstanding defensive unit. Their home/road splits – .306 at home, .312 on the road – suggest that they did it without a huge amount of help from their home park.
National League

	BIP%	NL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1990	74.4%	701	MON	713	101.71%	ATL	676	96.43%
1991	74.0%	706	ATL	714	101.13%	NYM	689	97.59%
1992	74.8%	705	CHC	716	101.56%	LAD	685	97.16%
1993	74.2%	692	ATL	711	102.75%	COL	664	95.95%
1994	72.8%	688	SFG	707	102.76%	COL	664	96.51%
1995	71.9%	688	CIN	699	101.60%	PIT	669	97.24%
1996	71.5%	687	STL	706	102.77%	HOU	667	97.09%
1997	71.2%	688	LAD	706	102.62%	COL	667	96.95%
1998	71.3%	689	ARI	704	102.18%	FLA	669	97.10%
1999	70.7%	687	CIN	722	105.09%	COL	659	95.92%

American League

	BIP%	AL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
1990	74.4%	699	OAK	732	104.72%	CAL	681	97.42%
1991	74.1%	699	CHW	728	104.15%	CLE	678	97.00%
1992	75.0%	702	MIL	725	103.28%	TEX	680	96.87%
1993	73.7%	693	BAL	704	101.59%	MIN	679	97.98%
1994	72.3%	687	BAL	706	102.77%	SEA	669	97.38%
1995	72.3%	690	BAL	716	103.77%	DET	672	97.39%
1996	71.7%	683	MIN	694	101.61%	BOS	665	97.36%
1997	71.6%	684	BAL	699	102.19%	OAK	660	96.49%
1998	72.0%	686	NYY	708	103.21%	TEX	668	97.38%
1999	71.8%	683	ANA	699	102.34%	TBD	661	96.78%

The 2000s
Is defense the new market inefficiency? Maybe in the National League, as eight first-place teams led the league in DER between 2000 and 2010 compared to three in the AL (plus the 2002 Angels, who didn’t finish first but did win 99 games and the World Series). Even with BIP percentages dropping, marginal advantages in defense can still help make a division winner.
Worst DERs of the decade: the 2007 Rays and Marlins, both scraping just above 650. Best in the NL: the 2009 Dodgers. And the fifth and final team to beat the league by 5% or more – indeed, second only to the 1939 Yankees at 105.52% – the 2001 Mariners, who tied the 1906 Cubs’ record of 116 regular season wins. The Mariners featured Ichiro, John Olerud, Bret Boone, Carlos Guillen, and yes, Mike Cameron in center again. They got some help from Safeco (home/road split of .300/.322), where they led the AL again in 2003 (Cameron’s last year there) and 2004.
Then there’s the 2007-08 Rays. As I noted before the 2008 season, Baseball Prospectus’ optimistic PECOTA projection for the Rays required them to massively improve on their MLB-worst team defense; as I noted that October, they did just that, to the point where nearly the entire turnaround to a pennant-winning team was a function of becoming the MLB’s best defensive team in one year. This made them just the ninth team ever to go worst-to-first in their league in DER in one year (other unsurprising names on that list include the Billyball A’s and the 1991 Braves), and aside from a team from 1878, Tampa’s defensive improvement was the largest leap of any of those teams, a 56-point or 8.6% improvement, which made their pitching staff much better without changing its personnel. The Rays did this returning five regulars – Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, Akinori Iwamura, Carlos Pena and Dioner Navarro – although Upton in 2007 was still learning center field as a new position, and Iwamura moved from third to second in 2008. Adding Evan Longoria and Jason Bartlett, plus clearing out some less mobile players and letting the incumbents settle in, led to a historic turnaround:

Team	Years	DER1	DER2	Change	Change %
CIN	1877-78	561	638	77	113.7%
TBR	2007-08	652	708	56	108.6%
CLV	1891-92	645	697	52	108.1%
PHI	1914-15	666	715	49	107.4%
OAK	1979-80	678	727	49	107.2%
BOS	1913-14	670	709	39	105.8%
ATL	1990-91	676	714	38	105.6%
WSH	1923-24	673	709	36	105.3%
NYY	1933-34	682	703	21	103.1%

National League

	BIP%	NL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
2000	70.3%	689	CIN	702	101.89%	MON	672	97.53%
2001	70.4%	693	ARI	703	101.44%	MON	682	98.41%
2002	71.2%	695	LAD	716	103.02%	SDP	675	97.12%
2003	71.6%	694	SFG	710	102.31%	COL	678	97.69%
2004	71.2%	693	LAD	711	102.60%	COL	677	97.69%
2005	72.0%	693	HOU	705	101.73%	COL	670	96.68%
2006	71.2%	690	SDP	710	102.90%	PIT	674	97.68%
2007	71.5%	688	CHC	704	102.33%	FLA	659	95.78%
2008	70.5%	689	CHC	703	102.03%	CIN	671	97.39%
2009	70.2%	692	LAD	713	103.03%	HOU	677	97.83%

American League

	BIP%	AL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
2000	71.7%	684	ANA	699	102.19%	TEX	667	97.51%
2001	72.3%	689	SEA	727	105.52%	CLE	670	97.24%
2002	72.4%	695	ANA	718	103.31%	CLE	674	96.98%
2003	73.2%	694	SEA	721	103.89%	TEX	674	97.12%
2004	72.1%	689	SEA	699	101.45%	KCR	674	97.82%
2005	73.5%	694	OAK	715	103.03%	KCR	666	95.97%
2006	72.6%	685	DET	701	102.34%	TBD	671	97.96%
2007	72.1%	684	BOS	704	102.92%	TBD	652	95.32%
2008	71.9%	688	TBR	708	102.91%	TEX	666	96.80%
2009	70.8%	688	SEA	712	103.49%	KCR	675	98.11%

The 2010s
History continues to march on: the NL in 2010 became the first league in baseball history to have less than 70% of all plate appearances result in a ball put in play.
2011 stats are through May 31, 2011. DERs can be volatile in-season; I noted a few weeks ago that the Astros were at 648, 633 around the beginning of May, which would have set them on pace as the first defensive team since the 1930 Phillies to finish below 650, but since replacing Angel Sanchez with Clint Barmes they’ve been on an upward trajectory, and are no longer even last in their division. As you can see, the Cubs are having a terrible defensive year, while the Braves and those Rays again (even sans Carl Crawford and Jason Bartlett) are flying high. The AL (unlike the NL) is above 700 this season, the first time either league has cracked 700 since 1992.
National League

	BIP%	NL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
2010	69.7%	689	SFG	707	102.61%	PIT	671	97.39%
2011	70.2%	695	ATL	716	103.02%	CHC	665	95.68%

American League

	BIP%	AL	High	DER	High %	Low	DER	Low %
2010	71.4%	694	OAK	711	102.45%	KCR	679	97.84%
2011	71.6%	702	TBR	723	102.99%	CHW	691	98.43%

Part I here.