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Thursday, August 26, 2010
John Olerud
The Hall of Fame voting is made for guys like John Olerud, guys who are deserve consideration, but likely won’t get strong support, if ever. So, we get to see him on the ballot for a long time, get to talk about him, etc, without being enshrined.
• Win Probability Added takes every plate appearance in player’s season and looks at how much it contributed to winning or losing. In each of Olerud’s three years with the Mets, he was their most valuable hitter. Olerud’s combined score from 1997 to 1999 rated fifth-best in all of baseball, trailing only Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Larry Walker and Jeff Bagwell.
• Wins Above Replacement (WAR) attempts to combine a player’s hitting, baserunning, defense and position played into a single value. Olerud ranked ninth-best in baseball during his time as a Met, but his defense rates tops among those at the position. In fact, using those metrics, his defense at first base ranks second in Mets history to Keith Hernandez.
It is defense about which Olerud has the most to say…