Video board statistics

At baseball games, video boards show basically the same thing at each park. When a hitter is at the plate, it tells you who is up to bat, some basic vitals about the guy, and perhaps what he did the last time he was up to that plate. Some stadiums even have a fun little fact about the player, like Mike Trout plays Pokemon or something like that. The video board also shows what is currently going on in the game, such as the score, inning, number of hits, number of errors, the count, and how many outs there are. Pitchers usually have a little section too, showing their pitch count, how many balls and strikes, and speed of the previous pitch.

The most prominently featured part of the video board is usually the hitter’s picture along with his season stats. The stats are the same basic stats that baseball has been using for a LONG time. These stats usually include hits, home runs, RBI, batting average, and slugging percentage. Sometimes we see runs scored, stolen bases, and on base percentage if we are lucky. What does that tell us about the player? What is the objective of having these basic stats on the video board?

Proponents of sabermetrics would tell you that the statistics listed on stadium video boards don’t tell you nearly enough about a player. If the everyday fan who is watching the game from the cheap seats (like us) wants to make a judgment about a player’s playing ability (like everybody), then teams aren’t providing us with the proper tools to do so.  Some mainstream media types are jumping on board, but it will take much more for baseball people to change their ways.

Basically, we have to work with the hand we are dealt in regards to determining how much value a player adds to his team from his basic hitting statistics. For example, at the Brewers game last night we saw that Ryan Braun has 111 hits, 28 home runs, 69 RBI, .314 batting average, and .612 slugging percentage. For good measure, I looked fangraphs to see he has 65 runs scored, 17 stolen bases, and .396 OBP.

What do these numbers tell me about Ryan Braun? They seem like very good stats (they are), but how do I compare him to other players?

I can tell that Braun has 13 fewer RBI than Miguel Cabrera and 12 less than Josh Hamilton. He’s ninth in the major leagues in RBI, one less than Edwin Encarnacion. He’s got fewer hits than Martin Prado, Adam Jones, and Alex Rios, but he is second the majors in home runs.

Does this mean Braun isn’t as good as Prado or Encarnacion? Well, no! The basic counting statistics are based on circumstances sometimes out of a player’s control. The 8 players with more RBI than Braun likely had more opportunities for RBI because the players batting ahead of them were better than the players ahead of Ryan Braun. Nyjer Morgan bats directly in front of Braun with a .228 batting average and a .299 OBP. Obviously, he doesn’t give Braun many opportunities hit him in.

Luckily, there is a statistic that measures exactly what fans are trying to determine from looking at the basic statistics on the video board. It’s called WAR; wins above replacement. It is measured by adding statistics for offense, base running, and defensive value to give a total number of wins a player would add above a replacement level player. Braun has a 5.3 WAR, meaning his play has provided more than 5 wins above a minor league level player at his same position, which is the fourth highest total in the majors.

Therefore, we know that Ryan Braun is behind only Mike Trout, David Wright, and Andrew McCutchen in providing value to his team this season. Basically, he’s a stud.