Do you think this stat is significant?

Question

I invented a stat I call "Runs Acounted For". You compute it by preforming this simple equation "Runs Scored"+"RBI's"-"Homeruns"equals"Runs Acounted For"(you minus homeruns because the are counted in both catagories).I think this could be used to measure a player's total offensive worth for his team. For instance in 2006 Albert Pujols scored 119 Runs and had 137 Runs-Batted-In. This total equaled 256, but he had 49 homeruns which counts in both catagories so you subtract 49 from 256 and you get 207. This was more than Vladimir Guerrero's 2006 total of 175. Therefor Albert Pujols was worth more offensively than Vladimir Guerreo. Do you guys think this stat is signifigant? Should I write Stats Inc. a letter? Please leave your thoughts on this subject. Thank You.

Answer 1

(R + RBI - HR) is known as "runs produced" and has been around for years. Bill James is generally credited with inventing this stat back in the late 1970s, an early foray into his statistical work. It's cute, it reveals a little bit, but he abandoned it long ago because many better methods and algorithms came along.

Runs Produced (not to be confused with Runs Created, which is more complex and much more interesting) is very result-oriented; it measures outputs, which are team-dependent, and not inputs, which capture an individual player's efforts with much greater clarity.

BaseballAlmanac.com even lists a Top 100: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hitting/hirunsprod1.shtml

Don't give up, though. There's always more to research, but the low-hanging fruits are long since picked.

Answer 2

Yes I think this stat is significant because sometimes fans only think about home runs. Last year David Ortiz had over 50 home runs but his average was not that great. Yeah he had a bunch of rbi's but this tells me that the only time he would have scored is if he walked to get on base or have a home run. So he's not scoring that many runs. You win ballgames by having the most runs. He was pretty high in the mvp voting last year. I knew a lot of people who wanted David Ortiz to win the mvp last year. That tells me that a lot of Americans are too obsessed with the long ball. Maybe they should look into this stat instead.

Answer 3

Any formula that gives that much weight to RBI is not significant.

Go on any stats-discussion site and you'll quickly be told - correctly - that runs batted in is among the most arbitrary of all statistics. The main reason for this is that your RBI opportunities, to a great degree, are influenced by your spot in the batting order and the lineup around you. The same is true of runs, although to a lesser extent.

This is why stats used to measure the individual value of a player don't factor in numbers like runs or RBI, which depend too much on other factors. Instead, with a formula like that for runs created, which is considered among the best measures of individual performance, you have only hits, walks, total bases, and at-bats - all numbers that are specfic to a player, and not dependent on other factors.

Keep working at it, but focus on only those things a player can control. Home runs are fine, but you need to lose the runs and RBI.

Edit - So I post the truth and get a thumbs down? Ah, too funny. I'm not knocking the effort, just offering an honest critique - it's good that you're working on something, but it could take years before you hit on something original and effective.

Answer 4

i dont think this stat will really mean much, because it doesnt factor in batting average. Usually players with a higher batting average will have more runs than a guy who hits 50 homers, and drives in 120 RBI. The would be stat is a little skewed.

Answer 5

I think its a decent stat but not totally worth the effort of writing stats inc. and as for craig telling the "truth" I think he needs to check himself on that one. no one would tell you you don't know what your'e talking about other than a first time contributor (for the record i used to be a top contributor in baseball untill i stopped answering questions)

only problem i have with this stat is that it doesn't take into account average..however!....most stat lovers understand that on base % is more of a indicator then average. so i'm okay with you leaving it out. heck THAT'S WHAT BILL JAMES WILL TELL YOU

lets be real. offensive worth is judged by (and should always be judged) on runs scored and rbi's (homers PRODUCE both)

but honestly I don't see the worth of this stat. its obvious simply looking at the numbers that pujols was worth more than vlad during 06 by simply looking at the numbers. as for controling that..come on now..who had a better lineup in 06 around him? vlad ? or pujols? I am pretty sure no one will tell you it was pujols...so his rbi's and runs are a fine indicator of his worth ..NO MATTER WHERE HE HIT IN THE LINEUP OR WHO WAS AROUND HIM. same can be said for a rod in seattle when he hit between griffey and buner and now with the yanks. you can almost throw out his texas stats because one arlington IS ALWAYS IN THE TOP 5 IN HR'S IN THE MAJORS..so that's a home field advantage and second his team was almost ALWAYS losing so he seen many hittable pitches...a rod wasn't going to have 10 rbi's a game to help his team win now was he?

Answer 6

Runs scored by a player are impacted by hitters behind them in the order. Pujols may have had better hitters behind him in the order than Vlad had that year. This would not be a stat better reflective of an offensive player's worth than OBP, BA or Slugging%.

Answer 7

the intentions are good but:

1. RBI's rely largely on a player's position in the lineup and the abilities of those ahead of him to get on base.

2. Runs scored are merely the case of good offensive production by OTHER battters (except for a home run). also runs can be scored on anything, including errors

Answer 8

I like the runs scored + RBIs part, but subtracting HRs is confusing and doesnt add anything to help or prove anything. How about runs scored + RBIs + total bases (1B x1; 2bx2; 3B x3 and HRx4...the sum of all of those are total bases).....I think the runs, plus RBIs plus total bases, gives you a better all-around figure.

Answer 9

i'm sure something like this is already around. baseball has some sweet stats and comparisons. i like it when an announcer says stuff like this, "albert pujols is batting .380 when playing away against lefties in stadiums with turf when the weather is over 75 degrees."
wtf?

Answer 10

Sounds like a good idea to me.