Taking a Closer Look at the Red Sox Outfield
The Boston Red Sox are headed to their fourth World Series since 2004 after a historic season in which they amassed 108 wins, a franchise record. Besides the superior offensive production, the Sox displayed this year – 229 more runs scored than they allowed – a large part to their success can be contributed to their defensive abilities, specifically the contribution they received from their outfield. With the likes of Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Mookie Betts roaming the Red Sox outfield, there is no denying the talent that patrols the outfield grass in Fenway is among the brightest trio in the game today. This intrigued us at Off The Bench to look into just how good their outfielders really were this year. What we found, however, is something we didn’t quite expect to see given that this troika clearly pass the eye test.
In an attempt to put things into perspective a bit, we decided to look at team outfield fielding numbers against league average (all numbers were taken from FanGraphs), looking at three specific statistics: Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), and Outfield Arm Runs (ARM):
At first glance, the graph makes total sense. Clearly, the Red Sox outfield was defensively superior this year. However, when we look at what the Red Sox actually ranked in each of these categories we found something a bit odd. The Sox ranked first in ARM, third in UZR, and… 13th in DRS? How can this be? To get a better look, let’s break it down by position.
CF: Jackie Bradley Jr.
Specifically known for his defensive contributions, Bradley Jr. continued to awe spectators as he seemingly made play after play this year. He actually ranked second in ARM this year with a 7.7 rating, meaning, he’s as accurate as they come on throws from the outfield and makes the right throw most of the time, unlike the uber-talented Yasiel Puig who had a negative ARM rating this year due in large part to his inability to produce outs. Similarly, Bradley’s 8.8 UZR rating ranked ninth in all of baseball. However, in terms of DRS, he rated a 0.
LF: Andrew Benintendi
While still the youngest of the three, Benintendi displays good offensive prowess but leaves some to be desired in terms of his defensive contributions. His 6.4 ARM rating this year was good enough to land him the six spot among MLB outfielders. However, his 3.8 UZR ranked just 35th. Moreover, he ranked 253rd in all of the baseball with -3 DRS.
The Red Sox’s 13th-ranked DRS is beginning to look a bit more believable now. However, with a combined -3 DRS between Benintendi and Bradley Jr., how did they even finish that high?
The answer…?
RF: Mookie Betts
Mookie Betts had an MVP-type season with his offensive and defensive numbers both outweighing most of his colleagues. Defensively, Betts ranked first in all of baseball with a 16.8 UZR, fifth with a 6.8 ARM rating, and, third with 20 DRS. That’s right; Mookie Betts single-handedly carried the Red Sox’s outfield in defensive runs saved this year.
Rounding Out the Numbers
Conclusion: Mookie Betts is extremely good at baseball. Considering the way his defensive numbers stack up against the charts in DRS and UZR (see below) there is all the possibility that Betts, the current AL-MVP favorite, will also have to clear a spot on his mantle for a Gold Glove in 2018.
In fact, he may have even meant more to the Red Sox than we even realized. It will be something to note as Betts and Co. head into the World Series against a Dodger’s team that’s collected 26 extra base hits and 131 total bases thus far in the post-season. His team is thinking about shifting him to second base for the games in Los Angeles. Will the effects matter?
– Mike Lambiaso
