- Runs Scored (RS)
- Runs Batted In (RBI)
- Runs Assisted (RAS)
- A batter advances a runner to either second or third with a hit, base on balls, hit batsmen, error, sacrifice bunt, or another kind of out. If that runner then scores either during the same at bat or an ensuing at bat, the batter who advanced him is given a Run Assisted.
- A batter reaches base and is removed for a pinch runner or is replaced by another runner on a force out. If the new runner then scores, the batter who originally reached base is given a Run Assisted.
As explained in the first post on this subject, RPI is not a replacement for your favorite run estimation metric whether it be Batting Runs or Runs Created or something else. Like Runs Scored and Runs Batted In, the numbers of Runs Assisted accumulated by a batter depends on opportunities created by teammates, Thus, RPI is team dependent measure as well. Advanced statistics which try to isolate a batters production from that of his teammates are better measures of true talent and are superior forecasters of future performance than RPI.
So, why do we need RPI? Many statistical analysts won't have a lot of use for it other than passing curiosity, but there are some benefits. First, it says something about how actual runs were scored as opposed to how runs theoretically should have been scored. This concreteness should be appealing to players, media and traditional fans. People are going to look at RBI whether we like it or not, so why not encourage them to consider something better than RBI but which still looks at actual runs?
Because it deals with actual runs, it's also possible that RPI and potential derivatives of RPI might tell us something about run scoring that say Batting Runs does not tell us. Just like some pitchers seem to have an ERA skill beyond what their peripherals suggest, some batters might have run participation skills which exceed their abilities to get on base and slug.
Some of the noise surrounding run participation tends to go away over the course of a long career. Pitcher wins are not very relevant on a year-to-year basis, but become more useful over the long-term. Run participation metrics - RS, RBI and RAS - are the same way. Table 1 presents the RPI leaders since 1950, the first complete year of Retrosheet data (required in order to calculated RAS).
The table tells us that Hall-of-Fame slugger Hank Aaron has been involved in more runs (4,521) than any player since 1950. Current Hall candidate Barry Bonds is second at 4,490. The leading Tiger is Al Kaline with 3,777, good for 15th on the list.
Table 1: MLB Runs Participated In Leaders, 1950-2012
PA
|
RS
|
RBI
|
RAS
|
HR
|
RPI
|
|
Hank
Aaron
|
13,518
|
2,096
|
2,213
|
950
|
738
|
4,521
|
Barry
Bonds
|
12,606
|
2,227
|
1,996
|
1,029
|
762
|
4,490
|
Carl
Yastrzemski
|
13,991
|
1,816
|
1,844
|
1,166
|
452
|
4,374
|
Pete
Rose
|
15,885
|
2,165
|
1,313
|
1,056
|
160
|
4,374
|
Alex
Rodriguez
|
11,163
|
1,898
|
1,950
|
905
|
647
|
4,106
|
Willie
Mays
|
12,179
|
2,002
|
1,847
|
897
|
641
|
4,105
|
Eddie
Murray
|
12,817
|
1,627
|
1,917
|
1,015
|
504
|
4,055
|
Rickey
Henderson
|
13,345
|
2,295
|
1,115
|
903
|
297
|
4,016
|
Dave
Winfield
|
12,356
|
1,669
|
1,833
|
897
|
465
|
3,934
|
Derek
Jeter
|
11,895
|
1,868
|
1,254
|
1,046
|
255
|
3,913
|
Frank
Robinson
|
11,740
|
1,830
|
1,812
|
852
|
586
|
3,908
|
Rafael
Palmeiro
|
12,046
|
1,663
|
1,835
|
961
|
569
|
3,890
|
Cal
Ripken
|
12,883
|
1,647
|
1,695
|
957
|
431
|
3,868
|
Paul
Molitor
|
12,167
|
1,782
|
1,307
|
940
|
234
|
3,795
|
Al
Kaline
|
11,596
|
1,622
|
1,582
|
972
|
399
|
3,777
|
George
Brett
|
11,625
|
1,583
|
1,596
|
894
|
317
|
3,756
|
Chipper
Jones
|
10,614
|
1,619
|
1,623
|
954
|
468
|
3,728
|
Gary
Sheffield
|
10,947
|
1,636
|
1,676
|
923
|
509
|
3,726
|
Ken Griffey
|
11,304
|
1,662
|
1,836
|
847
|
630
|
3,715
|
Robin
Yount
|
12,249
|
1,632
|
1,406
|
913
|
251
|
3,700
|
Runs Participated In is a counting statistic which is influenced greatly by length of career, so it's good to also have a rate measure. One possibility is Runs Participated In Percentage (RPI%) which is the percentage of a teams' runs in which a player participated. For example, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera participated in 253 runs out of 726 total runs for the Tigers in 2012, so he had a 34.8% RPI%. The RPI% statistic might tell us how much a team relied on a player to score runs. As such, some fans might find it useful in MVP voting. The limitation of course is that a player my benefit from having less productive teammates surrounding him in the order.
Over the course of a career, you can average a player's annual RPI%'s to arrive a career RPI%. The RPI% leaders since 1950 are listed in Table 2 below. Contemporary superstar Albert Pujols is the leader at 31.7%. This includes a high of 36.7% in 2009 with the Cardinals. Former Pirates great Ralph Kiner is second at 30.9%. The top Tiger is Cabrera, who is fifth at 29.6%.
Table 2: MLB Run Participated In Percentage Leaders, 1950-2012
Player
|
PA
|
RPI
|
RPI%
|
Albert
Pujols
|
8,103
|
2,978
|
31.7
|
Ralph
Kiner
|
2,920
|
938
|
30.9
|
Jeff
Bagwell
|
9,431
|
3,401
|
29.9
|
Kirby
Puckett
|
7,831
|
2,566
|
29.9
|
Miguel
Cabrera
|
6,473
|
2,235
|
29.6
|
Andrew
McCutchen
|
2,497
|
725
|
29.2
|
Ryan
Braun
|
3,854
|
1,332
|
29.1
|
Hank
Aaron
|
13,518
|
4,521
|
29.1
|
Stan
Musial
|
7,012
|
2,440
|
28.5
|
Al
Rosen
|
4,309
|
1,468
|
28.2
|
Ron
Santo
|
9,373
|
2,784
|
28.2
|
Matt
Holliday
|
5,517
|
1,948
|
27.9
|
Billy
Williams
|
10,495
|
3,323
|
27.8
|
Eddie
Murray
|
12,817
|
4,055
|
27.7
|
Willie
Mays
|
12,179
|
4,105
|
27.6
|
David
Wright
|
5,453
|
1,809
|
27.6
|
Ichiro
Suzuki
|
8,724
|
2,345
|
27.5
|
Barry
Bonds
|
12,606
|
4,490
|
27.4
|
Hunter Pence
|
3,787
|
1,097
|
27.4
|
Minnie
Minoso
|
7,624
|
2,702
|
27.4
|
The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at Retrosheet.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment