Saturday, January 05, 2013

Quintin Berry Excelled at Advancing Runners in 2012

Continuing with the theme of recent posts, I have aggregated base runner advancement for teams in 2012.  The results for the American and National Leagues are shown in Tables 1 and 2 respectively.  The columns in each table are as follows:
  • OPP - Runners on base in batters plate appearances excluding neutral results (i.e. no base runner advancement and no outs on play).
  • ADV - Base runners advanced.
  • ADV% - Percentage of base runners advanced.
  • ADVAA - Base runners Advanced Above Average.
The Tigers had 3,793 base runners in their plate appearances in 2012. Excluding 177 base runners with neutral results yields 3,616 opportunities to advance runners.  They advanced 1,414 base runners for a .405 advancement rate.  They were also 11 advances better than the average team which was sixth best in the AL.  The Rangers led the league with +92 while the Athletics were at the bottom with -82.    


Table 1: American League Base Advancement by Team

Team
OPP
ADV
ADV%
ADVAA
Texas
3601
1539
.427
92
Los Angeles
3492
1474
.422
71
Minnesota
3728
1540
.413
42
Cleveland
3732
1515
.406
16
Kansas City
3415
1384
.405
12
Detroit
3616
1464
.405
11
New York
3734
1507
.404
7
Boston
3450
1379
.400
-7
Chicago
3322
1323
.398
-12
Tampa Bay
3393
1335
.393
-28
Toronto
3231
1267
.392
-31
Baltimore
3261
1265
.388
-45
Seattle
3258
1262
.387
-47
Oakland
3338
1259
.377
-82

Table 2:  National League Base Advancement by Team

Team
OPP
ADV
ADV%
ADVAA
San Francisco
3834
1603
.418
72
Colorado
3496
1464
.419
68
St. Louis
3843
1597
.416
62
Atlanta
3586
1471
.410
39
Los Angeles
3508
1436
.409
35
Washington
3533
1420
.402
9
Arizona
3585
1436
.401
4
Milwaukee
3518
1407
.400
2
Philadelphia
3467
1384
.399
-1
Pittsburgh
3233
1279
.396
-12
New York
3476
1374
.395
-14
San Diego
3539
1398
.395
-16
Chicago
3208
1232
.384
-49
Cincinnati
3409
1310
.384
-52
Florida
3311
1258
.380
-65
Houston
3238
1213
.375
-80
 


Table 3 shows the Tigers ADV% leaders for players with 100 or more opportunities.  The surprising leader is journeyman outfielder Quintin Berry at .500.  In other words, he advanced half the runners on base in his plate appearances (minus neutrals).  This is explained by a .345 batting average with men on base as opposed to .202 with the bases empty.  While it's possible he has a small base runner advancing skill, this is likely a small sample fluke and we should not expect him to approach a .500 ADV% again.  His high success rate did help the Tigers in 2012 however.

The next two hitters - MVP third baseman Miguel Cabrera (.477) and first baseman Prince Fielder (.469) - are no shock.  The fourth player is another unexpected name - Ramon Santiago at .451.   Santiago is more difficult to explain than Berry as he batted just .206 with runners on base and hit into 7 double plays.   He did have three hits with the bases loaded though which is nine (or 12%) of his total advances.  He also had five sacrifice bunts.  Those factors don't explain all of his advancement success, but removing those advances would drop him below average.  That is the danger of small sample sizes. 

Less surprising are the names at the bottom the list.  Ryan Raburn was last at .328 just behind Delmon Young (.338) and Gerald Laird (.348).  Of course, none of those players will be back next year. 

Table 3: Advancement Percentage for Tigers, 2012

Player
OPP
ADV
ADV%
Quintin Berry
164
82
.500
Miguel Cabrera
417
199
.477
Prince Fielder
416
195
.469
Ramon Santiago
164
74
.451
Andy Dirks
198
82
.414
Omar Infante
133
55
.414
Brennan Boesch
319
129
.404
Austin Jackson
307
123
.401
Alex Avila
253
98
.387
Jhonny Peralta
352
127
.361
Gerald Laird
112
39
.348
Delmon Young
408
138
.338
Ryan Raburn
137
45
.328


Table 4 reveals that Cabrera was +31 runners advanced above average followed by Prince Fielder (+28). Even after accounting for playing time, Berry (+16) and Santiago (+8) still rank high on this list.  

Table 4: Advancement Above Average for Tigers, 2012

Player
OPP
ADV
ADVAA
Miguel Cabrera
417
199
31
Prince Fielder
416
195
28
Quintin Berry
164
82
16
Ramon Santiago
164
74
8
Andy Dirks
198
82
2
Omar Infante
133
55
2
Brennan Boesch
319
129
1
Austin Jackson
307
123
-0
Alex Avila
253
98
-4
Gerald Laird
112
39
-6
Ryan Raburn
137
45
-10
Jhonny Peralta
352
127
-14
Delmon Young
408
138
-26


The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet.  Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at Retrosheet.org. 

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