How Bad Was Torii Hunter's Defense in 2013?

In previous posts, I looked at the Revised Zone Rating (RZR) and Out-of-Zone Plays (OOZ) metrics listed at FanGraphs.  Links to these posts are provided below:

• Conversion of RZR, OOZ to runs (from 2012)

• Shortstops

• Second basemen 

• Third basemen 

• First basemen

• Center fielders

Next up are the right fielders.  Table 1 below contains the following information for 18 MLB right fielders with 800 or more innings in 2013:

• Inn = Innings

• RZR = Revised Zone Rating

• OOZ = Out-of-Zone Plays

• PIZAA =  Plays in Zone Above Average

• OOZAA = Out-of-Zone Plays Above Average

• PMAA = Total Plays Above Average

• RSAA = Runs Saved Above Average

The top defensive right fielders in the majors in 2013 according to these measures were Shane Victorino of the Red Sox (+39 RSAA) and Gerardo Parra of the Diamondbacks (+28).  Both outfielders excelled at making plays outside the right field zone (+42 OOZAA for Victorino, +28 for Parra).

Veteran right fielder Torii Hunter of the Tigers was last in MLB with -21 RSAA.  Hunter was bad on plays inside the zone (-10) and outside (-15).  He also was rated well below average on other advanced measures including -13 on Baseball Prospectus' FRAA, -9 on Total Zone and -10 or DRS. This was not what Tigers fans expected from a right fielder who was +11 RSAA for the Angels in 2012.  However, the results are probably not surprising to anyone who saw him play regularly this year.

So, this makes three Tigers who finished last in baseball in RSAA this year.  Hunter, first baseman Prince Fielder and third baseman Miguel Cabrera were a combined 64 runs below average defensively.  Theoretically, that means those three players cost the Tigers six wins with their defense.  The Tigers rectified that problem somewhat by trading Fielder and moving Cabrera to first, but Hunter is still in right and certainly not getting any younger at 38 years of age.

Table 1: Runs Saved by MLB Right Fielders According to RZR, OOZ, 2013

Player	Team	Inn	RZR	OOZ	PIZ AA	OOZ AA	PMAA	RSAA
Shane Victorino	BOS	913	.941	105	4	42	46	39
Gerardo Parra	ARI	1,042	.947	100	5	28	33	28
Hunter Pence	SFG	1,431	.924	118	2	19	21	18
Josh Reddick	OAK	966	.955	76	7	9	16	13
Ichiro Suzuki	NYY	993	.923	74	1	5	6	5
Nate Schierholtz	CHC	1,041	.918	77	0	5	5	4
Giancarlo Stanton	MIA	1,031	.937	69	4	-2	1	1
Marlon Byrd	- -	1,168	.965	73	8	-8	0	0
Jay Bruce	CIN	1,438	.968	85	13	-15	-2	-1
Jayson Werth	WSN	1,072	.921	71	1	-3	-2	-2
Norichika Aoki	MIL	1,288	.902	87	-3	-2	-6	-5
Nelson Cruz	TEX	906	.902	57	-2	-6	-8	-7
Jose Bautista	TOR	966	.911	59	-1	-8	-9	-7
Alex Rios	- -	1,365	.925	82	2	-13	-10	-9
Carlos Beltran	STL	1,138	.929	58	3	-21	-18	-15
Michael Cuddyer	COL	992	.883	55	-5	-14	-19	-16
Nick Markakis	BAL	1,381	.894	77	-6	-19	-25	-21
Torii Hunter	DET	1,236	.859	71	-10	-15	-25	-21

Data Source: FanGraphs.com