VORP

2006-05-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

What is VORP? – VORP is a statistic created by the gang at BaseballProspectus.com. It combines all aspects of a players offensive talent to identify "the number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player at the same position would contribute if given the same percentage of team plate appearances.”

A replacement player is essentially the “free” talent available. Players like Terrence Long and Adam Stern would be examples of replacement players. Sometimes, these guys are referred to as 4A players, in other words, too good for Triple A, but not good enough for the Major Leagues.

What is a good/bad VORP? – Generally a mediocre player will be in the 20s. Anything above 60 and you had an outstanding season. Like any offensive statistic, you must take into account the position the player plays. A shortstop with a VORP of 30 is obviously more valuable than a 1st baseman with a VORP of 30.

Why is it important? - VORP is important because it blends all aspects of a players’ offensive output. By doing this, it allows for a more accurate comparison of players with differing skill sets such as Scott Podsednik and Richie Sexson.

What are some drawbacks to VORP? – You can’t do it yourself. It is a stat you have to look up to know what it is. Unlike slugging percentage which you can caluclate with a box score, you need a lot of information, park effects, league run factors, etc…to calculate it. Lastly, it is a cumulative statistic (like Home Runs) so it is plate appearance dependent. For example, if you just look at VORP for 2005, Kevin Millar appears better than Kevin Youkilis.

Sum This Up Will You Please? - VORP can be very useful. Since roughly 10 runs of offense is necessary for a “win”, if you divide VORP by 10 you can identify how many wins a team got by using Player X in place of a replacement player. On the flip side, because of the complexity of calculating it, it is a bit daunting and also can be more useful after a season is over than it is during the season. I will admit to a personal bias against VORP simply because I can’t calculate it myself. I tend to not trust statistics that I need someone else to give me.

Best 2005 VORP: Derrek Lee – 95.6
Worst 2005 VORP(502 PA): David Bell – Negative 7.5
MidPoint 2005 VORP: Emil Brown – 25.9

NOTE: There is also VORP for pitchers. The concepts are roughly the same so I focused on hitters here. Also, you tend to see VORP for hitters used a lot more than for pitchers;

Best 2005 VORP: Roger Clemens – 80.2
Worst 2005 VORP (100IP): Jose Lima – Negative 31.6
MidPoint 2005 VORP: Jeremy Bonderman – 19.8

OPS

2006-05-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

There has been some talk lately on the board about the use of stats in various instances. As with most baseball discussions these days, it seems some folks are very much interested in statistics while others prefer not to hear about them.

Don't be afraid though, stats are nothing more than a tool. The successful use of stats is dependent on the user properly using them. If you aren't interested in statistics, this probably isn't the topic for you. If you are interested but maybe don't know some of the lingo, feel free to hang around. Each week we're going to toss a new stat at you, tell you what it is, why it's important, and why maybe it has some drawbacks.

This series is a work in progress so feel free to comment at will. We're going to start with the most basic of the "new" statistics today; OPS.

What is OPS? - OPS is calculated by adding On Base Percentage and Slugging Percentage.

What is a good/bad OPS? - Generally, OPS falls between about .725-.875. All star players will get into the .900s while the truly elite will crack 1.000. Anything under .700 is usually considered unacceptable.

Why is it important? - OPS is important because it is a simple measure of combining the two key aspects of offense, reaching base and having power.

What are some drawbacks to OPS? - OPS overestimates the impact of slugging percentage. Because of this, a one dimensional power hitter (think Alfonso Soriano) is given more weight than a one dimensional on base machine (think Ichirio Suzuki).

Sum This Up Will You Please? - OPS is a very useful statistic. If you can only use one offensive stat, OPS is probably the one to use. It is easy to calculate, combines two key aspects of offensive skill and can be easily understood. Think of it like school, anything over 90% (.900) is an "A", 80-89% (.800-890) "B" and so on.

Stats Glossary

VORP

OPS