It's that time of the year again where I run The Impact Stat for MLBers! (As always refer to the methodology page for calculations)
For the All Star break, I've looked at players who have had at least 250 total plate appearances up to this point, along with each team's performance, plus a look at the Toronto Blue Jays line-up.
Here goes...
(Click on each image to expand)
Players by Average - This image shows the Top 30 players by Batting Average (AVG blue dots), along with their On Base Percentage, (OBP, red dots) and their IMPACT stat in the white bars. It's obvious to see that MVP candidate A Puljos is not only leading in OBP but also way ahead in IMPACT with an average of .544! That means he makes a positive contribution (IMPACT) better than every 2 plate appearances!
Players by IMPACT - This image shows the Top 30 players by IMPACT with A Puljos leading the way. The best way to read this is to look at the gap between OBP (red dots) and the top of the IMPACT bars. The bigger the gap, the better the IMPACT (A Puljos, C Jones). Those who have an IMPACT lower than OBP have not contributed in the form of positive outs like Sacrifice Flies or Sacrifice Bunts (K Youkilis, C Utley).
Team IMPACT - The teams below are organized by win percentage. Washington on the left and MLB leaders Dodgers on the right. As you can see the teams on the right have the highest batting averages, high OBPs, but also have high IMPACT stats which means they have the ability to keep the lineup moving and generate runs. This is most evident as the Top 5 teams OBP is even higher than most other teams IMPACT as a whole!
Toronto Blue Jays - As a lifelong Jays fan, I always look at how the team is doing. I've taken a look at the Jays who have had at least 250 visits to the plate. The graph below shows the players in order of AVG. The player with the best IMPACT is surprising!
It's Lyle Overbay! He has the lowest AVG of the 8 players, however his IMPACT is helped by his high OBP and additional positive outs. Marco Scutaro is also up leading the team in IMPACT. It's interesting to see the Alex Rios has a lower IMPACT than his OBP!
Please share any comments you may have!
Thanks - Aneez
