I am a big fan of John Dewan’s plus/minus system for evaluating defense. Read how it works – the system is logical and easy to understand, though the numbers require intense labor to compile.
Plus/minus stats for the current year are available at Bill James Online (sign up for $3 a month), and I’ve been tossing them around occasionally here at MLBTR. I’m sure they’ll continue to come up with regard to this winter’s free agent class. For instance Mark Ellis rates a +25 at second base, meaning he made 25 more plays than the average second baseman this year.
Free agent plus/minus leaders at each position:
- First base: Mark Teixeira, +24
- Second base: Mark Ellis, +25
- Shortstop: Cesar Izturis, +17
- Third base: Joe Crede, +13
- Left field: Jay Payton, +3
- Center field: Corey Patterson, +8
- Right field: Brian Giles, +20, Brad Wilkerson, +4
