Baseball Sabermetrics: Home Run Decimal

Good Hitters vs. Bad Hitters

As I referenced to “good” and “bad” hitters on the previous page, there is a way to decipher them statistically. A good hitter should have a WAR (wins above replacement) above 3.0 and a bad player should have a WAR a 1.9 or below. Now, if a player is deemed to be solid, there is a catch. If there is a scenario when a player has a WAR between 1.9 and 2.9, only use the top variable.

However, when you are calculating these variables, please understand this rule. If the protecting hitter has 30 plus home runs in an entire season, or has an batting average over .310 with 65 plus RBI’s, all WAR rules are discarded (this takes precedent if the formula-hitter is considered good). A minimum of 350 official at bats are required for a hitter to be qualified. Walks cannot be included.

Taking a look at the White Sox current offense in relation to WAR, the team has a few players that rank offensively just below 3.0 WAR. Todd Frazier leads the team with an oWAR of 2.5. Adam Eaton has a 2.4 oWAR, Melky Cabrera oWAR is 2.0, Brett Lawrie is at 1.6 oWAR and Jose Abreu oWAR is 1.5. Looking at these numbers, the White Sox offense consists of many players who would be deemed as bad hitters. This is one of the reasons why the White Sox offense ranks in the bottom half of the league. The White Sox currently rank 23rd in MLB in home runs, with 113 home runs on the season. Thankfully Frazier added to that total on Tuesday with a go-ahead home run against the Royals for a White Sox victory.

However, I will be showcasing the value of home runs that aren’t exclusive to the White Sox. Well here we go, this is the formula for Home Run Decimal.