Reader Kieran Roy would like the readers' input on a new relief statistic. Take it away, Kieran!
Relief Points
by Kieran Roy
As many Bauxites would agree, the "save" has become an antiquated statistic. Not only does it fail to effectively identify the reliever who contributed the most to preserving the win, but it has gone one step further and influenced the way managers use their bullpen. It's time a new metric was created to more accurately measure the value of a relief pitcher. For this I propose RELIEF POINTS.
I haven't yet completely finalized the formula for the new statistic, but I think I have the basic components. I am hoping, with the help of my fellow Bauxites, that we can flush it out. Of course, if Relief Points (RP) are to catch on, the formula has to be simple. Here are the components I am proposing:
INHERITED RUNNERS STRANDED times X
plus
OUTS RECORDED times Y
minus
RUNS ALLOWED times Z
I need some help in assigning the weights of X, Y, and Z. Or perhaps there is an alternate take on this idea that would be serve better.
As another point to consider, would Relief Points be accumulated in team wins alone, or in all games?
Craig again here. Now let me take over for a second, and add my thoughts. I think RP are a terrific idea; the numbers are simple and would be easy to calculate. Just naively, I took as a starting point the idea that a "zero point" could be established at allowing 5.4 runs per nine innings, and weighting inherited runners as 40% of a run (if you figure that the average pitcher allows 5.4 runs per 9 innings and had a WHIP of 1.50, then 40% of all runners eventually score). This gives the figures of one point per out recorded, minus five per run allowed, plus two per inherited runner stranded.
Using seven representative relief pitchers for examples, here are some sample 2004 Relief Points scores using my weights:
IP RA ISt RP SV
Danny Graves, CIN 61.2 28 5 54 41
Francisco Rodriguez, ANA 65.0 17 20 150 10
Armando Benitez, FLA 54.1 8 15 153 36
Matt Herges, SF 57.1 41 21 9 23
Jason Frasor, TOR 55.0 18 18 111 16
Kerry Ligtenberg, TOR 47.1 31 12 11 3
Paul Quantrill, NYY 79.0 36 26 109 0
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