2013 SABR Defensive Index calculations revealed

Beginning today on our Research Resources page, SABR members can now find the calculations for the season-ending SABR Defensive Index for the 2013 MLB season. It includes SDI values for all players who qualified for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award in 2013.

The SDI algorithm includes three measures based on zone metrics, Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR), and Runs Effectively Defended (RED) which account for 70% of the SDI value; and two measures based on play-by-play data, Defensive Regression Analysis (DRA) and Total Zone (TZ), which account for 30% of the SDI value.

The spreadsheet is available in Microsoft Excel (.xls) format.

The final results of the SDI for 2013 were released last week after the presentation of the Rawlings Platinum Glove Awards in New York. Beginning in 2013, the SABR Defensive Index is used to help select the winners of the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Rawlings Platinum Glove Award, which is presented by SABR. For more details on the new SABR Defensive Index, click here.

The Research Resources page is one of the many benefits of being a SABR member. (If you’re not a member, click here to join.)

It includes a comprehensive list of research tools, many available only to SABR members. These resources include Paper of Record, which includes searchable online archives of The Sporting News back to the 1880s; Sporting Life and Baseball Magazine archives; a searchable index of SABR publications, including the Baseball Research Journal, The National Pastime, and convention journals; case files from the 1915 Federal League lawsuit against organized baseball; articles from Bill James’ Baseball Analyst; a Guide to Sabermetric Research; SABR’s Spring Training Database, Batterymates Project, Triple Plays Database; and details on the new Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center at the San Diego Central Library, home of the SABR Collection.

To access the SABR Research Resources page, click here.



Originally published: November 21, 2013. Last Updated: November 21, 2013.