L.A. Times: Angels Playing The Numbers Game
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To Mike Scioscia, UZR might as well be a demilitarized zone between warring countries and VORP a word Captain Kirk used when he wanted Scotty to beam him up to the Starship Enterprise.
To the statistics-savvy baseball follower, UZR stands for ultimate zone rating, an advanced metric that estimates a fielder’s defensive contribution, and VORP is value over replacement player, the number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player at the same position would contribute.
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Scioscia has doubts about the new-age stats, but the Angels front office is coming out of the Stone Age — or, more precisely, the Bill Stoneman Age — in its use of statistics to evaluate players and opponents.
“We definitely use them,” said Tony Reagins, who replaced Stoneman as the Angels’ general manager after the 2007 season. “It’s like baking a cake. It’s an ingredient, something you can use to evaluate your team and your opposition.”
Originally published: February 27, 2011. Last Updated: February 27, 2011.