Advanced statistics have been around the game now for some time. They’ve revolutionized how we consume the game both at home and at the ballpark. Don’t believe me, check out the scoreboards at Citizens Bank Park next time you visit.
Still, even with all of the information available these days, there still remains some questions surrounding how to evaluate defense. I’m not totally convinced that the numbers available to us today, even with all the camerawork installed to supposedly meant to help in those
evaluations, are the be all/end all of the ways to properly evaluate players. It’s the best we’ve got, so it’s what we have to rely on.
Those advanced numbers have shown that as the season has gone on, Justin Crawford has shown some improvement with his center field defense. According to FRV (Fielding Run Value), Crawford was one of the worst center fielders in the game through the end of April. Since then, he has shown improvement to the point where he is somewhere in the middle. Still, there are times when he is tracking a ball where those numbers, even the ones that showed him struggling, are being kind. The eye test doesn’t match anything that would be kind to Crawford.
It’s a long winded way of asking this question of the day: what do you think of Crawford’s defense after almost two months of games? He makes some good plays at times, but the routine ones he often makes it look tougher than it is. He’s still on the learning curve, so there is still some grace to be given.
