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AUBB
73 Posts |
 Posted - 05/17/2015 : 11:22:29
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Defensive question/perspective only:
Coming from AA last year and now playing AAA ball - there still seems to be too many errors at some key positions occurring over the course of a tournament weekend.
To be competitive, my thoughts were that the infield needs to make < 1 per game, the Catcher can't throw multiple throws over 2nd/3rd and the pitcher keeps # of wild pitches low (and normal outfield plays, etc).
Am I indicating MAJ level ball with these expectations or should a AAA level team be making 1-to-2 errors at most per game?
Is this one of the key variables from a (15-9) AA team moving up to become a 9-15 AAA team?
Ryan |
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BaseballMom6
233 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2015 : 18:51:24
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| I do not know what age you are referring to but it seems to me you are expecting near perfection at AAA ball. That to me is very unrealistic. Yes you expect the boys to improve and decrease their mistakes, but errors happen, even in the MLB. It would be awesome if the pitchers had perfect control, and every throw down dropped right into the middle infielder's glove as he was perfectly positioned to make a tag, and the outfielder's made every play and the infielder's made no mistakes, but this is baseball. A game of imperfections. All you can hope is that the boys improve each game, don't continue to make the same mistakes, and make less errors than the other team. Good Luck to your team. |
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CaCO3Girl
1989 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2015 : 08:56:04
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At 17u I would say your expectations are realistic...at 11u I would say your expectations are completely UN-realistic.
Everyone has a job to do, and the pitchers job is to keep that runner as close to first base as possible with the expectation he might throw over there so better stay close. If and when that runner does go it is the catchers job to make sure his throws are as accurate as can be to deter future runners from even thinking about stealing. If they do their jobs right there will be very few stolen bases, but the throw downs are a vital part of the game even in MLB. Throw downs will only become less when the other team is terrified of the catchers arm.
As for errors...it depends on the age and type of errors. A hard hit ball that slams into the SS but he has zero time to react...well technically if it hits his person and he doesn't make the out at first it is an error, but that is something that will be fixed on the 60x90 field when there is more time. Dropped balls in the outfield...yeah, that is something that also gets fixed with age and experience. Errors are a BIG topic that can have many different causes. Some I think are legit errors like a ball going through the legs, and others are technically errors but really not much a kid can do. |
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AllStar
762 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2015 : 10:51:26
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"To be competitive, my thoughts were that the infield needs to make < 1 per game, the Catcher can't throw multiple throws over 2nd/3rd and the pitcher keeps # of wild pitches low (and normal outfield plays, etc)."
11 major league teams are making > .7 errors per game. 1 is actually averaging > 1. I think that your #'s are way off even if you're talking about 17 YOs. |
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JDP12
89 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2015 : 14:05:03
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| I think a realistic goal for 11-12 yr old AAA teams is a fielding percentage around .900 to .920 as a team. Looking at stats from past teams I have coached this averages out to about 2.1 to 2.6 errors per game. Obviously the competition you play can make this better or worse (how hard the other team is hitting the ball). JMO |
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bballman
1432 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2015 : 14:19:59
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| Went and looked at some numbers. In two very good southern D2 conferences, one had 977 errors in 633 games, right at 1.5 errors per game on average. The other had 614 errors in 458 games, around 1.3 errors per game. In the Sunbelt Conference (Mid-level D1 including Georgia State and Georgia Southern), there were 776 errors in 584 games, 1.3 per game. In the SEC (arguably the best D1 conference in the country), there were 765 errors for 761 games. Just over 1 error per game on average. Not sure it would be reasonable to expect 11 year olds to have better fielding percentages than college teams. |
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3sportfamily
107 Posts |
Posted - 05/18/2015 : 19:38:06
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I love stats more than most people - but this is one area that is really hard to evaluate how good a defense is based on the number of errors issued per game.
As an example - a very good defense will make plays that other teams cannot - and those plays not made will not be charged as errors. Examples - speedy 'major' outfielders will get to balls that AAA/AA outfielders might not get to. Great outfielders will take better angles or get better jumps and keep balls from getting past them and saving one or more bases.
A great catcher will block a lot more of wild pitches than many lower level catchers.
A great first baseman can save one or more errors per game, depending on the infielder throws.
Therefore, it is really hard to evaluate the defense based on the number of errors by level - because the higher level teams may make as many errors as lower level teams - but they will make a ton of plays that other fielders cannot make.
JMO. |
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turntwo
955 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2015 : 11:07:17
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quote:
Originally posted by 3sportfamily
Therefore, it is really hard to evaluate the defense based on the number of errors by level - because the higher level teams may make as many errors as lower level teams - but they will make a ton of plays that other fielders cannot make.
JMO.
THIS! ^^^^ Or even when you move players around, and player "A" at 3B makes ALL kinds of outstanding plays, then do you 'dock' player "B" when he can't make the same plays? Errors are SO objective-- unless the ball hits the glove. |
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Errors -expectation for AA/AAA/MAJ
