Originally Posted by
GovClintonTyree
This is exactly the starting point I use to say that runs prevented will not have as much value as runs created in a player's WAR calculation, then you reach a completely different conclusion.
I would say of the 50 plays where the fielder can make a difference Jason is the very best and makes .... 80% of them (maybe). So maybe he saves 40 runs. On the other side, the offensive side, he creates, I don't know, 100 runs? You guys know the specifics better than me.
So the very best fielder won't have the chance to prevent as many runs as the very best hitter will get a chance to create.
So I think the defensive component of WAR ought to have less value relative to the offensive component. And I see many examples of where this leads to absurd results, which means I question the validity of the statistic.
I'd like a defensive component, but because of its subjectivity and volatility and the relative difference between the deltas in players' ability to prevent and create runs, I would suggest agreeing to a percentage, different ones for different positions, to discount dWAR.
You discounted Jason's overall WAR for his dWAR arbitrarily a few weeks ago for a particular illustration you made. It struck me as fair(er).
Why not agree to a convention? Help me understand.