Rating pitchers across environments

[brett]

I took a little time and calculated the OPS+ against for a few big pitching seasons:

Pedro 2000: 19
Koufax '65: 47
Gibson '68: 42
Carlton '72: 38

I suppose you could do it as 100-OPS+ against and get:

Pedro: 81
Koufax: 53
Gibson: 58
Carlton: 62

I would probably then multiply by a pitchers IP.

Just wondering, how do you think OPS+ against compares with ERA+ for rating players across different time periods?

[538280]

It might be better in that it deals with what a pitcher did on a PA by PA basis. A pitcher could give up two hits each inning and not happen to give up any runs, that is not as good in terms of measuring the pitcher's ability as another who gives up no hits and no runs, yet ERA for example will treat them as the same. I think a better way would be though to take out the BA component because that is so highly effected by the defense behind the pitcher. I remember when I made up a pitcher rate stat that I like a lot, I called it DERA+. DERA+ compared the pitcher to the leauge in four categories:

-A pitcher's strikeout ratio. This is totally the pitcher, no outside influences from the defense, and it keeps balls out of play and thus keeps outs in the pitcher's hands. Pitchers who get lots of strikeouts are MUCH more likely to succeed in any environment than those who don't.

-A pitcher's walk ratio. Again, totally up to the pitcher.

-A pitcher's HR rate, or when I had data extra bases against rate. Pitchers can obviously benefit when their pitches tend not to get hammered for extra bases.

-A pitcher's BABIP compared to the team BABIP. For any pitchers who do show ability to have balls in play not fall for hits, it is taken into account here, and of course compared to team to adjust for team defense levels.

This basically takes the major elements of the DIPS theory and puts them into a simple statistic on a similar scale to ERA+.

[plask_stirlac]

Of course there's nothing wrong with a .99 WHIP, but since it's for 1972 I didn't expect Carlton to have such a low figure in OPS+ against... it must have been singles, a home run every other game, and few other extra-base hits, perhaps incredibly low. Then 87 walks over 346... reasonably low.

44 2B and 5 3B... in 1244 AB. A season that just popped to mind was Lowe '02, 30 2B, 3 3B, 12 HR but in 787 AB.