Neil Weinberg: Hey all, we’ll chat at 3pm. Remember priority to stat, data, FG questions, but happy to take regular baseball talk as well. I’m @NeilWeinberg44 on Twitter if you want to get in touch.

See you soon!

Neil Weinberg: Alright, hey everyone!

Neil Weinberg: Let’s do some chatting.

Comment From Tim Whatley
I would obviously take Pedro over Kershaw in terms of level of peak years (those dominant yrs during the PED era is insane). But in terms of sustained greatness over a longer period of time….have to give it to Kershaw if he does this a few more years…Agree?

Neil Weinberg: Big if, Pedro was amazing for a nice amount of time. To be determined. He has been good enough for this to be a plausible question.

Comment From Pete
Hey Neil, thanks for doing this. As a batted ball type, how stable is IFFB%? What kind of sample size thereof might be meaningful?

Neil Weinberg: Hey all. It’s Wednesday afternoon, so let’s chat.

Remember, this chat focuses on questions about advanced stats, FanGraphs data/features, etc, but you’re more than welcome (encouraged?) to ask regular baseball questions as well. Fantasy and prospect questions aren’t banned, but I’m just not very good at answering them.

I’m @NeilWeinberg44 on Twitter if you want to reach me other times.

Also, my dog usually isn’t at home on Wednesdays, but he is today. That may mean a slight “please take me outside” delay, or it might not. I’ll make up for any pauses on the back end.

Neil Weinberg: Alright. Let’s discuss the events of the day. Current dog status: sleeping

Comment From Mike
why did so few teams recognize Abreu’s abilities as a hitter?

Neil Weinberg: I don’t think anyone did. Not even the White Sox. Players who come up against competition different from the normal MiLB are harder to judge because you have no idea how his numbers and performance is skewed by the opponents he faces.

If I got to play against 8 year olds, I’d look great. I don’t think we’re good at determining the talent of all Cuba opponents.

Comment From Guest
Does a foul out that occurs in the infield count as an IFFB? For example, a ball count one step in foul territory next to first base.

Neil Weinberg: Theoretically, yes. Although it’s my understanding that it is at the discretion of the stringer to call something a “popup” or not

Neil Weinberg: Hey all, happy Wednesday. I’ll be here at 3pm to chat about baseball and baseball stats. This means questions about sabermetrics, our data, and related FG-centered concepts are strongly encouraged.

Other things are welcome too, but as usual, I’m not good at fantasy and prospect stuff, so ask at your own risk.

I’m @NeilWeinberg44 on Twitter, so follow me there and ask me questions at other times too. I’ll hang til 4pm for sure, and until 5pm if you ask lots of questions.

Comment From Hunter
How do you think teams like the A’s quantify chemistry? How much of an impact do you think it has in wins?

Neil Weinberg: I don’t know. I’ve heard all sorts of ideas. I’m not really sure how to go about doing it. I think it probably makes a difference, maybe something like 0-5 wins per season? But we’re talking about all of those wins spread across 25+ players. I would imagine players do better when they are happy and good chemistry makes them happy. How to measure that? No idea. I won’t even pretend to suggest we could do it from the outside in any way

Comment From A Concerned Reader
Where’s Dave? Is he okay?

Neil Weinberg: Dave’s on vacation!

Neil Weinberg: Which is good for Dave and will finally give me a chance to get more chat views than he does! Although Kiley probably crushed me.

Neil Weinberg: Hey all. We’ll get started at 3pm.

Remember, this chat prioritizes question about our stats and our site, but I’m happy to take whatever other questions you have. Fantasy and prospect questions will get lower quality answers, though, sorry!

I’m @NeilWeinberg44 on Twitter if you want to chat some other time.

Neil Weinberg: Alright, let’s chat

Neil Weinberg: I’ll go an hour for sure, but maybe two if you ask many questions. So more questions = more chat.

Comment From Andrew
Hey Neil, what are the best metrics to use to predict a power breakout for younger players?

Neil Weinberg: To predict a coming breakout or to determine if it’s real? Really some mix of plate discipline numbers and something like ISO. You really want quality of contact data, but that’s not publicly available

Comment From CS
Do you guys have a full list of players some where that can be extrapolated into excel? I would like to utilize the spreadsheet / hyper link abilities to better conduct an offline draft

Neil Weinberg: Hey everyone, I’ll be here at 3pm to talk about our advanced stats, our features, our site, and anything else about baseball you’re interested in discussing. Fantasy and prospect questions are fine, but you’re better off asking people who know about those things.

I’m the Site Educator here, so if you’re looking to learn about stuff, that’s what this is for. I imagine we’ll have some fun Alex Gordon-Jeff Passan-Dave Cameron defensive metrics-y stuff to discuss. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you have thirty minutes to solve the puzzle!

Also, I’m @NeilWeinberg44 on Twitter, so follow me there and contact me that way if you have questions during the week.

Neil Weinberg: Hey! Let’s chat.

Neil Weinberg: I’ll be here until at least 4, but as usual, more questions = more chat! Math already, oh brother

Comment From dbet
When I search for team stats and sort by the “Off” category for runs, there are a significantly more negatives than positives. Why does it work out this way on a number based around average?

Neil Weinberg: One thing is pitchers, who are terrible. But mostly, -20, -20, and 40 average out to 0 even if there are more negatives

Comment From august
Hey Neil! It’s me, August Fagerstrom, FanGraphs author! What counts as a “defensive game” in UZR/150? I assumed nine innings but, in doing my own calculators, it appears to be slightly off. Any clue how UZR/150 is calculated?

Neil Weinberg: Hey all. We’ll get started at 3pm, but go ahead and fill up the queue now with any and all questions.

Remember that this chat is designed for questions about FanGraphs, our features, and our stats, but I’m more than happy to answer any other questions you have. Fantasy and prospect questions aren’t forbidden, but the answers don’t come with a money-back guarantee.

PS: I’m @NeilWeinberg44 if you’re reading this after the fact and have FG related inquiries. I mean, that’s also true if you’re reading it live…see you soon.

Neil Weinberg: Let’s get started. Reminder, I’ll definitely give you an hour, and I’ll run for two if you ask lots of good questions. This is a social contract, make the most of it.

Comment From Matt
What are some of the best ways to learn about the sabermetric stats and how to apply them to writing?

Neil Weinberg: Two general pieces of advice: 1) Go to leaderboards, find a stat you don’t know about, and then go look it up. We have lots of good and improving glossary entries here, and there are others (this is my job here, so you can always ask me to). 2) Read sites that make use of these stats. It’s sort of like learning a language and immersion is the way to go. If you see a post where Dave uses wOBA, you’re going to catch on…”hmmmm these guys seem to be using wOBA when talking about offense…that must be important.” Hang out on these types of sites and you’ll pick it up.

And ask questions! Always ask questions.

Comment From CStat Guy
For pitching RAR, FIP is used in the calculation. Is there a stat where a pitcher’s ERA is used to calculate a value above league average or replacement level? Thanks.

Neil Weinberg: We have a stat called RA9-WAR. You have to click to the “value” tab on the leaderboards/pages, but this is WAR based on the players RA9 (which is ERA without the unearned runs subtracted out).

Neil Weinberg: Hey everyone, let me remind you of the guidelines.

My job here is primarily to serve as something of a Site Educator. This means that I’m responsible for providing resources to readers about our data, advanced metrics, and how to make use of the features available at the site.

My Twitter handle is @NeilWeinberg44 and if you want to get in touch about these kinds of questions at times other than 3pm on Wednesdays, that’s where to find me. It’s my job, so take advantage of it.

With that said, I will prioritize “how does this work?” and “what does this mean?” type questions during the chats, but feel free to ask regular questions about anything as well. Although if you’re here for fantasy advice or prospect talk, I’m probably less helpful than some of our writers.

Think that’s it, queue is open and we’ll start at 3pm!

Neil Weinberg: Also, I’ve observed that people really like seeing pictures of Dave’s dog, so I am shamelessly posting a picture of my dog in the name of both science and friendship.

:

Neil Weinberg: Alright, let’s chat. If you’re new to the game, I’ll chat for at least an hour, but will happily go two+ if you pepper the queue with many excellent questions.

Comment From Pale Hose
Hi Neil. I have a couple questions on HR/FB. 1.) Are all HRs defined as fly balls? 2.) Does FB include IFFB? 3.) Would HR/(FB + LD – IFFB) make more sense? Thanks!

Neil Weinberg: 1) No. 2) Yes. 3) Not really. At least for the way I think about the stat. I think you could make the case that the stat you’re proposing is interesting, but a lot of line drives are 15 feet off the ground and that’s not what we typically care about with HR/FB%

Neil Weinberg: Hey everyone, let me remind you of the guidelines.

My job here is primarily to serve as something of a Site Educator. This means that I’m responsible for providing resources to readers about our data, advanced metrics, and how to make use of the features available at the site.

My Twitter handle is @NeilWeinberg44 and if you want to get in touch about these kinds of questions at times other than 3pm on Wednesdays, that’s where to find me. It’s my job, so take advantage of it.

With that said, I will prioritize “how does this work?” and “what does this mean?” type questions during the chats, but feel free to ask regular questions about anything as well. Although if you’re here for fantasy advice or prospect talk, I’m probably less helpful than some of our writers. Deadline questions welcome too.

Think that’s it, queue is open and we’ll start at 3pm!

Neil Weinberg: Also, two points of business: 1) There is a gentleman fixing my car’s windshield, so at some point I will disappear in order to pay him. 2) I injured by right index finger over the weekend so my typing is a tad slower than usual. I’ll make up for both by chatting for a long time.

Comment From Chris
That’s what you get for parking behind Fenway.

Comment From Jobber
Did you injure your right finger in the same travisty that harmed your windshield?

Neil Weinberg: I now realize how alarming those two facts were side by side.

Neil Weinberg: And no, they were not the same incident. Burned my finger in a small grease fire, windshield was hit by a rock. Windshield is fixed…finger less so. Let’s chat!

Neil Weinberg: Hey everyone, let me get you caught up.

My job here is primarily to serve as something of a Site Educator. This means that I’m responsible for providing resources to readers about our data, advanced metrics, and how to make use of the features available at the site.

My Twitter handle is @NeilWeinberg44 and if you want to get in touch about these kinds of questions at times other than 3pm on Wednesdays, that’s where to find me. It’s my job, so take advantage of it.

With that said, I will prioritize “how does this work?” and “what does this mean?” type questions during the chats, but feel free to ask regular questions about anything as well. Although if you’re here for fantasy advice or prospect talk, I’m probably less helpful than some of our writers.

Think that’s it, queue is open and we’ll start at 3pm!

Neil Weinberg: Alright, let’s chat.

Comment From Pale Hose
Hi Neil. Welcome back. I’m trying to walkthrough the part 1 of the WAR calculation for hitters. Dave uses the example of 2008 Adrian Beltre. I can match the wRAA on the player page (3.5), but I don’t follow the park adjustment. Somehow I am supposed to take a 96 Safeco park factor and come up with a batting value of 5.9 for Beltre. Can you help with this?

Neil Weinberg: This is probably too technical to walk you through in detail during a chat, but his wRAA is 3.5 and his Batting Runs are 4.8 for that year. I assume the values changed when we adjusted replacement level, so the exact values Dave and wrote about aren’t exactly correct.

I just did a very quick pen and paper calculation and got 4.7something. I’ll cover the specifics of all of these things as I update the glossary, but if you ever need specific clarifications, get me on Twitter.

Comment From Paul
Q about defense stats: if a player robs a HR, does he automatically gets 1 run saved? does it go to 4 runs saved if the bases are loaded?

Neil Weinberg: It depends on how difficult the play is. So basically, you care about how often the average defender would also rob that home run. Unfortunately, not as simple as +1 for solo HR robbing.