This is part three of a four-part look at the statistics for the National Baseball League South going into the mid-season break. The final part will be on base-running and will appear on Sunday.
Complete sortable, filterable stats can be found here.
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Catchers
Among catchers yet to make an error, Grant Delzoppo of Richmond has played the most innings at that position (43). However, errors are often the result of aggressive defence (i.e. trying to gun down runners at every opportunity), and Delzoppo has only three assists, compared with the league-leading total of 11, which is that of Croydon’s Kieran Clackett.
Clackett’s 11 assists include seven caught stealings, which is also a league high. But his caught stealing rate of 26% is topped by several catchers, including Will Lintern of London, who has prevented four of twelve attempts for a rate of 33%.
The total number of wild pitches conceded by a team’s pitching staff can be used as an (admittedly very crude) measure of how hard a catcher has had to work to prevent passed balls. (Wild pitch totals reflect the number of those borderline pitches that are not that simple to catch but which a scorer might score as a passed ball if mishandled; they also give a rough estimate of a team’s tendency to let players reach base – passed balls and wild pitches cannot be scored with the bases empty). Doing this, Clackett’s ratio of one passed ball (in 79.2 innings) to 24 team wild pitches is the most impressive. Another consideration that could also be taken into account is the distance from home plate to the backstop at a catcher’s home ground.
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Infielders
At first base, London’s Josh Chetwynd has 68 put-outs and three assists, which are both league highs and have come without an error. His team-mate Jason Holowaty has the most innings of any player at one position, with 83 accumulated at second base. In that playing time he has made 20 put-outs, 17 assists, and just a solitary error, for a fielding average of.974. he has also been involved in eight double-plays. At third base, Mike Cattermole of the Blazers has the most total chances (eight) without an error. Among eligible shortstops, the Mets’ Alex Malihoudis has the best fielding average (.955). And, finally, from the mound, the Pirates’ Jared Uys has had the most total chances (nine) among pitchers with a 1.000 fielding average, but it is Brian Essery of the Mets who has the best range factor (3.56) among players meeting the minimum playing time requirement.
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Outfielders
Ryan Barwick’s four outfield assists give the Pirates’ outfielder the lead in this category. His 1.000 fielding average at centre field ties him for the lead at that position, but several players who are yet to make an error have had more total chances and more innings played than Barwick. Of these player, Troy Kantor of the Mets has had the most playing time (54.2 innings).
