Earlier this year I published a series of articles offering between-season comparisons of batters, pitchers, league quality, and league health\u00c2\u00a0in the British top tier. With the National Baseball League’s regular season now completed, it is possible to see\u00c2\u00a0where 2009 fits in.<\/p>\n
Batting dominance Pitching dominance League quality
\n<\/strong>To see\u00c2\u00a0results for 2001-2008 and the methods read the <\/em>full article<\/em><\/a>.
\n<\/em>There is one new entry in the top-ten list of most dominant batting seasons. Ryan Bird’s gross production average of .426 gives him a z-score of 1.831 when assessed against all other hitters, and this puts him fifth on the list (this moves his 2008 performance of 1.694 down to sixth). Simon Pole’s z-score of 2.444 from 2005 is safe at the top for at least another season.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>To see\u00c2\u00a0results for 2001-2008 and the methods read the <\/em>full article<\/em><\/a>.
\n<\/em>The 2009 season was unremarkable for pitching, with Michael Osborn’s z-score of \u00c2\u00a01.091 leading the way among\u00c2\u00a0players who pitched at least 40 innings. The top-ten list ranges from Simon Pole’s 2.308 from 2003 to Adam Lemke’s 1.553 from 2006.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>To see\u00c2\u00a0the methods, as well as a comparison between European leagues,\u00c2\u00a0read the <\/em>full article<\/em><\/a>.
\n<\/em>Since the seasons are compared on a relative scale, the addition of\u00c2\u00a0stats for 2009\u00c2\u00a0requires a full update of the results.\u00c2\u00a0Data from 2006 and 2007 are not included since the stats for those seasons include a\u00c2\u00a0large chunk of games between top-tier and second-tier teams. The updated quality scores out of 100 are ranked as follows: 2003 – 98.1; 2004 – 77.5; 2008 – 71.5; 2005 – 43.3; 2009 – 24.0. Given the demise of Croydon it is perhaps unsurprising to see the 2009 quality score at the bottom of the pile. Nevertheless, it is still\u00c2\u00a0very disappointing, as 2008 had offered much promise for a return to consistently high-quality baseball.<\/p>\n