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Abstract:
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We review the advances in evaluating defensive ability among Major League Baseball players, from the early part of the previous century to the most recent developments. Most early attempts to measure individual fielding ability were hampered by a lack of detailed data, but the current availability of such data has led to several interesting evaluation metrics. We provide a generic mathematical model sufficient to describe each of them, and explicate the most prominent traditional, discrete, and continuous metrics. We assess the strengths and weaknesses of each, compare their results, and offer a brief glimpse into the future of defensive evaluation.
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