YES IT DOES!!!

I wanted PB to reflect a STATISTICAL analysis of the game and it uses almost everything that is observed and calculated by STATS inc and that can be properly qauntified.

GB/FB weaves its way through a lot of this game because it is a KEY stat. For example a pitching staff's GB/FB ratio will have a dramatic effect on player's range stats in the outfield and infield.

No other game uses these sorts of stats to study range. For that matter they do not even take into account pitching staff strikeouts when analysing the traditional range stats (chances per inning).

Our defensive stats use equal parts of ZONE stats (somewhat adjusted) and our calculation of trad range stats with GB/FB and strikeout stats factored in.

The result is that our defensive players vary from season to season somewhat but in general the good players are good and the bad ones are bad. Unfortunately the national media makes defensive darlings of some players because they make a few circus catches. For the most part the "end" of a play is all we "see" and most of what happens that really effects range is done before the camera even gets there (positioning and first step)...

Students of outfield range will concur that when Ken Griffey Junior used to play very deep he would make more spectacular plays at the fence but would have diminished range. The stats happen to prove out those kind of nuances but the national media types are usually ex-players who have disdain for stats.

Anybody who does not believe stats NOW play a huge role in player positioning and lineup creation just has not been paying attention. Bill James (a fellow manager in my first APBA mail league in 1975) started a revolution and he is still looked upon as a know-nothing nerd by the jock announcers...

The real students of the game like Casey Stengel and Earl Weaver used their own carefully guarded statistical analysis to make baseball decisions.

Earl Weaver, for example, knew that Cal Ripken was a terrific shortstop with excellent range---even though he did not look like it to those who analyzed only the "end" of the play. His superior positioning and quick first step trumped many "gifted looking" shortstops in the range stats.

Casey looked for pitchers who made you hit the top half of the ball and hitters who tended to hit the bottom half of the ball. The result was an enormous advantage in home runs hit by his teams verusus homers given up---at home or away!

He was replaced by Ralph Houk,a players manager. It turned out to be the dawn of the end of that Yankee dynasty. Jock announcers will tell you that pitchers do better when they know their role. Casey would laugh heartily at that notion as his pitchers never knew when they would pitch or in what role.
Ralph made them comfortable but Casey made them win.

Mike B(PB)