Guys, if you are like me in really wanting to believe in this game, read on. I'll try to make my analysis as clear as possible.

Mike, I think more explanations, like your last post, help us understand how much is built into this game.

The question is why is Torii Hunter's range factor so low when we all know he gets to a lot of balls. PB gives him a 1. I've used Finley for comparison, and it turned out to be an interesting choice. PB gives Finley a 9 Range.

Hunter's Zone rating is .899 vs Finley's .884. A 2% advantage for Hunter. So why is Finley so much better?

In 2002, Hunter had 0.30 chances/inn versus Finley's 0.28. A 7% advantage for Hunter. So why is Finley so much better?

Now it gets interesting; Mike tells us the chances/inn is adjusted by the pitching staff. Finley obviously gets to stand around alot behind Unit/Schilling.

Ari staff: K rate = 21.5% GB/FB 1.12
Min staff: K rate = 16.7% GB/FB 0.89

I boiled it down further. ARI staff gives up 1.00 FB per inning; MIN staff gives up 1.25 FB per inning. In other words:

25% more FBs were hit to the MIN outfield than to the ARI outfield. Of those 25% more opportunities, Hunter got to only 7% more. Hunter got to 0.30 FB/inn of the Twins team 1.25 FB/inn (24%); Finley got to 0.28 of the team's 1.00 (28%). Finley seems to get to 16% more balls than Hunter.

HAD FINLEY PLAYED HIS 1171 INNINGS FOR THE TWINS, HE WOULD HAVE TAKEN AWAY 59 MORE HITS THAN HUNTER DID! 59!! (based on the stats, of course.)