The Most And Least Valuable Up-The-Middle Defenders

By Matt Eddy

Speed never goes into a slump, or so the baseball aphorism posits. The same can be said for defense in Strat-O-Matic baseball, provided that the defender has low enough range and error ratings to convert a high percentage of X-Rolls.

Due to the nature of X-Roll probabilities around the diamond, defenders at certain positions are more consequential than others. Seasoned baseball fans implicitly understand the concept of the defensive spectrum and position value. In SOM terms, the X-Roll probabilities are distributed along these lines:

X-Rolls Per 216 Plate Appearances (108 Rolls Off Hitter Card)

63 | Shortstop
54 | Second Base
27 | Center Field, Third Base
18 | Left Field, Right Field, First Base, Pitcher

The table above illustrates why second base is referred to as the keystone, because the two infielders stationed near the second-base bag are the cornerstones of team defense. Shortstops (.29) and second basemen (.25) process more X-Rolls per plate appearance in the SOM game than (non-catcher) defenders at any other position.