Andrelton Simmons makes outstanding play in the hole (Video)
By Hayden Kane
Atlanta Braves’ shortstop Andrelton Simmons made a name for himself during the 2013 season thanks in large part to a metric that measures the quality of a player’s defense.
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That stat would be DRS, or defensive runs saved. For each player it simply gives the number of runs that he saved or cost his team over the course of a given season. On his way to winning a Gold Glove in 2013, Simmons was credited with an astounding 41 DRS, a number far above anybody else in baseball.
With September just around the corner, Simmons is on pace for another great season with 21 DRS (per FanGraphs). That will likely be worthy of more hardware, even if it is not on the same clip as last year.
As with many sabermetric stats, some folks are skeptical of how exactly these DRS numbers are determined. While even the most staunch traditionalist might acknowledge the limits of stats like fielding percentage and errors, it can still be difficult to embrace something that you don’t understand.
Fielding percentage and errors might not tell the whole story, but at least they are easy to grasp.
Simmons made an astounding play on Wednesday night that might be an exception. There were two outs and the tying run on third base. Simmons ranged far into the hole and made an outstanding play. It quite literally saved a run.
If only it were always that easy.
Check out video of the play below.