Time and time again, announcers refer to a first baseman’s ability to save errant throws by scooping them out of the dirt, but the baseball community has had no way of objectively confirming commentators’ observations. 

 

Bill James devised an answer to this problem and related questions with the Good Fielding Plays and Defensive Misplays systems. Baseball Info Solutions’ video scouts now track 28 categories of Good Fielding Plays (GFP) and 54 Defensive Misplays & Errors (DME), including GFP #7 "Handling Difficult Throw", which includes traditional first baseman scoops, and GFP #8 "Catches Wild Throw" which saves an overthrow but pulls the fielder off the base. Combining GFP #7 and #8, here are the leaders in Scoops GFP:

 

 

Carlos Pena has saved more bad throws for the Cubs than any other fielder this year, followed by rookie Freddie Freeman of the Braves. However, an observant Cubs fan would point out that Pena hasn’t prevented Starlin Castro from making 21 errors this year, 12 on errant throws. 

 

Fortunately, BIS’s video scouts also track DME #14 "Failing to Catch the Throw", for when the first baseman (or any fielder, for that matter) can’t come up with the catch. Pena, for example, has mishandled nine throws from fellow infielders- the third most in baseball. The average first baseman scoops about 4.5 throws for every mishandled throw, which translates to a "Scoop Percentage" of 82 percent. 

 

 

 

Baseball Info Solutions’ R&D team has translated this scoops data, along with other Good Fielding Plays and Defensive Misplays into the common currency of Runs Saved. Not only can we evaluate the best "pickers" at first base, but we can measure their impact on the team’s defense compared to the league average. Aubrey Huff, despite his struggles at the plate this year, has saved Giants pitchers over two runs by saving errant throws that other first basemen might have missed.