I finally published another highly anticipated article on quantifying the "Little Things" at Driveline...
Features my usual Mechian efficiency in getting to the point, but if you want to understand this spreadsheet I've linked here, you should at least take a look at it... That's right, Jose Guillen really did do something. That's what he's getting 3/36 for -- not getting on base, or playing defense, or being able to hit right-handed pitching, but doing the "Little Things."
Royal #2 is shocking, but maybe not so much when you think about what this stat means.
I actually did the Royals calculations a while before I started writing for Driveline, and it turned into this... which ended up a lot longer and more inconclusive than I had hoped, but maybe it will go somewhere. I hope that if you find it interesting, you'll discuss the conceptual side of things over there, although I'm willing to learn here, too.
If nothing else, it prominently features a classic example from the late 70s-early 80s Royals dynasty.
And just for the record:
+0.43
-0.03
+0.06
Figure it out.
