Enhancing strategic defensive positioning and performance in the outfield

Over the past 20 years, professional and collegiate baseball has undergone a transformation, with statistics and analytics increasingly factoring into most of the decisions being made on the field. One particular example of the increased role of analytics is in the positioning of outfielders, who are tasked with tracking down balls hit to the outfield to record outs and minimize potential offensive damage. This paper explores the potential of location analytics to enhance the strategic positioning of players, enabling improved response and performance. We implement a location optimization model to analyze collegiate ball-tracking data, seeking outfielder locations that simultaneously minimize the average distance to a batted ball and maximize the weighted importance of batted ball coverage within a response standard. Trade-off outfielder configurations are compared to observed fielder positioning, finding that location models and spatial optimization can lead to performance improvements ranging from 1 to 3%, offering a significant strategic advantage over the course of a season.

Automated summary

Over the past two decades, statistics and analytics have increasingly influenced decision-making in professional and collegiate baseball, particularly in the strategic positioning of outfielders. This paper demonstrates the potential of location analytics in optimizing outfielder positioning, resulting in improved performance. By utilizing a location optimization model and analyzing collegiate ball-tracking data, the study shows that trade-off configurations of outfielders can lead to performance improvements ranging from 1 to 3%, offering a significant strategic advantage over the course of a season.