Real statistical analysis

Not from me, of course. I was just checking the Baseball America sit to see if the MWL Top 20 had been released and spotted this from Matt Eddy at their Prospects Blog over there.

Minor League Averages 2009

Perhaps the most unique aspect of minor league baseball is the wide array of offensive environments. The hitter-friendly California League stands in stark contrast with the Florida State League, where runs are scarce and pitchers generally thrive. Both leagues operate at the high Class A level, but the average Cal League team this year scored nearly a run more per nine innings (0.95) than their FSL counterpart. That works out to 133 runs over the course of a 140-game season.

To put that in further perspective, consider that the FSL’s most productive team, Dunedin, would have ranked dead last in the Cal League with their 610 runs. But if we bolster their attack by that 133-run exchange rate, the Blue Jays would surge to fourth in the Cal League with 743 runs. And that doesn’t even take into account that because of the FSL’s myriad rainouts, Dunedin completed six fewer games than High Desert, the Cal League’s most offensive outfit. Furthermore, that doesn’t take into account the number of seven-inning contests, brought about by doubleheaders, played by Dunedin. We do know that Mavericks pitchers completed more than 90 additional innings (92 2/3 to be exact) than Dunedin hurlers.

Click the link for the whole table and the explanations, but here are MWL League averages
.AVG..OBP..SLG.R/9..BB..SO....ISO..BIP..HR..RUNS
.256 .329 .373 4.67 8.5 20.1 .118 .316..76..631

And now, the Rattlers team totals in those categories*:

.AVG..OBP..SLG.R/9..BB...SO....ISO..BIP..HR..RUNS
.236 .319 .346 3.52 10.4 4.1...110 .306..62..546

Explanation of terms:

• R/9 scales runs scored to nine innings, making no distinction between earned and unearned runs.

• The BB and SO columns figure walks and strikeouts per plate appearance. Walks do not include intentional passes.

• Isolated power (ISO) is the difference between slugging and average, separating extra bases and weighing them per at-bat.

• Balls in play average (BIP) figures the rate at which struck baseballs—excluding home runs—evade defenses and are scored as hits.

• The HR and RUNS categories are league averages for team home runs and team runs scored, providing a snapshot of the various offensive contexts.

*My math may be a bit off in there -- Hey, I was a broadcast major...twice!...So, if any of you math wizards can check my work that would be great.

Bonus odd fact...For years, I have been telling people that the Midwest League is a pitcher's league. Might have to rethink that:

But the one league comparison that seems to defy explanation occurs at the low Class A level, where the Midwest League proved to be a better run-scoring environment than the South Atlantic virtually across the board. In most years, the opposite is true—and dramatically so. (Take 2007, for example.) The average age of batters and pitchers in these two circuits is practically identical, so it’s not a matter of experience. Whatever it is—changing weather patterns, uneven distribution of talent, new ballparks—it merits further analysis.