Buc-ing the trend: Pirates’ outfield playing shallower

The Cubs decided to position Dexter Fowler a bit deeper in center field this season, and it might have saved a no-hitter. Anthony Gose, vocal critic of defensive metrics, also finds himself a bit further from home plate, likely due in part to those same metrics. Research done by Baseball Info Solutions owner and chairman John Dewan in 2013 suggested that, generally speaking, fielders who play shallow in center, like Fowler and Gose used to, don’t save enough runs on the balls hit in front of them to make up for the runs lost on balls hit over their heads.

The arrival of Statcast™ has given fans and teams alike previously unprecedented access to information regarding fielder positioning, and the most visible team-mandated adjustments this season have been those that move outfielders closer to the fences in an effort to prevent costly extra-base hits at the expense of a few more singles.

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But the Pittsburgh Pirates are their own team with their own identity, and if we’ve learned anything about how the organization operates during the Neal Huntington era, it’s that they’re constantly searching for ways to use data to their advantage, and that they’re not afraid to institute a radical change. So while a deeper center field may seem en vogue, the Pirates are zigging while the Cubs, Tigers and others zag. They have instead instructed not only McCutchen, who played one of the five deepest center fields in baseball last year, to bring it in, but the rest of their outfield, too.

From a Travis Sawchik story last month, for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

“In reviewing the numbers last year, there was so much collateral damage done in front of us, balls that fell in, extra bases that were taken by guys trying to get to balls,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “It was glaringly apparent that we could make an adjustment, especially with the athleticism of our outfielders and change the dynamic of what’s gone on as far as run prevention.”

The team spray-painted white dots in the outfield during Spring Training to help guide its outfielders to their new more shallow assignments. Alterations are made from that standard point based on the ballpark, hitter and which Pirates pitcher is on the mound, but the overarching message is clear: we want you closer to home …

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