RZR
Revised Zone Rating (RZR) measures, “the proportion of balls hit into a fielder’s zone that he successfully converted into an out” (Hardball Times). Invented by John Dewan and displayed on the Hardball Times for a number of years, it has fallen out of fashion over the years as more advanced, accurate measures have become available (like UZR and DRS), but it still works as an introductory defensive statistic to show saber-newbies how advanced defensive statistics work.
RZR measures a player’s range, taking three things into account: the amount of Balls In Zone (BIZ) a player receives, a player’s total Plays Made, and a player’s total amount of Out Of Zone Plays Made (OOZ). It is, essentially, a simplified version of UZR.
For more information on how the “zones” are classified, check out the detailed explanation over at The Hardball Times.
Context:
Please note that the following chart is meant as an estimate, and that league-average RZR varies on a year-by-year basis. To see the league-average RZR for every year from 2002 to the present, check the FanGraphs leaderboards.
| Rating | RZR |
|---|---|
| Excellent | 0.940 |
| Great | 0.900 |
| Above Average | 0.860 |
| Average | 0.835 |
| Below Average | 0.800 |
| Poor | 0.750 |
| Awful | 0.700 |
Links for Further Reading:
Piper was the editor-in-chief of DRaysBay and the keeper of the FanGraphs Library.
The thing with RZR is that what is good changes dramatically, both by position and by year. a great RZR for a third baseman (whom RZR hates with a particular passion for some reason) is absolutely awful for even a corner outfielder.
Any chance we could get the percentiles broken down by position?
“Revized” is misspelled. It is supposed to be revised.