Let's Talk about Freddie Freeman, Baserunner Extraordinaire

The FanGraphs Newsletter, August 18, 2023 [READ IN BROWSER]( August 18, 2023 Freddie Freeman is a fantastic baseball player. Since the beginning of 2020, he is tied with [Juan Soto]( for fourth in wRC+, sitting at 157. He is also as durable as any other position player in the league, ranking third in games played in that same span. But wRC+ and durability aren’t why we're here to discuss Freeman today. Instead, we are interested in his baserunning. Baserunning is certainly not the most important aspect of Freeman’s game, but he is darn good at it. Before Esteban Rivera gets into how and why, though, he will talk about his lack of speed. At 26.6 ft/s on average, Freeman is a 35th-percentile runner; in the landscape of the league and other good baserunners, he is a bit of a tortoise. But that doesn’t stop him on the bases. When it comes to baserunning, your chances are much better of being above average on the basepaths if you can boogie. If you peruse the [BsR]( or [Statcast Runner Runs]( leaderboards, you’ll see mostly 90th-percentile runners and above, with the bottom line being in the mid-70s. Rarely does a name like Freeman’s pop up, but he ranks 17th of 139 in BsR and 37th of 295 in Runner Runs. For him, these results come about because of other aspects of the game that you don’t need speed for: instincts, reads, and preparation. The further down you are in the speed department, the more important these skills become. This wasn’t always a positive part of Freeman’s game, but in the last few years, he has been consistently above-average. [Let's Talk About Freddie Freeman, Baserunner Extraordinaire, by Esteban Rivera]( [The Guardians Have Yet Another Big League Starter in Gavin Williams]( Williams joins Logan Allen and Tanner Bibee as graduates of Cleveland's player development system making their mark. | by Chris Gilligan [Five Things I Liked (Or Didn't Like) This Week, August 18]( Defense! Offense! Top draft picks! Joc Pederson emphatically agreeing with an umpire! Everything you can imagine, in other words. | by Ben Clemens [Those Goshdarn Marlins and/or Orioles Are at it Again]( It's like it's 2012 all over again. | by Michael Baumann [Teacherman-Taught, Kerry Carpenter Is Schooling Pitchers in Motown]( The under-the-radar Detroit Tigers slugger credits an untraditional hitting instructor for his success. | by David Laurila [I Think Win Probability Added Is a Neat Statistic]( Before we get to end-of-season awards debates, I want to say a few words in support of WPA as a way of thinking about MVP candidates. | by Davy Andrews [Bobby Witt Jr. May Be 2023's Best-Kept Secret]( You can be excused, however, since nobody should be forced to watch the Royals. | by Dan Szymborski [Juan Soto's Brief Walkless Run]( As always, Juan Soto is leading the league in walks. But for just a little while, the gift completely abandoned him. | by Davy Andrews 🎧 [Effectively Wild Episode 2047: This Podcast Now Competes in the Big Ten]( [DOWNLOAD THE FANGRAPHS APP]( [FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [MLB Awards Watch: Ohtani a lock, but what about NL MVP race?]( by Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield, ESPN ($) [Examining Non-Effective Cash Usage in MLB Spending Optimization]( by Dylan Drummey, Pitcher List [Contenders with the easiest (and toughest) schedules remaining]( by Will Leitch, MLB [If a Hitter Breaks Out and Nobody Notices, Did It Really Happen?]( by Robert Orr, Baseball Prospectus ($) [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2023 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](