MLB Instant Replay Review Stats: Week 4 Sabermetrics

Instant Replay Review Statistics and Sabermetrics are now available for MLB Week 4. As the numbers and trends begin to form, Close Call Sports and the Umpire Ejection Fantasy League continues with the strategic statistics reporting, or what may be the first measure of umpire-centric sabermetrics in professional baseball. Visit Instant Replay Review Statistics 101: Week 1 Sabermetrics for an introduction to Replay Review definitions and terms, including Review Affirmation Percentage (RAP), also known as QOC (Quality of Correctness), Replay Percentage of Success (RPS), alternatively, 1.000 - RAP = RPS, and Manager's Challenge Success Percentage (CSP).

With Week 4 of the MLB Regular Season in the books, the UEFL recaps professional baseball's "this time it counts" living experiment with Instant Replay Reviews. Bearing in mind that with n=171, our sample size is still fairly small.

Key bullet points:
"Team Most Used" (Made use of Replay Review most often): Oakland Athletics - 14.
"Manager's Challenge Leaders" (Most challenges filed): R Renteria - 11.
"Most successful Manager" (Manager with highest CSP): F Gonzalez - 1.000 in 2/2.
"Least successful Manager" (Manager with lowest CSP): J Gibbons - .000 in 0/5.
"Umpire most questioned" (Ump with most Replay Reviews): Wolcott, Davidson - 6.
"Crew most questioned" (Crew Chief whose crew has most Reviews): Gerry Davis - 15.
"Most accurate umpire" (Umpire with greatest RAP): Reynolds, Carapazza - 1.000 in 4/4.
"Umpire of greatest overturn" (Umpire with lowest RAP): Gerry Davis - .000 in 0/3.
"Overall affirmation or QOC percentage" (Overall RAP): .567 (97/171 Affirmed Replay Reviews).
Team Status Pre-Review (Winning or Losing prior to review [Win-Loss-Tied]): 54-70-46.
Team Status Post-Review (Game Record [W-L]): 81-89. (Delta: 27-19; WPCT: .587).

Actual data:
Games Played: 375 of 2430.
Replay Reviews & Decisions Rendered: 171 (on pace for 1,108 [-14 from last wk] Replay Reviews)
- Crew Chief Reviews (Replay Reviews initiated by the Umpire Chief): 32 (19%), .813 RAP.
- Manager's Challenges (Replay Reviews initiated by the Club Manager): 139 (81%), .511 RAP.

- By Inning: 8 (27), 9 (26), 6 (19), 7 (18), 3 (16), 2 (15), 5 (15), 1 (14), 4 (13), 10 (5).
- By Type: Safe/Out (121), HR/Not HR (15), Rule 7.13 (11), HBP/Foul (9), Catch/Trap (4).
- By Day of Week: Wed (33), Sun (32), Sat (26), Fri (23), Mon (22), Thurs (19), Tues (16).

Teams Most Used - Quantity of Replay Reviews (both Crew Chief & Manager's Challenge)
1. Oakland Athletics: 14 (6 Crew Chief Reviews [.833 RAP], 8 Challenges [.625 RAP]).
2. Chicago Cubs: 12 (1 Crew Chief Review [1.000 RAP], 11 Challenges [.545 RAP]).
3. Pittsburgh Pirates: 9 (9 Challenges [.444 RAP]).
3. New York Yankees: 9 (2 Crew Chief Reviews [1.000 RAP], 7 Challenges [.143 RAP]).
5. [Five Tied]: 8.

Most Successful Managers - Managers with Highest CSP
1. Fredi Gonzalez (Atlanta Braves): 1.000 CSP (2/2 Challenges Overturned).
2. Buck Showalter (Baltimore Orioles): 1.000 CSP (1/1 Challenge Overturned).
2. Ron Gardenhire (Minnesota Twins): 1.000 CSP (1/1 Challenge Overturned).
2. Bud Black (San Diego Padres): 1.000 CSP (1/1 Challenge Overturned).
5. Joe Girardi (New York Yankees): .857 CSP (6/7 Challenges Overturned).

Least Successful Managers - Managers with Lowest CSP
1. John Gibbons (Toronto Blue Jays): .000 CSP (0/5 Challenges Overturned).
2. Robin Ventura (Chicago White Sox): .000 CSP (0/4 Challenges Overturned).
3. Mike Matheny (St. Louis Cardinals): .000 CSP (0/1 Challenge Overturned).
4. John Farrell (Boston Red Sox): .250 CSP (1/4 Challenges Overturned).
5. Price (CIN), Williams (WAS) & Gibson (ARI): .333 CSP (2/6 or 1/3 Overturned).

Most Accurate Umpires - Umpire with greatest RAP
1. Jim Reynolds: 1.000 RAP (4/4 Replays Affirmed).
1. Vic Carapazza: 1.000 RAP (4/4 Replays Affirmed).
3. C Fagan, C Guccione, J Wolf, J Baker, D Bellino: 1.000 RAP (2/2 Replays Affirmed).

Umpire of Greatest Overturn % - Umpire with lowest RAP
1. Gerry Davis: .000 RAP (0/3 Replays Affirmed).
2. M Carlson, D Eddings, B Welke, L Vanover, P Emmel: .000 RAP (0/2 Replays Affirmed).