I want to delve a little more into Betts vs Trout, 2018. Not talking about past seasons. Just this one.
This article by ESPN (
http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/23520017/los-angeles-angels-mike-trout-pace-greatest-season-mlb-history) gives the impression that Trout is having the greatest season ever.
Right now, Trout has the edge in bWAR (3.5 vs 3.1), though fWAR has them reversed (2.8 for Trout, 3.2 for Betts). I just want to focus on bWAR right now.
Here are their respective lines:
Trout: 195 PA, 155 AB, 34 R, 8 2b, 2 3b, 12 HR, 25 RBI, 8 SB, .290/.431/.600/1.031, 182 ops+
Betts: 178 PA, 154 AB, 46 R, 16 2b, 1 3b, 13 HR, 28 RBI, 11 SB, .364/.438/.734/1.172, 205 ops+
Baserunning:
Trout: 8 SB, 0 CS, 5 bases taken, 1 out on bases = 12 net bases taken
Betts: 11 SB, 2 CS, 6 bases taken, 2 out on bases = 13 net bases taken
So Betts is crushing Trout at the plate. And he even has a slight edge in base running. How in the hell does Trout have a 3.5 to 3.1 edge in bWAR? The only explanation is defense. B-ref has Trout at 0.8 dWAR and Betts at 0.1 dWAR, which explains the difference in total bWAR. But is this fair to Betts?
Trout gets credit for being a CF but Betts is a phenomenal centerfielder who just happens to be playing RF next to another phenomenal CF in Bradley. Betts has been unbelievable (again) this year defensively. Is it really even semi-accurate to credit Trout with that much of a defensive advantage over Betts? And how is the offensive difference only slightly in Betts' favor? He's really crushing Trout offensively. Is it because, again, Trout plays CF and even his OFFENSE gets extra credit because Trout is a CF?
I just don't really get how Trout has an overall edge in bWAR when Betts is doing what he's doing.