Defensive Runs Saved

Defensive Runs Saved, known by its initials as DRS, is a sabermetrics measure used in the calculation of Rfield and, ultimately, of WAR.

DRS was introduced with the 2006 publication of The Fielding Bible [1] by John Dewan. It seeks to quantify a player's defensive performance relative to the average major league player at his position. The general method is the awarding of "credits" (positive values) for plays made and "debits" (negative values) for plays not made, with the sum total of credits and debits for all plays comprising a player's DRS score. The size of the credits is proportional to the difficulty of made plays, with the biggest awards made for making the most difficult plays. Similarly, the size of the debits is proportional to the ease of the plays not made, with players penalized most harshly for failing to make the easiest plays.

• DRS has undergone numerous refinements since its introduction, with the method now assessing specific skills involved in making different types of plays [2], including:
• - infielder and outfielder positioning
• - infielder and outfielder range
• - infielder and outfielder throwing strength and accuracy
• - infielder double play efficiency
• - pitcher and catcher stolen base prevention
• - catcher management of pitchers (i.e. runs allowed by team with catcher compared to league average, adjusted for team's pitchers, opponents and ballparks)
• - catcher pitch framing
• - performance in unusual plays (e.g. baserunner rundowns)

DRS data are available for players and teams for seasons since 2003 [3].