Confused about all of the new stats in baseball? What's up with BABIP, HR/FB ratio, and Barrel%? WAR, what is it good for? Absolutely something.

With last night's San Francisco Giants game being rained out, today's episode is another lesson in Sabermetrics 101. Locked On Giants is data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all. These metrics may sound scary, but they're actually really important and not that difficult to comprehend. Their relevance is tied in with current Giants players.

Regarding WAR, it's actually just an attempt at combining all of the different things a player does on the field. It's simply a combination of offense, defense, and baserunning! It's important to understand that different websites (like Baseball Reference and FanGraphs) have different WAR calculations, so we must cite which one we're using. It's also important to note that different positions have different values, so don't be fooled by FanGraphs' "Def" metric, which is "Defensive Runs Above Average." For example, Brandon Belt has always put up negative numbers in this category, but it doesn't mean he's a "negative" defender. He's dinged for playing a less valuable position (than, say, shortstop), but he actually rates as one of the game's better defensive 1B.

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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.

Follow Ben Kaspick on Twitter, where he’ll be sharing the latest news about the San Francisco Giants and talking with fans.

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BenKaspick

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