Replacement level

From Wiki Gonzalez

Replacement level is defined in sabermetrics as the theoretical performance level of freely available talent.

Various references have codified values that replacement level corresponds to in different contexts. The majority of references peg it at a level about 10% below that of an "average" player; i.e., a level representing the statistics of a good AAA player brought up to play in the major leagues.

The meaning of the term has been reinforced by the motto of the Replacement Level Yankees Weblog: "Hey, it's free!"

"Replacement level" can be applied to other fields outside baseball:

• Several Primates have claimed the title of "Replacement Level Primate."
• In a July 2005 Primer Lounge, Vinay panned Godfather's Pizza as "strictly replacement-level."
• In December 2002, Dan Werr suggested "Replacement-Level Girlfriend" as a possible sabermetric-boy-band song title.
• In December 2008, Crispix Attacks claimed the following while linking to a fantasy book review in someone's LiveJournal: "Replacement level for fantasy writers is really, really low."

("Replacement level" has absolutely zilch to do with The Replacements. Anyone who has seen their live shows can confirm that none of The Replacements were ever level.)