Bill James On Jackie Robinson's Fielding

See Jackie Robinson: Brooklyn Dodgers teammates and foes remember how he could do it all: Yes, Robinson broke barriers, but the pioneer was a player, too; one helluva player by Anthony McCarron of The New York Daily News in 2013. Excerpt:

"James says it’s generally true throughout Robinson’s career that his defensive stats, no matter where he played, are “tremendously good.” When James’ book came out, one of his measures ranked Robinson fifth all-time among second basemen on defense.

“The mystery of his career is that, while Jackie was never regarded as a really good defensive player at any position, when you look at his stats, he looks like a great defensive player at every position,” James writes in an email.

“You can attribute that to whatever you want, but I attribute it to intelligence,” James adds. “I think that he knew how to make plays, in the same way that he knew how to work the count as a hitter.”"