Catcher's range doesn't seem to be worth the cost, but 1B range is very underrated since, as you mentioned, it's tougher to pick up on in the traditional stats. I have 1885 Roger Connor in plenty of leagues and, as one example, through 100 games he has 21 + plays and 0 - plays. This basically means 21 instances where we got an out at 1B, or were able to turn a double play, when we otherwise wouldn't've been able to. He is leading my team in + plays, which makes him (arguably) my most valuable defensive player by that metric. Who knows how many runs (or even games) he's saved for us.
This is just one example out of many. It's part of the reason why guys like 1888 John Reilly are popular at lower caps, too.
8/21/2016 8:46 AM (edited)