Archive for July, 2009
Gaining a reliever, losing a change-up
Posted by: | CommentsStop me when this sounds familiar.
The Yankees move a heralded pitching prospect into the bullpen, and his success is a revelation. Sporting top-flight fastballs and some good breaking pitches, this starter-turned-reliever dominates, and fans wonder why this pitcher should ever be put back into his starting role. He can lock down the 8th inning. Let’s keep him there.
As this pitcher builds appearances, his numbers get better. Through 13 games, he sports a 0.98 ERA and has a 19:5 K:BB ratio through 18.1 innings pitched. The Bridge to Mariano has been built, and it grows stronger every day.
I am, of course, talking about Phil Hughes. He’s become the latest baseball wunderkind out of the bullpen, the next in a long line of good pitchers who — surprise, surprise — can be great relievers. No shocker there. While reading this piece from Marc Carig this morning, though, I realized again the price the Yankees are paying by keeping Hughes in the pen.
In the article, Brian Cashman reiterates the Yanks’ plans going forward to put Hughes back into the starting rotation. At some point in the future, Hughes will be a pinstriped starter. It may be later this year; it may be in 2010 when Andy Pettitte is probably elsewhere. What it won’t feature though is Hughes with a refined change-up, the pitch he really needs to master to become a top Major League starter.
Carig explains more:
When he is again a starter, Hughes will need to keep refining what is still a raw changeup, one he will eventually need to throw well enough to navigate lineups stacked with left-handed hitters. But despite this need, it’s a pitch Hughes has eradicated from his repertoire as a reliever, meaning he is losing valuable time toward its development.
It is an example of long-term sacrifice to fill an immediate need, a trade the Yankees are willing to make to fix a bullpen that had been ailing…But in the meantime, Hughes admits efforts to improve his changeup are “on the back burner.”
“He’s going to find a way to develop that changeup,” said Mark Newman, the Yankees’ vice president of baseball operations. “But I’ll tell you what he’s getting: major-league game experience in tough situations, under duress, against the best competition on the planet. As he does this, he gains confidence, and that is huge.”
Everyone in the Carig article says the right thing. The Yanks’ coaches and player personnel recognize that Hughes’ change-up is both a necessity and a work in progress. Hughes knows that he can be a major contributor now at the Big League level and will continue to develop a feel for this important pitch.
Yet, I can’t help but think that the Yankees are sacrificing something by moving Hughes to the pen. I’m fully in favor of getting Hughes Major League experience against good hitters in key spots. AAA hitters no longer offer much of a challenge to the young righty. At the same time, though, Hughes and the Yanks can’t sacrifice his future effectiveness for 40 or 50 bullpen innings this year.
According to the pitch f/x breakdown, Hughes has thrown a career-low 1.2 percent of his pitches as change-ups this year. He last threw one in a game situation on June 10 when he threw 3.2 innings in relief of Chien-Ming Wang. Now that it’s been over a month since he last threw a change, I can only hope he doesn’t lose the progress he made on that pitch.
Dunn promoted, McAllister disabled
Posted by: | CommentsLefty reliever Mike Dunn, who was added to the 40-man roster this past off-season, has been promoted to AAA reports Mike Ashmore. Looks like Paul Bush will leave Pennsylvania in favor of New Jersey. Dunn had a 3.71 ERA over 53.1 innings with the Thunder, striking out 76 while walking 32. He’ll try to keep those BB numbers down as he works his way closer to an invitation to the Bronx.
Meanwhile, Ashmore also informs us that RHP Zack McAllister has been placed on the DL. He doesn’t have any real details, and his frustration over the flow of information is palpable in his post. Can’t blame him. McAllister, who could be trade bait in the next few weeks, pitched a scoreless inning in the Eastern League All-Star game, though it’s said his velocity was only in the high 80s. That could have something to do with it.
A Stroll down Joba Lane: Starts 11 through 15
Posted by: | CommentsPart three of our look at some trends from Joba Chamberlain‘s 17 starts. First installment is here, an the second one is here.
June 7 Tampa Bay
Synopsis: Joba turns in a quality start, allowing three runs through six. Had one run headed into the sixth, but the Rays went single-happy, hitting three in the inning to go with a walk and give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead. Yanks recover in eighth, taking ball four off Grant Balfour to retake the lead. Joba gets a no decision.
Pitches – Strikes: 100 – 56 (56%)
Breakdown: 54 fastballs, 29 curveballs, 12 sliders, 5 changes
Average and Max FB: 92, 95.4
Notes: Not a great strike percentage with the fastball (52%), and the curve was only 55%. Velocity is okay, not great. Still, the bigger issue remains throwing strikes. Not that we need any fancy breakdowns to know that. He also seems to favor one breaking pitch each outing. This one was curve heavy. We’ve seen plenty of slider heavy games.
June 12 Mets
Synopsis: Joba’s inability to throw strikes leads him to build up 100 pitches through four innings. Short outing forces Brett Tomko into the game, who allows four runs while recording only two outs. Yanks come back, but Coke blows it. Mo allows go-ahead run, but Luis Castillo drops the ball. All is forgiven. Except Joba’s performance.
Pitches – Strikes: 100-52 (52%)
Breakdown: 69 fastballs, 20 sliders, 5 curves, 5 changes, 1 two-seamer
Average and Max FB: 91.87, 94.8
Notes: Joba clearly didn’t have his best stuff, as his average fastball was under 92. It was another slider game, but again he just didn’t throw the fastball for strikes.
B stuff + two pitches + horrible control = horrible start. Joba allowed only two runs, but he exposed Tomko, which is bad.
June 18 Washington
Synopsis: Another quality start, though again Joba puts up the bare minimum. Commits the cardinal sin by walking in a run. Offense can’t muster a run off Cy Stammen and the shutdown Nationals bullpen and lose the game 3-0. Fanbase embarrassed.
Pitches – Strikes: 100 – 60 (60%) — three in a row at exactly 100
Breakdown: 64 fastballs, 17 sliders, 12 curves, 7 changes
Average and Max FB: 92, 95.6
Notes: We’ve seen Joba around 92 for a while, and the results seem to be predictable. If he more or less throws over 55 percent strikes, he’ll be OK. If he loses his command, he’ll be less than okay. His best starts Feature his fastball at 93, 94, a decent number of strikes, and usually a better mix of his pitches. Minus the walking in a run, this one wasn’t too bad.
June 24 @ Atlanta
Synopsis: Joba pitches into the seventh, but a single, error, and RBI single chase him from the game after recording just one out. Was he tiring? Considering how rarely he’s seen the seventh this year, it’s a possibility. Coke allowed an inherited runner to score, but Yanks hold on and finish off the Braves. Oh, and Joba also hit a line drive right into the opposing pitcher’s neck and took him out of the game. He was perfect through three. The next guy came in and gave up three runs.
Pitches – Strikes: 99 – 68 (68%)
Breakdown: 66 fastballs, 18 sliders, 11 curves, 3 changes
Average and Max FB: 92, 95.6
Notes: See what happens when you throw strikes? You go deeper into the game, and eventually if you can pitch into the seventh you’ll have the stamina to get through it. All in all a good start for Joba, though again we’re just not seeing anything close to the fastball we saw last year. A few mph decrease is fine if he’s trying to get some movement on the pitch and save his shoulder. This dropoff, though, is a bit more than that.
June 30 Mariners
Synopsis: Joba throws way too many pitches in the fifth and only gets two batters into the sixth. Other than that inning he was fine, but other than that one part, I’m sure Lincoln had a good time at the play. Yanks come back off Chris Jakubauskas and Sean White and take the series opener.
Pitches – Strikes: 96 – 55 (57%)
Breakdown: 67 fastballs, 20 sliders, 8 curves, 1 change
Average and Max FB: 92, 95
Notes: He threw only 55 percent strikes with his slider, which would indicate that he wasn’t getting many swings and misses, or at least as many as he usually does. Throws almost 60 percent strikes with his fastball, which is good for him. All in all, a pretty unremarkable start.
This was a pretty ho-hum set of starts for Joba. Maybe it’s because they’re all starting to look the same. Sometimes he has some better control and is a little better. Sometimes he can’t find the zone and is bad. For the most part he’s at 92 with his fastball, picks a primary breaking pitch and sticks with it. Unfortunately, being patient means waiting more than a couple of months for a young pitcher to develop. Still, his steep drop off in velocity is certainly a concern.
Tomorrow we’ll go over the last two. I can’t wait to see the comments section on that one.
Medchill homers in his fourth straight game
Posted by: | CommentsZach McAllister has been placed on the disabled list, but I have no idea why. He pitched well in the Eastern League All Star Game just yesterday, so it can’t be that bad. Meanwhile, the Yankees had their deal with Dominican shortstop Damian Arredendo voided when it turned out he isn’t who he says he is. It’s not the first time it happened, and it certainly won’t be the last.
Triple-A Scranton (6-5 win over Gwinnett, walk-off style)
Kevin Russo, Juan Miranda & Doug Bernier: all 0 for 3 – Russo drove in a run & K’ed twice … Miranda walked & K’ed twice … Bernier K’ed
Ramiro Pena: 0 for 4, 3 K, 1 E (throwing) – Ransomian
Colin Curtis & Shelley Duncan: both 2 for 3 – Curtis was hit by a pitch, crossed the plate twice & K’ed … Shelley homered, drove in two & K’ed
Frankie Cervelli: 1 for 4, 1 R, 1 RBI – picked a runner off first with a snap throw
Yurendell DeCaster: 2 for 4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 1 RBI – walk-off solo jack
The Ghost of Kei Igawa: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 WP, 5-3 GB/FB – 56 of 82 pitches were strikes (68.3%)
Romula Sanchez: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 2-0 GB/FB - just 11 of 25 pitches were strikes (44%)
Jon Albaladejo: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, 1-3 GB/FB – 18 of 34 pitches were strikes (52.9%)
One last All Star break open thread
Posted by: | CommentsThe Yankees have one more night of R&R to enjoy before the second half begins, but not everyone is that lucky. The Mets have the Oliver Perez Horror Show taking the mound in Atlanta, which is always good for a laugh. There’s not much else going on tonight, but use this thread to talk about whatever you want. Just be civil.
Oh, and if you haven’t already, make sure you vote in our Favorite Moment of the First Half Poll. Mariano Rivera‘s bases loaded walk is currently in the lead.
Marte begins rehab assignment
Posted by: | CommentsLefty setup man Damaso Marte actually pitched in a game today, beginning his rehab assignment by allowing a run on two hits in an inning of work for the rookie level GCL Yankees. We heard this was going to happen the other day, but I don’t think any of us were going to believe it until we actually saw it. Marte has been MIA since April after coming back from the WBC with some kind of shoulder injury. A healthy Damaso Marte would be just as good as pretty much any reliever out there on the trade market right now, so I’m sure the team is eagerly awaiting his return.
Jeter’s house the biggest on the block
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Derek’s house is bigger than beating you-know-who big. (Photo courtesy of Peter Masa/News Channel 8 in Tampa)
During the waning days of Spring Training, we touched briefly upon Derek Jeter’s new 30,000-square-feet house. While Jeter already owns a five-bedroom, five-bathroom house in Tampa, that was apparently not big enough, and he is currently constructing an eight-bedroom, nine-bathroom house on Davis Islands that’s nearly the size of a Best Buy.
Yesterday, as baseball waited out the All Star Break, Richard Mullins of The Tampa Tribune went inside the numbers on Derek’s new digs. It’s quite a behemoth on the Hillsborough Bay with views of downtown Tampa. Mullins explains more:
Kered Connors LLC, which lists Jeter as the “sole member,” purchased adjacent waterfront lots on Davis Islands’ Bahama Circle in 2005 and 2006. (“Kered” spells “Derek” backward.) Kered Connors paid $7.7 million for the properties at Bahama Circle and Baffin Avenue.
Because it’s one of a kind and unlikely to attract many buyers besides the ultrawealthy, the market value of the home is hard to determine. Using the rough selling price of waterfront Davis Islands properties, the home itself could be worth $6.2 million to $7.7 million, depending on features…
[Architect Gary] Hancock declined to offer many details about the property but said the design will be English Manor style, with lots of gables and stonework. A small service shed that’s nearly complete suggests the final property could have a slate-style roof, red-brick walls and light gray stone around the windows.
Built with two sprawling wings connected by a center section, the home will wrap around a pool on the waterfront side. Two separate three-car garages on each wing flank the front yard, with a drive-through portico along the middle axis to keep the Florida summer rains off guests. Two large boat lifts now stand out in the water of Tampa Bay.
It is a house fit for the king of New York baseball. For his part, though, Derek doesn’t want anyone else poking around his property. According to Mullins, Jeter will ask Hillsborough County for permission to construct a six-foot tall fence around his new home — the better to keep the gawkers out, indeed.
Poll: What was your favorite moment of the first half?
Posted by: | CommentsEvery year, there are certain moments in the season that remind us just why baseball is the greatest game on Earth, and this year is no different. Sure, lots of us take this silly game far too seriously, but that’s only because we love it so much. We’re lucky to be fans of the greatest franchise in sports history, as the Yankees give us more great memories than we can handle at times.
With the second half set to begin tomorrow, I figured now was the best time to see what everyone’s favorite moment of the first half was. Here’s a few of the highlights:
May 8th: Alex Rodriguez homers on the first pitch after coming off the DL (video)
After a winter of self-inflicted controversy and a spring of injury, Alex Rodriguez returned to the Yankees lineup in Baltimore and promptly stepped to the plate with runners on first and second and only one out. In a scene straight out of a novel, A-Rod took Jeremy Guthrie’s first pitch and deposited it into the left field stands, reminding everyone in baseball what he’s capable of. They were the only runs the team would need that day, as they skated to a 4-0 win.
May 15th: Brett Gardner‘s inside-the-park homer (video)
After visiting a children’s hospital earlier in the day and receiving a bracelet from a young girl who told him he would hit a home run if he kept it, Brett Gardner stepped to the plate in the 7th with the Yankees trailing the Twins 4-1. He’d entered the game in the 4th inning after Johnny Damon was thrown out for arguing balls and strikes, and blooped Jesse Crain’s 0-2 pitch into shallow left field. The ball squibbed past Denard Span and rolled all the way into the corner as Gardner raced around the bases for the Yankees first inside-the-park homer since Ricky Ledee did the honors back in 1999. The homer helped propel the Yankees to a 5-4 walk-off win.
June 1st: Joba Chamberlain‘s belly flop double play in Cleveland (video)
After allowing the first two runners to reach base via a walk and single, Joba Chamberlain faced Indians’ catcher Kelly Shoppach with no outs in the 5th inning of a 1-1 game. Joba’s first two pitches were outside, and Shoppach squared around to bunt the runners into scoring position. He made contact on the third pitch but bunted it straight up and toward third base. Joba hustled off the mound and laid out almost in slow motion to make the catch, then jumped to his feet and fired the ball to second base to double off the runner there. The Indians wouldn’t score in the inning, and the Yankees walked away with a 5-2 win in one of Joba’s best starts of the season.
June 12th: Yankees walk off with a win when Luis Castillo drops the ball (video)
Having lost their last three games, the Yankees came into the bottom of the ninth against the Mets down a run in a see-saw, back-and-forth affair. The Mets brought in their shiny new closer to lock it down, and K-Rod retired Brett Gardner before allowing a single to Derek Jeter. Jeter stole second when Johnny Damon struck out, and the Mets opted to walk the molten-hot Mark Teixeira and face A-Rod. After working himself into a hitter-friendly 3-1 count, A-Rod popped K-Rod’s 28th pitch of the night up toward shallow right for an easy out. Except the out was never made because Castillo dropped the ball. Teixeira crossed home because he hustled around the bases, and the Yanks walked away winners in the most improbable fashion.
June 28th: Mariano Rivera walks with the bases loaded for his first career RBI (video)
With his team up by one and rallying for more in the top of the ninth, Mariano Rivera came to the plate for just the third time in the regular season in his career. The bases were loaded with two outs, but K-Rod’s first two pitches were outside. The next two were over the plate and Mo spoiled a third before taking the sixth pitch high for a full count. K-Rod’s 31st pitch of the night was again high, and Mariano took first base on a walk, picking up his first career RBI in the process. It’s almost an afterthought that he stuck around to pick up his 500th career save in the bottom half of the inning.
Those are just some of the highlights of the first half. Vote on your favorite below, but if you think another moment was the best of the first half – maybe Nick Swisher‘s relief apperance, or AJ Burnett’s Immaculate Inning, or one of Melky Cabrera‘s various walk-off hits – use the “Add an Answer” button to write in your own favorite moment.
First Half Review: Coaching Staff
Posted by: | CommentsAt 51-37, with the third best record in baseball, leading the Wild Card and just three games back in the AL East, the Yankees had a fine first half. Yet it was a tumultuous three months, wrought with streaks and injuries and strange trends, causing mass panic at times among Yankees fans. Over the extended All-Star Break, we’ll go over each position to see what went right, what went wrong, and how things look for the second half. We already looked at the starting pitchers, relievers, corner infielders, catchers, middle infielders, outfielders and designated hitter, and now it’s time to discuss the coaching staff.
The expectations
After a somewhat rocky first season in New York, we were all looking for manager Joe Girardi to be a bit more honest and forthright when it came to discussing team matters. His in-game strategy was mostly fine, save his sometimes LaRussaian dedication to platoon matchups and the occasional boneheaded move that every manager is guilty of. It would have been nice to see a little evolution out of the manager in those regards, but I don’t think anyone was expecting it.
Pitching coach Dave Eiland was given over $240M worth of new toys this year and was expected to continue working with all the young arms on the pitching staff. Hitting coach Kevin Long was expected to get Robbie Cano back on track, and to also get Melky Cabrera back to being a respectable big leaguer. Organizational do-it-all guy Rob Thompson moved from bench coach to third base coach, replacing the sendtastic Bobby Meacham. Tony Pena went from first base coach to bench coach, and Mick Kelleher was the new guy brought in to take over first. Pena was moved basically to act like a second manager, giving Girardi a wingman in the dugout.
The results
It’s tough to say what falls under the cover of the coaching staff and what doesn’t. Girardi has been better with the media and Rob Thompson is doing a good job simply because no one is complaining about him. The pitching staff isn’t performing up to expectations, and the blame is being put on Eiland more and more with each passing day. Despite some ugly slumps, the Yanks offense has been good and there are few complaints about the job Long has done. Overall, the staff has done well, but let’s break it down individually.
Joe Girardi
Girardi vowed to improve his media relations over the winter and he’s delivered. While what he says isn’t much of a concern, it’s expected that the people running the team be truthful. If someone’s hurt and they don’t know how long they’ll be out, he says it, whereas last year he would try to play it off as minor and say it’ll just be a few days. Choosing words a little more carefully has gone a long way.
On the field, Girardi is basically the same guy as last year. There’s the occasional head scratcher but nothing extreme. If anything, I think we would like to see him a little less platoon crazy, maybe let Eric Hinske play third against a lefty when A-Rod needs a day off, things like that. Oh, and no more bunting before the seventh inning. Just don’t do it.
Tony Pena
Pena’s very respected around the game and is fine as Girardi’s right hand man, but his real value comes in his work with young catchers. Jorge Posada‘s defense has improved considerably since Pena joined the team, and he helped nurture straight outta Double-A Frankie Cervelli into not just a passable Major League catcher, but a very good one defensively. In the unlikely scenario that Girardi gets pink-slipped midseason, Pena makes for a damn fine interim manager and would be in consideration as a long-term solution.
Kevin Long & Dave Eiland
The Yankees as a team are leading the planet in OBP (.358), SLG (.471), and (naturally) runs scored (495). There’s very little complaint about the offense, but it would be nice to see the nine-figure first baseman not suffer through prolonged slumps (which he’s already done twice this year) and to see Robinson Cano get back to his early season plate discipline. Something tells me that last part might be akin to asking him to squeeze water out of a rock.
The pitching staff as a whole has been a disappointment, especially when they’ve issued more walks than all but one other AL team. They’ve thrown just 48.2% of their pitches in the strike zone and have one of the worst first pitch strike percentages (57.8%) in the league. Joba Chamberlain hasn’t taken to any recent instruction and it’s Eiland’s job to get him right. If the pitching staff continues to flounder and if it leads to another early postseason exit, Eiland is the member of the coaching staff most likely to get the axe.
Rob Thompson & Mick Kelleher
Thompson has been an upgrade over the departed Meacham simply because we haven’t seen a runner thrown out at the plate seemingly every game. The Yankees boast a mediocre 70.9% success rate on stolen base attempts (the break-even point is around 72%), but I don’t think we can attribute that to Kelleher not being able to read pitcher’s moves or anything like that. He’s done wonders working with the infielders, with Derek Jeter enjoying his best defensive season ever and Cano rebounding well with the glove.
I’m not really sure what bullpen coach Mike Harkey does other than answer the phone and occasionally stand in the batters box when guys are warming up before the game, so I can’t really say anything about the job he’s done.
Expectations for the second half
The biggest expectations for the coaching staff the rest of the year fall on the shoulders of Dave Eiland, as we all want to see the pitching staff start performing up to its capabilities. There’s only one starter on the team that needs to nibble on the corners to survive, yet for some reason everyone’s doing it. Eiland has to correct that — his job depends on it.
Meanwhile, it would be nice to see Girardi employ Phil Hughes as a multi-inning relief ace, but that seems like just a pipe dream and I’m not expecting it. The team has looked lethargic at times (they had one foot in the batter’s box and one foot on the beach in Anahiem over the weekend), so Girardi does need to get on them a bit and make them realize that every game counts. One thing we know for sure: if the team falls short again, the coaching staff is the one that will feel the pain.
The worst .400+ OBP seasons
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Yesterday we had a little fun by looking at some of the best offensive seasons put up by a player with a sub-.300 OBP since 2000, so now it’s time to turn the tables and look at the “worst” offensive seasons by a player who had a .400+ on-base percentage. Remember that when you say someone had a bad season with a .400 OBP that it’s relative, because anytime a player gets on base 40% or more of the time, they’re damn productive.
We’re using the same criteria as yesterday: 400 plate appearances minimum from 2000-2008, with wRC used to determine who was the least productive player. Is it the perfect methodology? No, but for what we’re doing it’s fine. I’m not trying to prove anything, just having a little fun. There have been 169 instances by 70 different players when someone has put up at least a .400 OBP in at least that many plate appearances this millenium. As you can imagine, we’re talking about the best of the best here. Bonds, Pujols, A-Rod, Manny, Chipper, guys like that make up the majority of the list. There are a couple of one and done guys like Matt Lawton, John VanderWal and JT Snow mixed in as well. You can see the full list sorted by wRC by clicking here.
Here’s the five “worst” seasons by a player who managed to make outs no more than 60% of the time.
Player: Mitch Meluskey, Astros, 2000
Stats: .300-.401-.487, 21 2B, 14 HR, 69 RBI, 1 SB, 66.9 wRC
Catchers aren’t expected to produce much offensively, but when one has the kind of season Melusky had in 2000, it’s reason to get excited. When the player has that season at age 26, it’s reason to get really excited. Unfortunately Meluskey’s bat wasn’t the only thing that did the talking that year, because he was kind of a dick and had a few run-ins with vets Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell (he also punched outfielder Matt Mieske in the face during a June altercation). He was traded after the season to Detroit in a six player swap that brought Brad Ausmus back to Houston, and managed to get into just 20 more big league games in his career.
Player: Edgar Martinez, Mariners, 2002
Stats: .277-.403-.485, 23 2B, 15 HR, 59 RBI, 1 SB, 67.5 wRC
Edgar Martinez was an absolute monster in his prime, posting at least a .425 wOBA from 1995-2000, and it took a severe hamstring injury in 2002 to finally slow him down. His offensive output was still pretty amazing despite the injury, and this “bad” .403 OBP season for Edgar is a career year for most. Fun Fact: Edgar’s 147 career OPS+ is the exact same as Alex Rodriguez‘s. He was some kind of hitter.
Player: Nick Johnson, Yankees, 2003
Stats: .284-.422-.472, 19 2B, 14 HR, 47 RBI, 5 SB, 72.0 wRC
Nicky J’s second season in the big leagues was also one of his most productive, but he was expendable with Jason Giambi in town. At 24-yrs old he walked more than he struck out (57-70 K/BB) while playing with the pressure of being a high profile rookie on the Yankees, and looked like a budding superstar when he flashed the leather. Johnson was shipped off in the Javy Vazquez trade after the season (hey, look at that, someone in yesterday’s post was also traded for Homerun Javy … small world), and as we all know he’s struggled with injuries since. When he’s healthy, the dude can rake.
Player: Melvin Mora, Orioles, 2003
Stats: .317-.418-.503, 17 2B, 15 HR, 48 RBI, 6 SB, 76.4 wRC
It’s funny, because if you look at Mora’s career, there are two seasons that stick out like sore thumbs: 2002 & 2003. Discounting those two seasons, his career OBP is .336. Mora’s had himself a nice long career and he’s made himself a ton of money, but it’s almost like he gave the whole plate discipline thing a try and decided it wasn’t for him. Weird.
Player: Austin Kearns, Reds, 2002
Stats: .315-.407-.500, 24 2B, 13 HR, 56 RBI, 6 SB, 76.6 wRC
A major prospect viewed as a key ingredient in the future of the Reds organization, Kearns had a monster rookie season as a 22-yr old and looked like a budding superstar (used that one twice in the same post). Alas, it remains the best season of his career, as he’s since bottomed out with the Nationals (.210-.317-.316 over the last season and a half). He’s still just 29, so maybe there’s still hope he can turn it around.
* * *
As you can see from this graph, there are a few players who were more productive with a sub.-300 OBP than some players with a .400+ OBP. Well, based on wRC anyway. Kinda crazy, but weird statistical quirks like this happen all the time. Take pitches kids, you don’t have swing at everything.
Photo Credit: CollectSports.com
Just 21 days 'til pitchers and catchers report.
