Jeff Kent might earn membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame largely because he packaged his first base bat inside a second base mitt. From the keystone, Kent was an albatross on defense but being compared offensively to other second baseman inflated his value. Reportedly, he demurred at moving to the cold corner until he could hardly bend to field grounders.
Joe Mauer is Jeff Kent in reverse, and it's causing him to bleed into irrelevance. As a backstop, Mauer's heart-of-the-order stick made him a perennial All-Star. Translate that to first base, sap it of 30 points of batting average, and you have ... a guy.
On average last year, catchers hit for on base and slugging averages of roughly .299/.390. First baseman, roughly .330/.427. That's all catchers and first basemen, including backups and fill-ins.
In a little more than a year's worth of plate appearances as a first baseman, Mauer is hitting .274/.351/.372, including six home runs. That's not Joe Mauer 2009, (.365/.444/.587) but it's All-Star conversation from the squat. At first, it's barely adequate.
Mauer's defensive value nosedives as well, from Gold Glove receiver to least important player on the field.
The result: even hitting just .294 with nine home runs in his first full season, a year of offensive fireworks, Mauer earned the Twins three wins offensively. His last two seasons combined, even in an offensive trough and with 200 more at bats, just 1.7 wins. And 1.7 wins is barely a starter.
To be fair, Mauer is now in his 12th season at age 32, and certainly fading from the glory days. But more than anything, the combination of losing the .300 batting average and leaving the battery has cost him any shot at Hall of Fame consideration.
Showing posts with label defensive value. Show all posts
Showing posts with label defensive value. Show all posts
06 June 2015
30 May 2013
The Amazing Career of a Horrible Hitter
In 18 Major League seasons he cracked 20 home runs, a quarter of them in 1974, when he slugged .300.
(He didn't bat .300; he had a slugging percentage of .300.)
His career totals of .228/.300/.280 are inflated by a .287/.351/.345 season in his prime. In other words, the only thing keeping him from being a pitcher was his inability to pitch.
He made the All-Star team in 1976, when he actually batted league average. He only came close to average two other times and retired with an OPS 32% below middling.
Sliding into outs in 31% of his 242 steal attempts further degraded his value.
Yet. . . .
His slick fielding at shortstop earned the Orioles 40 wins over his career, roughly triple his offensive value. He is remembered as a key cog in a powerhouse franchise that won four pennants. His total career value -- 55 wins -- is greater than Davey Concepcion's, a contemporary named to eight All-Star berths.
It's hard to find as truly awful a hitter as Mark Belanger who nonetheless managed to start 2000 games and play an important role on a terrific team. Few others position players lacking the ability to hit for average or power, run fast or walk often have ever authored such a respectable resume.
We can thank Earl Weaver for recognizing the value of defense and writing Belanger's name on the lineup card 150 times a season. Weaver, always an innovator, knew that Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and other pitching stars who passed through the Baltimore rotation owed some of their success to the reliable dirt-scooper at short. We can also thank the likes of Boog Powell, Frank and Brooks Robinson, Paul Blair and Don Buford for making a power contribution from their shortstop unnecessary.
But mostly it's worth remembering fondly how a skinny intellectual from Pittsfield, MA could turn one skill - often overlooked -- into a career rated 508th best ever by Baseball-Reference.
Mark Belanger would have turned 69 next week, but he died of cancer 14 years ago from a lifelong addiction to sucking on poison sticks. He leaves behind many happy Baltimore baseball fans and the memory of an accomplished career, despite the absence of a single offensive skill.
(He didn't bat .300; he had a slugging percentage of .300.)
His career totals of .228/.300/.280 are inflated by a .287/.351/.345 season in his prime. In other words, the only thing keeping him from being a pitcher was his inability to pitch.
He made the All-Star team in 1976, when he actually batted league average. He only came close to average two other times and retired with an OPS 32% below middling.
Sliding into outs in 31% of his 242 steal attempts further degraded his value.
Yet. . . .
His slick fielding at shortstop earned the Orioles 40 wins over his career, roughly triple his offensive value. He is remembered as a key cog in a powerhouse franchise that won four pennants. His total career value -- 55 wins -- is greater than Davey Concepcion's, a contemporary named to eight All-Star berths.
It's hard to find as truly awful a hitter as Mark Belanger who nonetheless managed to start 2000 games and play an important role on a terrific team. Few others position players lacking the ability to hit for average or power, run fast or walk often have ever authored such a respectable resume.
We can thank Earl Weaver for recognizing the value of defense and writing Belanger's name on the lineup card 150 times a season. Weaver, always an innovator, knew that Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and other pitching stars who passed through the Baltimore rotation owed some of their success to the reliable dirt-scooper at short. We can also thank the likes of Boog Powell, Frank and Brooks Robinson, Paul Blair and Don Buford for making a power contribution from their shortstop unnecessary.
But mostly it's worth remembering fondly how a skinny intellectual from Pittsfield, MA could turn one skill - often overlooked -- into a career rated 508th best ever by Baseball-Reference.
Mark Belanger would have turned 69 next week, but he died of cancer 14 years ago from a lifelong addiction to sucking on poison sticks. He leaves behind many happy Baltimore baseball fans and the memory of an accomplished career, despite the absence of a single offensive skill.
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