Knocking on the door is the next wave of rising stars. Mike Trout, Bryce Harper and others
blossoming into the new superstars.
It is these men who represent the game of baseball to the
average fan.
But not every player reaches these heights. Maybe they play in a small market or on a bad
team. Maybe they are overshadowed by
teammates who are giants of the game.
Whatever the reason, I present the underrated.
Austin Jackson resides here.
It isn’t hard to get overlooked when you are teammates with giants of
the game such as Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder. Austin Jackson provides the Tigers with
really their only plus defender, speed, and someone for the sluggers to drive
in.
Sometimes versatility comes into play. Take for example shortstop/second baseman/outfielder
Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays. He
provides great defense at multiple positions and also speed and an on base
presence. In fact both Jackson and
Zobrist were on base at a better clip than all but seven other players in
baseball in 2012.
One statistic created to help demonstrate the overall
contribution of a player’s worth is WAR.
WAR stands for Wins Above Replacement.
It is intended to include not only batting statistics but also defensive
value and baserunning.
In 2012, only eight American League position players managed
a WAR rating greater than five. Two of
those players were indeed Jackson and Zobrist as you can see the statistics here. Their WAR is better than stars such as Albert
Pujols, Prince Fielder, Joe Mauer and Josh Hamilton.
Digging a little deeper we have the bad team example. Shortstop Alcides Escobar of the Kansas City Royals provided gold glove
caliber defense and a batting average just under .300 last year. If he did the exact same thing for the
Yankees or Red Sox, he would not be so anonymous.
None of the aforementioned players are big home run
hitters. Home runs make the highlight
reels. Therefore, very few good power hitters are
underrated. Unfortunately, they also
seemed to fuel the steroid and PED scandals as well.
So they say chicks dig the long ball. While that might be true, it is probably not
the best way to seek out an underrated player.
This is a great post that brings to light one of the most controversial topics. WAR. Most of the announcers and true analyst like this statistic because it gives an accurate rating of players combining both offense and defense. But to the general public who doesn't really understand or follow what goes on on both sides of the ball all they see is another stat that almost cost Miguel Cabrera his MVP last year.
ReplyDeleteYeah, just like with the Gold Glove awards. They usually go to the best defender with the gaudiest batting stats or the most famous player at a position like Derek Jeter.
ReplyDeleteI love this post!! I enjoy watching baseball, and I think I am going to enjoy it even more this season because of these posts. You do an excellent job putting a human element to the game statistics.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Statistics don't always have to be cold.
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