OK, so what made me start thinking about this was some thing I saw on ESPN about how 1st basemen have to be good athletes. It “used” to be that you’d stick some fat guy at the end of his career at first or maybe in right, just to keep him in the lineup because of his bat.
There seems to be some stacking going on in baseball. Certain positions are supposed to be certain kind of hitters. The best example I could think of is when my beloved Cubs let Rafael Palmeiro go because supposedly, “he wouldn’t get enough RBI’s.”
This may just be a case where the guys that have physical traits that would benefit a certain position are not built to be hitters (ex: smaller, agile short stops and 2nd basemen aren’t as suited to hit the long ball).
It seems to me that there is definitely something up. It seems that we should just go ahead and get rid of the ideas like the ones I just said. After all, if you have a shortstop like Nomar or AROD does it really matter if your first baseman can hit 20 HR?
It’s like how catchers aren’t supposed to be able to run. Sure there is stacking by position in baseball. These days, first basemen usually carry a big stick, and while there are still the traditional thick-through-the-middle first basemen (think Frank Thomas and especially Mo Vaughn), your typical first baseman nowadays carries glove skills along with his bat (such as my Orioles’ new number 3 guy, David Segui).
But there are certain positions, right field among them, in which a manager might place a certain player whose defensive skills are on the wane but whose hitting abilities are still strong, especially in the National League.
Of course it does, because while you might play Slappy McOutmachine at first with his great glove, I’ve got Carlos Delgado. So I trump your Nomar.
See, the truth is that your team should want 40 homers from EVERY position. You cannot have “enough” hitting. More is always better; the more runs you can pile on the scoreboard, all other things being equal, the more you will win. You can’t say “I have Alex Rodriguez playing short, so who cares if my left fielder hits like a little girl?” You’ll improve your team by adding a better left fielder no matter what A-Rod does.
The (main) reason some positions have traditionally been short on hitting is simply because defensive abilities were so important at that position that the available selection of players was low. To use an obvious example, there are HUNDREDS of ballplayers, maybe thousands, who can play a reasonably decent level of defense in left field. I’m sure Nomar or A-Rod or Ozzie Smith could all play left field as well as most current left fielders. Since there are many, many players who can play left field, you should always be able to find one who can hit, too. If you don’t, you can be sure your opponents will.
On the other hand, the number of players who can play shortstop is much more limited, a fraction of the players who can play left field. A lefthanded player can’t play short at all in the majors, so you’re limited to righthanded players, and many talented righthanded ballpayers simply do not have the appropriate skills. So you have to select your shortstops from a MUCH smaller pool of available talent, so there aren’t as many good hitters available. The Nomars and Jeters just aren’t plentiful. Even with this rash of slugging shortstops, the average major league SS today doesn’t hit anywhere near the average first baseman.
Because of this talent disparity, any player who is a good hitter who CAN play a difficult defensive position will. Nomar Garciaparra will always play short as long as he can for the simple reason that he can. IF you play him at short there are many left fielders out there who can whomp 20 homers. But if you play Nomar in left, you’ll have a much more difficult time finding a shortstop who can carry his own bat.
Anyone remember John Kruk (1st baseman and grand slammer)from the 93 Phillies? I’ll relate a story I read about him that still gives me the chuckles. It seems John Kruk had an audience during one of his batting practices. In between scratching himself, cursing and spewing chewing tobacco on his own jersey, Kruk was approached by the Mother of one of his admirers who started admonishing him for being a poor role model for fans of athletes. Grinning, Kruk looked up at her and said, “Ma’am, I ain’t an athlete…I’m a baseball player.”