My favorite Reds blog (ok, so I only read one Reds blog) posted a recap of player values from 2003 to 2006, combining offense and fielding. The list is topped by Sean Casey in 2004, Jose Lopez in 2005, and a couple seasons from Adam Dunn. One player that doesn’t appear anywhere but near the bottom is Ken Griffey Jr. UZR, the advanced fielding metric of choice, rates Griffey as an awful center fielder. Take a look:
Year Name G UZR VORP TotalRunValue 2005 Griffey 131 -41 52.4 11 2003 Griffey 43 -13 16.5 4 2004 Griffey 80 -25 21.9 -3 2006 Griffey 108 -34 16 -18
Overall those four seasons, Griffey comes out at 47 runs below average per 150 games in the field. Evidently the move to right came a few years too late. When he’s not injured, Griffey’s still a very good hitter, but look how much of that value is negated by awful fielding. Griffey’s been worse than replacement level two of the past four seasons.
This information came as a surprise to me. I’d heard his fielding was no longer Gold Glove caliber (which is to be expected of someone in their 30’s), but I had no idea it was this bad. Why haven’t more people picked up on this with their eyes? My guess is that Griffey still looks smooth out there. He’s doesn’t botch plays on balls he’s able to run down, but he gets slower jumps and doesn’t have the speed to track down as many balls.
Instead of guessing, why not find out what Cincinnati fans observe? Thanks to Tango’s Scouting Report by the Fans, we can do just that. In 2006 Griffey was rated highly in “instinct” and “hands”, while rating poorly in “first step” and “speed”. Also of note is that fans agreed much less on Griffey’s ratings than they did on other Reds players. Perhaps some people were voting based on reputation while others paid closer attention? Going back to the 2004-2005 seasons, Griffey was seen as a much better fielder than 2006, although he was rated with the same relative strengths and weaknesses. What’s the moral of the story? Griffey should be a 1B (he could show off his hands) or a DH.
To vote on Griffey’s 2007 fielding skills, or any other player’s, click here and read the directions.
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Sky is a baseball fan and racket sport afficianado living in upstate NY. His favorite color is orange and is just about ready to give up on his life-long dream to become the next Magnus ver Magnuson (World's Strongest Man). His favorite baseball teams are the Yankees and Red Sox, proving that there's hope in the Middle East.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:08 am
I wonder, if you removed any games played while injured in some way, how greatly his numbers would improve? Or would there be any games left? If the fans love him, they’ll rate him higher knowing that he’d “have gotten that ball if he was 100%” and similar things.