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June 22, 2007
The Veteran Bat
Despite the achievement of his 600th homer, to date Sammy Sosa represents another failed attempt at renting a veteran bat, by which I mean an older player hired on a one-year deal.
| Player | Year |
Base Salary |
Games |
AVG/OBP/SLG |
HR |
RBI |
OPS+ |
MLV |
Result |
| Sammy Sosa | 2007 |
$ 0.5 |
62 |
.242/.297/.458 |
12 |
53 |
93 |
(0.03) |
|
| Phil Nevin | 2006 |
$ 10.5 |
46 |
.216/.307/.415 |
9 |
31 |
82 |
(0.14) |
5/31, traded to CHC for Jerry Hairston |
| Brad Fullmer | 2004 |
$ 1.0 |
76 |
.233/.310/.442 |
11 |
33 |
85 |
(0.09) |
7/24, injured, did not return |
| Ruben Sierra | 2003 |
$ 0.6 |
43 |
.263/.333/.398 |
3 |
12 |
85 |
(0.06) |
6/06, traded to NYY for Marcus Thames |
| Andres Galarraga | 2001 |
$ 6.0 |
72 |
.235/.310/.424 |
10 |
34 |
92 |
(0.07) |
7/24, traded to SFO for Erasmo Ramirez and others |
| Ken Caminiti | 2001 |
$ 3.5 |
54 |
.232/.318/.432 |
9 |
25 |
96 |
(0.03) |
7/02, released |
(MLV is marginal lineup value, a measure of one player’s positive or negative effect on runs scored per game. It’s not position-adjusted.)
This list isn’t entirely consistent; Texas actually traded for Nevin during 2005 and Caminiti was also commissioned to provide solid defense at third. But they fit thematically, if not technically.
Sosa’s standing among fandom at large is helped immensely by his quest for 600, his 53 RBIs and an awful surrounding cast that bestows upon him an air of relative competence. In truth, he is, at best, a very modest improvement on the veteran bats preceding him.
Posted by Lucas at June 22, 2007 06:49 PM