Man, all I can hear from so many people, as far as Mets playing left field is concerned, is dread.
"C'mon, man, we need a guy who can play defense out there. Oh, and if he can vaccinate people between innings, too, that is what I call a multiple skill defensive talent."
Before you get all hot and bothered that Dominic Smith is some sort of a liability out in left field, just remember a former NY area player who was periodically transplanted to left field who didn't do so bad at it. Hall of Fame lefty hitter, too, in fact.
No, not the guy in the suit, the one in the baseball uniform next to him, named Yogi Berra. Maybe ya heard of him. You know, the guy who did Yoo Hoo commercials.
I was, by the way, at Yogi's first comeback game on May 4, 1965, as a Met's starting catcher, after not playing in 1964. In 1964, he managed the Yanks to 99 wins but a 7 game World Series loss - SEE YA! He then became a Mets' coach in 1965, and managed the Mets from 1972 to 1975, and almost snatched a World Series win from the mighty Oakland As in 1973.
I went that night in 1965 specifically because he was going to be in the line up. A few days earlier, he had un-retired and went 0 for 1 in Cincinnati.
As I recall it, first at bat at my game, BANG, a sizzling bullet up the middle. Second at bat, BANG, an equally sizzling bullet up the middle. He scored a run in a 2-1 game where lefty Al Jackson went 9 innings, allowed just one run, and fanned 11.
The Berra comeback, sadly, was very short-lived, as he re-retired a few days short of his 40th birthday. His body wasn't ready for any more, but it was a thrill to be there that night and see those line drive singles. Yes, they were ropes.
Anyway, Yogi in his long and illustrious career not only caught, but also played 260 games in the outfield, and compiled 15 assists and just 6 errors.
He also had a career split of .285/.348/.482, with a career high in average of .322 (his second best was .307) and a .534 slug % (2nd best was .533, and he only cleared .500 one other season).
Of course, Yogi (if you didn't know it) as a catcher had a GUN for an arm, and threw out 49% in his career, nailing 403 would-be base stealers. He also, in an era where the only playoff games were World Series games, played in 75 playoff games.
Now, on to our guy.
Dom Smith's split last season?
.316/.377/.616. Yogi never had a split close to that.
And Dom did it without a short right field porch like Yogi had. Yogi hit well, both home and road, but HRs were very short-porch-aided: he hit 210 HRs at home in 4,063 ABs, but "just" 148 road homers in 4,296 at bats.
In his emerging 2019, with sporadic playing time, Smith hit a strong .282/.355/.525, also very favorable compared to Yogi.
Me?
I'd prefer Smith to play 1B and Pete Alonso to DH. Smith has an above average 1B glove.
But baseball's idiots did not (yet?) find the will to simply make the DH in the NL permanent. Hence Smith in LF,
So, you ask me, can I live with Dominic Smith in left field?
Hey, if the Championship-era Yanks could put Yogi out in left field, I sure as heck have no problem with Dom out there for 150 games.
At the pace that he was hitting last season, 150 games in 2021 would translate into this:
63 doubles, 30 HRs, a few triples, and 126 RBIs.
Essentially, Dom hits like Yogi, with perhaps a little bit of...Babe Ruth...added in. Well, not quite - the Bambino in one season had an incredible 119 extra base hits.
In 2021, I'd even take 80% of Dom's projected 2020 results with ZERO PROBLEM, as 80% would be 50 doubles, 24 HRs and 101 RBIs, and oh, let's say .290.
So here is your chance, all you defense-minded purists...
EMBRACE Dom Smith as your 2021 Mets' left fielder.
I plan to.
18 comments:
So, by that same logic after 2019 the Mets should have embraced J.D. Davis as their third baseman, right? :)
FYI: The commonly used device of BA/OBP/SLG is called a slash line, not a "split."
Jimmy
I will slash going forward, Jimmy, thanks.
Reese, I am one of those who thinks that JDD has a big 2021 coming
It was much the same logic that everyone was willing to anoint Jeff McNeil the permanent full time second base job in 2019 after his half season of success in
2018.
Ok, so what did Berra do that Huntley didn’t do? Was it merely embracing being in the lineup?
While I’m very thin on Yankee history, as I remember it there were three good catchers on the Yankees and Stengel rotated them. Sometimes he put one at 3B and Berra in LF. I wonder if Berra had a positive OAA. Joking...
The problem isn’t Smith in LF, it’s Smith in LF and Nimmo in CF...
Tom, isn’t Yoo Hoo owned by Berra?
I love Dom Smith - one of my favorites and have been a fan ever since they drafted him, even through the down times.
But ... my fear is that he could lose a little focus and take his eye off the road. While that was a great interview he did with Barry Bonds the other day and I love his leadership and words with Black History Month (and in general), I am hoping he isn't too distracted from the game to continue his development.
Speaking of that interview, I sat there the other day and took the whole hour+ to watch it. I came away with a much better opinion of Bonds.
Last thing . .Yogi didn't almost snatch another World Series championship from the A's. He had it snatched from him - he gave it away with the pitching rotation after they were up 3 games to 2 by pitching Seaver and Matlack on short rest when he had Stone who could have pitched game 6. (my opinion, although they also didn't score much against Hunter and Holtzman in games 6 and 7, either).
It's a false analogy. Most of us don't have a reliable memory of Yogi in LF -- it is very hard to imagine that he was good out there. There are no stats or measurements (as unreliable as they still are). Just because a guy stood out there doesn't mean anything. So did Lucas Duda, remember?
Dom seems like a wonderful guy. A smooth-fielding first baseman (though a little short). I am eager to see him get another 500 ABs to see where he is as a hitter. Many positive signs. I'm not completely convinced just yet.
He's not a left fielder. That's not a situation that can stand long-term, not if you care about outfield defense. But like JD at 3B, I'd like to see this play out and see what happens. Same with Pete at 1B. Let's see what we've got.
The stupid DH situation really made Sandy's job difficult, so I understand the inability to make a decisive move. In fact, I'm glad he didn't.
Will it be there be a DH in 2022?
The NBA is run so much better than MLB.
Jimmy
Remember, that’s my fear with Dom Smith too, that he could have Alonso’s off season from last year.
I have always liked Bonds, from when he came out of Arizona State, but even Binds said several times in that interview that his daughters made him do it. They want their dad to stop being considered a surely wise ass, I guess. Bonds’ example from Ozuna show his impatience for the insecurity of a young hitter, but I realize that it’s a long season.
My favorite line was when Bonds said to Smith, “I can hit it out of the ballpark sitting in a chair, but our job is not chasing close pitches, it’s keeping the line moving.” Smith also asked Bonds what of his records wouldn’t be broken (I’m trying to remember here): the 762, the 73 in a season, the .609 OBP, the 232 walks, or the .863 slugging? Bonds said the OBP because players don’t have the patience to walk and have good averages.
As a Pittsburgh Bonds admirer, not as much the SF model, I was glad to see him open up but I can also see that it would take a young African American baseball player to do that. In fact, the early part of the conversation not being about baseball seemed to put Bonds at ease and he really loosened up as they went.
Here is why I do not think Smith will have a "2020 Alonso."
Smith in 2019 did very well with the bat despite sporadic play, which messes up most hitters. I remember thinking, if he could do that being in and out of the line up, while learning LF, what will he do in 2020 as a 1B? Killer.
I don't think he will let celebrity and social focus go to his head, but he does need to be a bit cautious about that distracting him. The spotlight can get glaring if facts and circumstances become an issue - just look at NY Guv right now.
Then tore it up in 2020. I think he is the "tore it up" hitter. He is tracking very closely to Adrian Gonzalez, who stayed strong offensively for years. I think Dom's bat will make us very happy.
Yes, the Yanks had Johnny Blanchard, Elston Howard, and Berra - a true embarrassment of catching riches. Back then ,I imagine that any team that did not hve a Campanella would have loved having any one of them as their starting catcher.
Yogi in left field had help - named Mickey Mantle in CF. But that left field in Yankee Stadium was so much bigger than Citifield's LF. I do not recall Yogi playing out there, although I am sure I did see him out there. Considering all the catching mileage on those legs, he deserved much credit for his fielding.
I still wonder (and probably will never know) if Alonso could play LF. Of course, his motivation would be a factor, but if he worked at it IMO he could be at least mediocre at it. That would give Dom the opportunity to be our SUPERB 1Bman.
I'd rather see excellence at 1B and mediocrity in LF than see mediocrity at both.
If Pete tried it in ST and failed, we can always go back to the current status.
Good point, Bill. My guess is Pete would be really bad out there. Pete did play some college 3B, so I guess one possibility would be Smith first, Pete 3rd, and Davis LF. Doubt it would work.
He might be bad, but nothing to lose by trying. The reward IMO outweighs the risk.
It always bothered me when the Mets would sign washed up former Yanks, Giants or Dodgers. Somewhere in my archives i still have The Daily News headline announcing Yogi's firing. Will concede Yogi and Phil were generous in helping charities i was involved with raise money.
Thise were desperate Mets times in the mid 60s. They needed some jolt of cane sugar.
Gus - When Yoo-Hoo was starting out they asked all the Yankees to be there spokesman but could only offer stock in company not cash. They all turned it down except for Yogi. He laughed all the way to tye bank.
Bill . . that discussion was mentioned earlier in the year. What they should do is put a number from one to ten on the defensive skills of each player at each position. Then add em up and the highest score total score is where they should play.
If Pete in LF is anywhere close to Dom in LF, Dom should be playing 1B
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