Tuesday, October 16, 2018

An Article for the All the Miguel Andujar’s Defense Haters by Daniel Burch



Good morning Yankees family and welcome back to the blog. The New York Yankees fans are the worst, at least that is what I wrote earlier this offseason, and since the elimination from the postseason they have not gotten much better. The hottest topic of them all appears to be the possible acquisition of Manny Machado, Miguel Andujar’s defense at third base, and a potential move for the 23-year old next season. There have been many doom-and-gloom posts about his “historically bad” defense this season, but here is a post giving Yankees fans everywhere a little hope regarding Andujar and his potential future as a Major League third baseman.

When looking at prospects and young players the scouts, analysts, and fans always look to other players to compare these young players to. How about this comparison for Andujar, how about Adrian Beltre? Beltre is highly respected around Major League Baseball both on and off the field and is considered to be one of the best third baseman defensively in the game. This was not always the case for the former Texas Rangers third baseman and soon-to-be free agent. When Beltre broke into the Major Leagues he was 19-years old, granted that is a lot younger than Andujar who is 23-years old, playing in 77 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Beltre’s bat left much to be desired, and so did his defense, and it wasn’t until the 2004 season that the Dodgers finally saw his true potential come to fruition.



As a rookie, Beltre committed 13 errors. In his first full season in 1999 the right-hander committed 29 errors which was good for a .932 fielding percentage. In 2000, Beltre committed another 23 errors. From 2001 – 2003, Beltre committed 16, 20, and 19 errors respectively. It was not until the 2004 season, the same season that Beltre began to find his groove at the plate as well, that we started to see the defensive wizard that we have seen over the past decade or so. Yet, for whatever reason, some writer at another publication writes an article that we cannot just assume that Andujar’s defense will improve, and everyone loses their mind. Everyone is preaching that article like it is the gospel, yet history (and common sense) would say otherwise.

Just as an FYI, for those who need a reminder, Andujar committed just 15 errors for a .948 fielding percentage in 2018. If you want to compare apples-to-apples, Andujar had a better defensive season than Beltre in his first two-or-three seasons. Beltre improved drastically on the defensive side, yet Andujar can’t according to many Yankees fans, writers, and journalist? I call bullshit. The numbers don’t lie. Be patient, and root for your team… or go root for the Mets.

Too Many Damn Right-Handed Hitters?


The New York Yankees hit too many damn home runs, and now apparently, they have too many damn right-handed hitters as well. This was the common theme yesterday and for much of the offseason every time that Manny Machado is linked to the Yankees as a free agent this offseason. Many fans are quick to point out that not only does the team need more pitching, which I agree with wholeheartedly, but that the team has too many right-handed hitters for it to make sense signing Machado. The former I can agree with, and I think this will ultimately be addressed whether Machado dons pinstripes next season or not, but the latter I cannot. It is nice for a team to be able to alternate left-handed and right-handed batters to keep an opposing manager on his toes in terms of pitching changes and strategies, but it is even better when your right-handed heavy offense can handle right-handed pitching just as well, or better than they can handle left-handed pitching. Do the Yankees have this? Baseball Reference has the answers.



Gary Sanchez:
I Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
vs RHP256844751120193365113172200.257.331.509.839
vs LHP12328624644581320543872.236.339.533.872
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

(Gary hits better against RHP than he does LHP)

Miguel Andujar:
I Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
vs RHP143438418631303320721568.311.338.538.876
vs LHP831761622044167241129.272.318.512.831
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

(Miguel hits better against RHP than he does LHP)



Gleyber Torres:
I Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
vs RHP12035031337871313512883.278.341.444.785
vs LHP651341181730311261439.254.336.576.912
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

(Gleyber hits better against RHP than he does LHP)


Didi Gregorius:
I Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
vs RHP7162218202728154710181269140303.270.320.453.773
vs LHP4188207458919230138744125.258.311.358.669
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

(Didi hits better against RHP than he does LHP, granted he is a LHB)



Aaron Judge:
I Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
vs RHP2849558001722283767163138301.285.391.588.978
vs LHP142316239435611162874101.234.421.490.910
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

(Judge hits better against RHP than he does LHP)


Aaron Hicks:
I Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
vs RHP524155113291973075143159190306.231.328.380.708
vs LHP3136805988614728278175146.246.329.431.761
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

(Aaron Hicks is a switch hitter that hits lefties better overall)

Giancarlo Stanton:
I Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
vs RHP1085369432255028371662235724071086.260.347.523.870
vs LHP48811229601752857082200150263.297.393.6341.027
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

(Finally, a RHB on the Yankees that doesn't hit better against a lefty)


I have included Manny Machado for informational purposes only. I know Machado is not a Yankee, and I know there is no guarantee that he will be. Let’s assume that he becomes a Yankee for the sake of this post, although even without him the Yankees numbers as right-handed batters against right-handed pitching are good enough to prove my point without Manny. But still… Get Greedy… Get Manny.


Manny Machado:
I Split G PA AB R H 2B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS
vs RHP88229632710376763141137400209509.282.333.491.824
vs LHP45311111010146287703811387160.284.342.474.816
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

(case closed)

So, in closing. Do the New York Yankees have too many damn right-handed batters, and would they if they added Manny Machado to third base while moving Miguel Andujar to first base? The stats don’t usually lie, so the consensus has to be simple. No, they don’t. If their right-handed batters continue to hit right-handed pitching they could have nine right-handed batters every single time out there and it just wouldn't matter. Are more balanced lineups ideal? Sure, no one would argue that. Should the Yankees add a left-handed bat to the lineup if they can and if it makes sense? Absolutely. But, if they cannot should the team stay away from a potent right-handed bat like Machado knowing that he, and many others in the lineup, hit RHP just as well or comparable to how they hit LHP? Absolutely not. Get Greedy, Get Manny. 


Please, people. It is a long offseason already, don’t make it even longer by speaking without at least doing a little bit of research. I had one guy claim yesterday that he was right about Andujar’s defense at third base after reading an article on another Yankees blog. The writer wasn’t a scout, a manager, a coach, or even a member of the Yankees organization. Nope, just another nerd (and I mean that in the best way possible) like myself in front of a computer putting his opinions, speculations, and research out there for all to read for free. His opinion does not prove your “theory” that Andujar sucks defensively and will never improve, get over yourself before I have to write a part two to my “Yankees Fans are the Worst” article. Stay classy, stay informed, and thank you all for reading.



* all stats are career stats and are courtesy of Baseball Reference.