45 thoughts on “WGOM Draft: Round 19”

  1. What? How did the image for this post know who I was going to draft?

    Anyway, in keeping with improving my infield defense, I'm going to draft the 9th best defensive WAR player of all time, who I'd trust to man any of 2nd, 3rd, or Short.

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    With a higher offensive WAR than his defensive one, I think this is a guy who belongs in the Hall. Yes, he's a compiler, but what he compiled impresses me enough. He's also one of my non-Twins favorites, so I'm excited he was still around.

    Also, a switch hitter, so even more enticing as a bench player.

    1. With a higher offensive WAR than his defensive one

      Because one includes runs from replacement level while the other doesn't. Vizquel has 479 runs above replacement, that translates to 45.6 rWAR. 89% of that rWAR is from his ability/desire to stay on the field with 427 runs from replacement level. I harp on this a lot because the "oWAR" on BR is a bad summation. "dWAR" is fine because it only counts fielding and positional adjustment. But, the positional adjustment is double-counted, though this is noted, but oWAR adds in replacement level to batting when it's a third component. FanGraphs does this right. Vizquel is a -234 FG runs batting, +262 fielding, and +369 replacement level to get to 43 fWAR.

      It's still a good pick.

      1. Ah. I don't think I had ever realized that. This makes more sense to me - I was surprised his offensive WAR was that high. I picked him for the defense, and I'll keep his not-terrible/not-great switch-hitting bat as a bonus.

      2. Aren’t the b-ref values for Runs Batting, Runs Baserunning, Runs Grounded into Double Plays, & Runs Fielding position agnostic? They also have value for Runs from Positional Scarcity...so I would think at least those three offensive categories are position-neutral.

        1. Yes, the batting and baserunning (or "offense" now that football-speak has invaded) are position neutral. WAR has three components: offense above average, defense above average, and playing time. The first and third are position neutral, but one is about scoring runs and the other is ability to play. Vizquel is a nice example of that breakdown. He contributed runs at a below average rate, fielded well at important positions, and stayed on the field forever.

        1. Gagne debuted at 21, Vizquel at 22. Here’s how their offense compares through age 35, which was Gagne’s last season, plus Vizquel’s subsequent decade:

          Guy PA H 2b 3b HR SB SB% BB SO Babip OBP SLG OPS+
          Gags 6209 1440 296 50 111 108 53 367 1121 .297 .302 .382 83
          Omar (≤35) 7961 1921 307 49 57 291 71 699 712 .296 .340 .357 84
          Omar (≥36) 4052 956 149 28 23 113 71 329 375 .290 .329 .343 78

          Those profiles are not incredibly similar, but in value, pretty close:

          Guy Runs Batting Runs Baserunning Runs GIDP Runs Fielding Runs Position
          Gags -126 -9 3 83 104
          Omar (≤35) -136 -1 9 80 114
          Omar (≥36) -109 0 0 49 45

  2. It looks like there will be a lot of backup catchers taken in the next 20+ picks before my next pick comes around so I'm going to grab this guy now. I always assumed he was overrated since he played for the Yankees but a career OPS+ of 121 for a catcher with a 15-year career is pretty good. 18th in JAWS for catchers is just two spots back of my starter, although he's still active.

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  3. Backup catcher does seem the way to go here, and I'm prioritizing defense, especially considering my starter isn't known for his defensive abilities. I'm going to go with the player Roy Campanella called "the master of defense of all catchers." Despite mostly taking him for his defense here, he also could swing the bat. He couldn't hit like Josh Gibson, but then again, there aren't many who ever could. And, a poll of former Negro League players in 1952 ranked him as the best catcher in Negro League history, even ahead of Gibson.

    Round 19, Pick 3 SelectShow

  4. Need a backup CF.

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    His top comps on B-Ref for his first five seasons were Duke Snider, Mookie Betts and Barry Bonds. Injuries wouldn't allow him to even get 300 PAs in a season after the age of 26.

  5. Back up catcher time. Plus I can use him as pinch runner as I don't think I'm going to be able to pull Carlton Fisk out of many games.

    Round 19, Pick 5 SelectShow

    1. One of my favorites. He through age 26 was roughly 75% of Mauer through 26. Then he started getting banged up, and never was a big offensive threat again. He got to stay behind the plate, so it’s not the same kind of baseball tragedy as Mauer endured, but we were definitely robbed of seeing a very special player reach his full potential.

      1. Agreed. I liked Kendall a lot before The Injury (tm).

        I'm amazed he didn't lose his foot, much less got to play again. If he'd never played another pitch behind the plate after that, no one would ever have blamed him.

      1. Wish I knew baseball history much better so I could have put in the deadball era version of Buehrle.

    3. I hate his jerkoff name; I hate his jerkoff face; I hate him, the jerkoff.

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    I need some defense. Not the most flexible defender, as he only ever played shortstop, but an average bat and great fielding still makes him an ideal guy for the bench.

  8. I should have a big left handed bat off the bench.

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    There were other lefties I considered, and I'm not overly thrilled with the fact that this gives me three first basemen, but I kept coming back to the fact that he could hit a home run, he could hit for average, and he once brought a table leg to the plate against Nolan Ryan.

    2. I had an irrationally high appreciation for Cash as a kid, even though I didn't think he was related to Johnny.

      He hit .361 in 1961, the highest average of the decade by any player. From his wikipedia:

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      from his sabr bio:

      Cash’s teammates took an immediate liking to him. A comedian both on the field and in the clubhouse, he once tried to call time after being picked off first base. In another instance, Cash was stranded on second base during a thunderstorm. Once play resumed, however, he returned to third base. The umpire was baffled.

      “What are you doing over there?”

      “I stole third,” he answered.

      “When did that happen?”

      “During the rain.”3

      1. I remember reading a fair bit about him in the baseball books I devoured when I was a kid. I always loved the rain delay base stealing and (especially) the table leg.

  9. Backup catchers are selling like hot cakes. Somehow, this guy got forgotten so far.

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    I'm not really old enough to remember his Twins' years, but he won 3 Fielding Grammies and had 4 A-S Game appearances during his career and ended with a 106 OPS+. Plus, solid meme value here in the basement.

    from his sabr bio:

    Since his death a number of Twins teammates have recognized Battey’s contribution during the 1960s. “Earl was a great storyteller, and he could tell them both in Spanish and English,” second baseman Frank Quilici said. “He had the biggest personality on the team. That was as close a group of players as I’ve been around, and Earl was probably the main reason.” Harmon Killebrew said, “Earl had two very important things going for him. He was a fun guy in the clubhouse. More importantly, he had everyone’s respect, because he had sore knees, sore hands, sore everything, but he stayed in the lineup. I didn’t realize how good of a catcher Earl was until he was gone.”15 Sam Mele, his manager from midway through 1961 to midway through 1967, said, “He was one of the best catchers I had in my life. He ran the pitching staff, I don’t mind telling you: He was the leader of my ballclub.”

  10. I missed out on on-base machines like Mauer, Molitor, and Votto earlier in the draft. With several two-way & multi-position regulars rostered, my intention has always been to mix & match, treating 1b as a DH-like "free" spot where I can sneak Billy Williams' bat into the lineup or rotate Torre through for a rest day. I probably don't want Williams out there in the late innings of a close game, but I don't want to take a huge hit in the middle of my lineup with a defensive replacement, either. I passed on this guy last round and crossed my fingers, and fortunately, I didn't miss out on him.

    A two-way player in college, he didn’t play his first minor league game until he was 36. Overshadowed by flashier players during his prime, a couple years of modest production in his mid-twenties probably cost him a shot at Cooperstown. Quiet & unassuming, he was fond of taking public transportation to the ballpark. He had MVP-worthy seasons at 23 and 29, several very good seasons in his thirties, and played some of the finest first base defense we'll ever see.

    Round 19, Pick 10 SelectShow

  11. Could probably get him later, but I think Oh and Darvish would like having him around, so I'll get him for my bullpen now. He's one of the few things I paid attention to in 1995 after the strike.

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  12. When I grabbed Tim Hudson two rounds ago, his success in the AL was the tiebreaker. No one has chosen his diminutive, right-handed contemporary since, so he will hopefully thrive in my bullpen.

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  14. Ok, I'm gonna continue with mah backups.

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    He really had a great start to his career, even though he tailed off kind of sharply. Seems like a pretty good backup infielder to have.

  16. Adding another bat, probably my DH. Also, backup up 1B because I probably can't rely on Gehrig to play every day.

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    Pretty darned good hitter, for some reason I'm not really sure of I've always liked him.

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