In baseball, speed kills. There is nothing quite like adding an element of speed to a lineup to energize the fanbase and get folks of a certain vintage all revved up about a fleet player’s ability to change the game.
“Speed never slumps” is a common refrain. “You can’t steal first” is another, less positive refrain. Speed is a means to an end on the baseball field, an enabler for other more important skills.
With the offensive state of the game in tatters, there are more and more “burners” found in the big leagues today. Players with a calling card of speed and defense for whom hitting is not such a pressing concern.
Billy Hamilton of the Cincinnati Reds is a shining example of this type of player. His ability to produce offense with the bat remains very much up in the air, but with his feet and glove, there is no doubting his contributions.
Last night, Hamilton made a game-saving catch in the 13th inning, sliding to rob Anthony Rendon of a would-be walkoff single.
It’s the kind of play that the Reds simply didn’t make last season, when Shin-Soo Choo was their centerfielder (in name only.)
Of course, there is another side to that speed equation - the creation of outs that could easily be avoided. In the same game, Hamilton was thrown out by the Nats after trying to steal home on Stephen Strasburg. With the big right-hander working from the wind-up as Hamilton stood perched on third base, the speedy Reds’ outfielder dashed for the plate only to have the Nats nab him in a rundown.
Hamilton is now just 16 for 22 in stolen base attempts. For the value his feet add, his bat remains 20 percent worse than league average. Simply put, his defense and baserunning must carry all the weight to make him a viable big leaguer on a good team.
He is not alone, though his defensive reputation doesn’t match up to other similarly-styled outfielders. Leonys Martin of the Rangers, the Mets’ Eric Young (who starts in front of a better ‘defense first’ player in Juan Lagares), and Brett Gardner of the Yankees are best known for producing with more than just their bats. With starter Colby Rasmus on the disabled list (and facing free agency), Blue Jays fans are talking themselves into a reality wherein Anthony Gose starts in their outfield.
Even Jason Heyward of the Braves, despite a sky-high ceiling and record of high-level offensive production in the past, profiles as this type of player as he struggles to start the 2014 season.
It’s a matter of pressure. Speed puts pressure on the defense, but an inability to hit at the big league level puts that very same pressure back onto the player. When these skills are your calling card, staying in the lineup every day means contributing consistently. Hamilton made a great play in the outfield, but those opportunities are few and far between compared to three or four regular marches to the plate as a batter. Again: the margin for error is very thin.
Gardner is a fine example of a player who makes it work - first as a very patient hitter who drew walks and slapped the ball, and now as a more complete hitter and one of the most valuable Yankees in the lineup.
Speed and defense don’t last forever. Gardner worked to improve his hitting as he aged. Defense is thought to peak early, and stolen bases are more art than science, though extra afterburners are always going to help.
As offense dries up, players who can prevent runs and thrive in a low-run environment really make a difference. With walks down and strikeouts up, players who can snare an extra 90 feet on their own are valuable - to an extent.
There is no substitute for good offense. A player who hits is always preferable to one that does not. But there are more and more examples of players who can get it done in the other facets of the game as teams put the “a run prevented is equal to a run scored” axiom to the test.
