Now Batting 9th… David Ross

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Remember the days of ol’ when backup catchers were either budding stars or over-the-hill guys waiting to retire to first base? That all changed with David Ross, who has found the secret to staying in the big leagues despite being a No. 3 catcher with a career batting average of…wait for it – .238.

David Ross, in his 11th Major League Baseball season and with his 7th team (Boston Red Sox), has single-handedly redefined the role of backup catcher.

When Ross was coming up through the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, he was a mediocre prospect with limited expectations. In 2002, the Dodgers needed a backstop and this was his opportunity to seize the moment. Ross not only seized the moment, he seized the decade.

To Ross’ credit (insert sarcasm), at the time he made it to the Dodger’s roster, he was battling for the starting position with three other guys: 34-year old Brent Mayne, 33-year old Todd Hundley and Koyie Hill (recently released by the Nationals). Hey, where are they now? Not with David Ross in the bigs that’s for sure.

Here’ why David Ross is so extremely righteous…

MLB Career Totals (as of May 5, 2013)
AB: 1736
Hits: 413
HR: 87
RBI: 252
BB: 214
SO: 531
AVE: .238

The traveling will not bury…
Teams:
Los Angeles Dodgers (2002-2004)*
Pittsburgh Pirates (2005)*
San Diego Padres (2005)
Cincinnati Reds (2006-2008)
Boston Red Sox (2008)
Atlanta Braves (2009-2012)
Boston Red Sox (2013)
*Denotes Jim Tracy at the helm (I hope Ross sends Tracy a bouquet of flowers every day).

Interesting Stat:
Ross’ first career home run came off of Arizona Diamondback first baseman, 38-year old Mark Grace, who came in to pitch because the Dodgers were winning 18-0. Did Ross really need to do that? Yes he did. Because without it, he would only have 86 home runs today instead of 87.

Cashing in:
MLB teams may be attractive to Ross because of his accommodating salary requirements. In 2004, he was more than fine with taking $310,000 a year from the Dodgers and $500,000 from the Reds in 2006. Ross was okay with taking less than the $1,625,000 with the Braves.

Leave it to the catcher-starved Red Sox to hand the 36-year old a two-year, 6.2 million dollar contract.

What team wouldn’t want a guy like David Ross sitting behind the plate? The Lynchburg Hillcats, perhaps?

Now Batting 9th… Adam Dunn

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Adam Dunn is an “all or nothing” kind of guy. The problem is, all or nothing only works in … well, it never really works. And it especially doesn’t work in baseball because when you’re swinging for the fences on every pitch, you end up being Steve Balboni instead of Reggie Jackson.

I created this blog to celebrate and commend mediocre ballplayers who have beaten the odds by, not only making it to the Major Leagues, but for being wily enough to convince teams to pay them good money to occupy a position on 25-man rosters – while many more talented guys are left bussing around the minors (or merely bussing).

But when it comes to Adam Dunn, it’s hard to be good natured. He just pisses me off because pretending to have no talent is worse than having no talent and that’s Adam Dunn.

The 6-foot-6, 285-pound reluctant first baseman should be an above-average ballplayer. He should be Garrett Anderson or JD Drew (or even Robin Ventura – his now manager).

Instead, Dunn has spent his 12-year career acting like a second-string college quarterback, who wanted to make it into the NFL, but had to settle for MLB (and that is actually his story).

The Cincinnati Reds picked Dunn in the second round of the 1998 draft, allowing him to play football at Texas University. It wasn’t until he was benched, that he turned his sights toward baseball.

The Reds wanted Dunn to be their franchise guy but after years of watching his weight balloon up, lazily strolling on and off the field and coming up empty in clutch situations, they couldn’t justify building a team around him. J.P. Ricciardi, General Manager of Toronto Blue Jays said it best – “Dunn is a home run hitter but doesn’t drive in runs.”

After dogging it for seven years, the Reds finally had enough and at the end of the 2008 season, they traded the Big Dunnky, with cash, to the Arizona Diamondbacks for minor leaguers Dallas Buck, Wilkin Castillo and Micah Owings.

The Diamondbacks basically traded three minor leaguers for cold hard cash, because three month later, they released Dunn into free agency.

Sure Dunn is a member of the 400-Home Run club (412 to be exact), but he’s more known for being a renowned member of the 2,000 whiff club. In fact, if you Wikipedia “strikeout” – there’s Dunn’s picture. That’s no joke.

Dunn is ranked fifth on baseball’s all-time strikeout list with a whopping 2,067 (as of May 5, 2013).  The four guys ahead of him were/are difference players, contributing to successful teams. Just for kicks, I’ll list them here (compare the home runs):

1.    Reggie Jackson – 2,597 strikeouts; 563 home runs and one of the greatest clutch hitters of all time
2.    Jim Thome – 2,548 strikeouts; 611 HR and possibly still counting
3.    Sammy Sosa – 2,306 strikeouts; 609 HR
4.    Alex Rodriguez –2,032; 647 HR and counting
WARNING: The following information should piss off any baseball fan. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK:

  • 2003 – The left-handed Dunn led Major League outfielders in errors with 10 while finishing the season with a .215 batting average.
  • 2004 – Dunn finished the season with an MLB all-time 195 strikeouts.
  • 2006 – Dunn led all outfielders in errors with 12 while finishing the season with a .234 batting average.
  • 2009 – Dunn signed $20 million deal with the Washington Nationals while finishing the season with 177 strikeouts.
  • 2012 – agreed to a four-year $56 million deal with the Chicago White Sox. He is currently leading the Majors in homeruns with 38 – with 194 strikeouts and 88 RBI (as of September 11, 2013).

Slam Dunnk:
Dunn’s estimated career-to-date salary is listed at approximately $69 million (not including future salaries). In 2010, the Chicago White Sox signed the .240 hitter for four years, $56 million (that’s $15 million a year). Pissed off yet?

MLB Career Totals (as of September 11, 2012)
AB: 6027
Hits: 1436
HR: 412
RBI: 1030
BB: 1181
SO: 2067
AVE: .238

Teams:
Cincinnati Reds (2001-2008)
Arizona Diamondbacks (2009)
Washington Nationals (2009-2010)
Chicago White Sox (2011-Present)

Now batting 9th… Chris Getz

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(Authors note: I thought it only fitting that Chris Getz be the first athlete I spotlight here. I am using his picture as the main header afterall – Yeah, that’s him looking at another called strike).

Every year I make my spring pilgrimage to Arizona to cover MLB Spring Training games for my gig as Orange County High School Sports reporter for Examiner.com. I usually don’t make it farther than Surprise Arizona and surprise – That’s where the Kansas City Royals play. And that’s where I get to experience the stylings of Royals second baseman, Chris Getz.

I love Chris Getz because he’s there every spring – like an old friend. In fact, when I go to spring training, I tell everyone that I’m going to see Chris Getz. There’s something comforting about consistency.

Sitting in the stands with a bunch of Royals fans really gives you an education. And one thing I’ve learned about Royals fans is they really don’t get Getz (I was dying to say that). I’ve sat by diehard KC fans who yell things at Getz like – “Another strikeout Getz. Do what you do!” and “C’mon at least get a walk!”

But I like Getz because he’s a career .258 hitter who has managed to hang around the bigs for about 5 seasons. Getz recently came back from playing down with the KC triple-A team, Omaha Storm Chasers, after rehabbing from a lateral strain in his lower leg that came after trying to field a ball against the Cardinals. I believe it was his way of avoiding the Card’s pitching staff.

To be fair, Getz didn’t have a great 2012 season. About 17 days before that injury, he came off the DL with a bruised rib (from laughing too hard on his way to the bank, maybe?). But just like a bad penny, the consistent second baseman came back. That’s what makes him so great.

Getz is a second baseman who throws right, yet bats left (pay attention to this phenomenon, because it will be an ongoing trend in this blog). A left-handed-hitting second baseman? Brilliant. This is the kind of stuff that keeps guys going strong in the majors and Getz is no dummy.

Background:
The 5-foot-11, 185-pound infielder turns 30 on August 30, 2013. If you look at Getz’s high school and college record, it looks a lot like other baseball prospects – All-Star, All-American, Championship Season, Future’s player – everything you’d expect from a kid trying to make the big leagues.

The Michigan native came up through the White Sox organization and in 2008, they traded him (with Josh Fields) to KC for Mark Teahen. Who? What? Anyway, that was when Getz punched his golden ticket. The Royals love this guy and couldn’t wait for him to get back from vacationing in Omaha.

Getz made $967,500 last season (why not a full mill, KC?). He’s up for first-year arbitration 2013. I’m sure the Royals will happily clump down fewer dollars to keep him until 2015, when he becomes a free agent (are you listening, Dodgers?).

To date, Getz has made approximately $2,226,000. That’s what consistency gets you in the major leagues. And that’s why I will continue to root for Chris Getz!

MLB Career Totals through 2012:
AB: 1175
Hits: 302
HR: 2
RBI: 93
BB: 86
SO: 145
AVE: .257