Carlos Ruiz is still hitting .350 (in case you hadn’t noticed)

11 Comments

1. 1
   deal says:

   June 26, 2012 at 1:04 pm

   My #VoteChooch endorsement from Monday.

   http://phungo.blogspot.com/2012/06/2011-phungo-cards-carlos-ruiz.html

   Note – I voted for Marlon Byrd pre-suspension

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2. 2
   Voomo Zanzibar says:

   June 26, 2012 at 1:09 pm

   Bubbles Hargrave
   What a great nickname!

   – Hargrave, born Eugene Franklin Hargrave, is said to have received the nickname “Bubbles” because he stuttered when saying words starting with “B”. He is supposed to have hated the nickname. –

   Oh, maybe not.

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3. 3
   Tom says:

   June 26, 2012 at 1:17 pm

   The big thing with Ruiz, and probably all catchers, is staying healthy. To perform at such a high level while absorbing collisions at the plate and countless baseballs to the head is amazing. In 2010 his June was actually cut short with a concussion after getting bonked with a broken bat.

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4. 4
   John Autin says:

   June 26, 2012 at 3:02 pm

   Doug, this is good stuff, but I have a couple of questions:

   (1) I’m a little confused about the sortable table labeled “Age of Best Seasons for Selected Catchers.” Correct me if I’m wrong: That table lists each individual who appears on one or both of the previous lists, and shows the age at which that player had his best season, as measured by OPS+ and by WAR.

   (2) When you discuss those who “played 100 games before their age 24 season” (or didn’t), is that total games through age 23, or 100 games in any season before age 23? Is it games caught? I am just really confused about why there are only 15 seasons listed in those last 2 tables. Can you clarify? Thanks.

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   • 6
     Doug says:

     June 26, 2012 at 5:11 pm

     John,

     Yes to question 1.

     Total games through age 23 for question 2.

     I just arbitrarily showed the top 15 seasons (as measured by OPS+ and WAR) in all of the lists.

     I was quite surprised that the catchers with the early career starts had so few good seasons at age 33 or older, especially compared to the other group of catchers who started later.

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     • 8
       MikeD says:

       June 26, 2012 at 5:42 pm

       Interesting, although it makes sense in that the later starters would have less wear-and-tear.

       Yet to see if that’s truly the cause, we’d probably have to measure what the late starters were doing in the minors. For example, did Posada ever catch 100+ in a season in the minors before reaching the Bigs?

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     • 10
       bstar says:

       June 26, 2012 at 6:46 pm

       Doug, thanks for putting some numbers to the notion I’ve held recently while looking at catcher stats(specifically–where is Brian McCann in relation to a possible Hall of Fame path related to others before him). I’m convinced that what you say is true-it’s not just age that determines decline but, for catchers most especially, cumulative wear-and-tear.

       Johnny Bench is a great example. Perhaps the NL’s best hitter in the early 70s, an astute reader pointed out that an injury around ’72 or ’73 that Bench sustained kept him from ever again putting up numbers like he had previously. While this injury may have kept him from putting up league-leading HR and RBI numbers throughout the mid and late 70s, I don’t think it explains why Bench was essentially done at age 33. I think it’s the cumulative wear-and-tear from catching so much and missing off-days due to his phenomenal bat early in his career.

       Reply
5. 5
   Hartvig says:

   June 26, 2012 at 5:02 pm

   I do agree with the notion that for the overwhelming majority of catchers that there are only so many games they can catch before their performance falls off- and usually it’s off a cliff. That said, I would put serious money that if not for: 1) institutionalized racism in baseball 2) 2 years of military service and 3) Yogi Berra that Elston Howard would have had a Hall of Fame career.

   But the most eye popping season on the list for me was Pudge Fisk at age 42. Catching 116 games, 521 plate appearances and a OPS+ of 134. Even the next year when his OPS+ dropped to 97, he still managed 100+ games caught and over 500 PA’s. And both seasons dWAR considered him a well above average defensive catcher. Pudge Rodriguez may share both a nickname and a reputation for playing a long time but he was subpar offensively and little better than mediocre defensively from the time he turned 36.

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   • 7
     Doug says:

     June 26, 2012 at 5:19 pm

     That age 42 seasons for Pudge Fisk is one of only 8 seasons at 4 WAR or better, by a player in his forties. The others: Mays, Wagner, Cobb, Appling (twice), Sam Rice and Darrell Evans. Only Appling also had such a season at 42.

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     • 9
       MikeD says:

       June 26, 2012 at 5:48 pm

       It’s funny that Fisk a few years back blasted players taking steroids, pointing out how players were all of a sudden producing great seasons and remaining productive into the early 40s. Ironic, since Fisk became more durable in his 30s, and had one of most productive years WAR wise for a post-40 player, and the best ever by a catcher.

       Many would accuse him of taking PEDs!

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6. 11
   Tom says:

   June 27, 2012 at 9:34 am

   It’s funny that the post mentioned that no one seems to be noticing how well Ruiz is doing and then there are more comments about how the data was pulled than about Ruiz. If this was done on purpose as a subtle joke, bravo.

   Reply