Loading ...
Jun
The Case for Eric Byrnes – All Star
Pitching and defense may win championships, but offense puts fannies in the seats. And when it comes to voting for All-Stars, especially outfielders, we don’t want to hear about Gold Gloves, cannon arms, speed on the base paths or the patience to wear down a pitcher by prolonging an AB, even if it results in an out when all is said and done. We also don’t care if they speak softly or not; as long as they carry a big stick, they will go far!
We voters are suckers for sluggers, and, as with other types of elections, we are suckers for names we recognize. The top vote getters for this year’s All-Star outfield in the National League are familiar names: Carlos Beltran of the Mets, Jim Edmonds of the Cardinals, and Andruw Jones of the Braves.
Let me introduce you to a new name in the league who deserves your consideration: Eric Byrnes of the Diamondbacks. Here is how he ranks against the current vote leaders in certain key statistical categories as of June 2, 2006:
|
Name BA OBP SLG OPS XBH/H |
|
Beltran .270 .389 .604 .992 .581 |
|
Edmonds .241 .345 .379 .724 .286 |
|
A. Jones .290 .360 .555 .915 .421 |
|
Byrnes .325 .386 .594 .980 .462 |
These are the stats that I think are most reflective of a player’s individual efforts. I left out stats such as "Runs Scored" or "Runs Batted In" that are heavily dependent on what one’s teammates do. I am very fond of looking at XBH/H because it tells me how often a hitter is likely to get an XBH. Someone who hits 10 homers, no doubles and no triples will have as many total bases, the factor in slugging percentage, as someone who hits no homers and no triples, but 20 doubles. If I am evaluating the homer hitter and the doubles hitter a third of the way into the season and each have 50 hits, the homer hitter’s XBH/H is 10/50 or .200 while the doubles hitter is 20/50 or .400. As a manager, or as an All-Star voter, I’d prefer the doubles hitter. But then, that’s just me.
As you can see, Eric Byrnes’ stats hang quite well with those of the current top vote getters, and hang well with other worthy candidates. So if you are yet to cast your All-Star votes, I ask you to consider casting at least some of them for Eric Byrnes. You get to vote for three outfielders, and you get to cast 25 online votes, plus whatever you can cast when you go to a ball game. That’s a lot of votes, really. So maybe you have some room for a few votes for Byrnes.
This is Byrnesie’s first year in the league and I am not expecting or even hoping that he will leapfrog over the leaders and end up being a starter. But I think it would be great if he got enough votes to catch NL manager Phil Garner’s attention for designation as a reserve who would play two or three innings later in the game. You can help make that happen. Please Vote Now.
Kéllia "Byrnes in the All-Star Game" Ramares
Print This Post
He has been a GREAT addition to the D’Backs after the sad loss of Finley.Didn’t know too much about him so this site has been great.Look forward to following it closely now I’ve found it.
June 3rd, 2006 at 3:26 amDone. Eric has my vote.
June 3rd, 2006 at 3:54 amYoung HC, One of the major ppurposes of this blog is to brig attention to Byrnes. New readers are always welcome.
Daryl, Thanks!
June 3rd, 2006 at 10:06 am