Roberto Clemente: The Impact on my Life.

Growing up in a baseball family, I became a so called “student of the game.” The game of baseball became my escape from the world. Whether studying statistics, watching a game, playing with my friends, or reading Bill James’ next Handbook, the game of baseball has changed the person I am today. I learned to honor and cherish the greatness that superstar players have to offer. Baseball players have influenced my family for generations. My grandfather looked up to Gil Hodges, my father, Johnny Bench, and I am influenced by a player, not from my generation, but from the 1960s and 1970s. I look up to: a Hall of Famer, a father, a husband, a Christian, and a hard worker. I look up to Roberto Clemente. The impact and influence Roberto Clemente has had in my life goes beyond this article. It’s a real life personal connection that has given me the opportunity to see the way he united a city, a region, and a country.

June 19^th, 2010. The fiftieth anniversary reunion for the Pittsburgh Pirates 1960 World Series Championship team. The exceptional players that made up that team: Bill Mazeroski, Vernon Law, Elroy Face are all in attendance. However, the true superstar player is represented by his middle son and widow. The players are introduced one by one with applause from the 38,008 people that are in attendance. The PA announcer introduces the greatest player from that team: “And representing the late Roberto Clemente is his widow Vera and his son Luis.” Five minutes later the crowd sits back down in their seats after giving the greatest player in Pirates history a heartfelt standing ovation. I was there that night standing beside Mrs. Clemente and her son, Luis. Invited by them to be a part of the celebration. That night is in my thoughts constantly. Not because of the opportunity to talk to some of the best players in Major League Baseball history, but because of the opportunity to see the impact one man had on one city. That night set the goal for my life: Make a difference.

My connection with Roberto is something I cherish. It’s given me the opportunity to attend that special game, be present for the dedication of his statue in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and even have his son Roberto Jr. over to my own house for dinner. Seeing the impact he has had on others’ lives has shown me what I want to do with my life. Make a difference in people’s lives, be a hard worker, and be a loving husband. Be a Man of God, overcome adversity, and earn respect from peers. Roberto Clemente has set the tone for the goals I have in my life by the way he carried about his own.     

“There’s 50 feet of crap, then there’s us” –Moneyball

As America’s national pastime, baseball has influenced the lives of many. As the nation has grown, baseball has as well. America has taken its fair share of hits throughout history, but since the Civil War, baseball has always been there. Baseball has been counted on to supply an escape to the world's problems. There's something about walking through the turnstiles, emerging from the concourse, and seeing the beautiful, well-kept field that gives one hope that better things are to come. As the United States has matured, baseball has gone through a revolution. With the efforts of Bill James and other statisticians, the use of statistics has changed the way the game is looked at and how it is played. Teams now use statistics to analyze everything in the franchise. Using statistical analysis in major league baseball is beneficial because it allows teams to properly and adequately analyze players despite not reaping the revenue that other teams possess. Teams that use statistical analysis can make up for the fact that they play in a smaller market and do not possess the budget and revenue that large market teams are blessed with.

As baseball has emerged as a major business and competition, the struggle of analyzing players has long been alive. Teams must find a way to out smart their opponents. With the formation of the National League in 1875 and the American League in 1901, came a premium on finding and signing the top available talent. Branch Rickey changed the approach of scouting with the development of the farm system in the Cardinals’ organization in the 1930s. Rickey’s farm system helped the Cardinals reap success in his tenure as President and General Manager. The Cardinals won three World Series Championships in the decade while using home-grown players as the rock of the team. Rickey continued developing the Cardinals up until the early 1940s. In 1942, Rickey’s last season with the Cardinals, the Redbirds had their best season in franchise history, winning 106 games and the World Series title. The farm system has allowed teams the opportunity to trust scouts’ instincts by testing the players in the minor leagues before playing a game in the major leagues. With all the minor league teams to scout and all the amateur players to research, baseball relies more on its scouts than any other major sports league.   It has long been believed in major league baseball that the old-fashioned scouting system properly sees a player’s potential and tools. Teams assemble a group of scouts who are assigned a particular region in which they are to find the best players for that respective team to sign. Andrew Steelman, an economics author and longtime baseball lover, states in his article Baseball Science that scouts have long believed that you can judge a player based solely on looking at him (2). Scouts are always looking for a potential major leaguer and it is all based on projection. It is very rare for a scout to see a player who is already major league caliber. The scout has to see the potential of a player and do his best to forecast the future. Scouts look through the current strengths and weaknesses of a player and examine whether the tools are there to allow him to make an impact at the major league level. This leads to Steelman saying that scouts tend to favor high school players over college players due to potential rather than track record (2). With Branch Rickey’s development of the farm system, scouts can take a risk based on possible potential of a player. While the potential for a high school player may be higher, college players provide experience and maturity to an already gifted makeup. In Moneyball, Michael Lewis, a financial journalist and proven author, states that scouts venture out and evaluate players all over the country in order to find the next star. The scouts do not pay particular attention to statistics, but rather base decisions on the five tools: hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, arm strength, and fielding abilities (16). While all of these abilities are important, the five tool system leaves out a very important part of the game: baseball IQ. Having knowledge of the game and what should be happening at any particular time allows a player to fully grasp the situation and make a solid decision on what is best for the team. Possessing solid intangibles can allow a player’s career last longer than it would without. The five-tool system is used only for position players. Each scout has their own way of analyzing pitchers. However, pitchers are judged primarily on his pitch repertoire, command and makeup. The makeup factor is often confusing. To simplify: if two pitchers were to have the same four pitches with the same plate command, but one of them is five foot nine one hundred sixty pounds and the other is six foot four two hundred fifty pounds, the scouts would prefer the latter. The scouts see a body that they can develop into something special. When a scout sees a player, he gives the player a numerical grade on his abilities. The grading system used to be on a scale of one to five but has now been changed to twenty to eighty in most baseball circles. A grade of twenty shows poor ability in that skill while a grade of eighty shows exemplary ability. A rating of fifty is considered major league average. For a player to be considered a quality major league prospect, their skill set should possess at least two above average tools. In What is Sabermetrics?  the author Bradley Woodrum, a sports writer for FanGraphs, reports that the scouting system analyzes not only the physical attributes of a player, but also the mental attributes. Teams can avoid major problems well in advance of the time they occur if they can recognize destructive patterns in a player’s lifestyle (2). The scouting system is beneficial in some circumstances. However, the human element of scouting provides a flaw in the system while statistics do not lie. It has long been believed that the old fashioned way of scouting provides effective analysis of a player and what they might become.

Statistical analysis in baseball has evolved into what it is today. It began with a revolution and has thus been turned into a formula for many teams’ success, including the Oakland Athletics. Statistics play an important role in evaluating performance and players in the game. Since baseball became a professional sport, statistics have been kept in detail for fans, players, and team personnel. The practice of keeping records of statistics started in the 19th century by Henry Chadwick, who is often referred to as the “father of baseball.” Chadwick is credited with creating the box score which is published daily in newspapers across the world. The box score shows a player’s statistics in the game in a format that can be easily understood for readers. The basic format of the box score has changed little since the original ones designed by Chadwick. Chadwick is also credited with devising the statistics batting average and earned run average. In 1947, Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers at that time, hired Allan Roth who became baseball’s first full time statistician. Roth introduced many theories that are used in the present day including the idea that on-base percentage was more important than batting average and that platooning players was effective if used properly. For his efforts in the field of baseball statistics, Roth was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1977, a Kansas prison guard named Bill James self-published an annual book titled The Bill James Baseball Abstract. In the book, James coined the term “sabermetrics” meaning the application of statistical analysis to baseball records, especially in order to evaluate and compare the performance of individual players (Lewis 20). Bill James’ interpretation of baseball statistics contradicted that of the baseball traditionalists. James introduced a new approach to evaluating players and strategies, and his theories have become indispensable tools for agents, statistics analysts, front office workers, and any true baseball lover. James is currently the Senior Advisor of Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox, one of the leading teams when it comes to the use of statistical analysis. In the article How Sabermetrics Works, Jacob Silverman, an established writer for HowStuffWorks, states that sabermetricians have questioned basic assumptions on how talent and player contributions are judged and have created a revolution against the baseball norm (1). As statistics have emerged in baseball, the application of statistics to player development and scouting has been rapidly increasing as more teams are partaking in this belief. With the help of Chadwick, Roth, and James among others, statistics have advanced through the course of time and now are as common as “three strikes and you’re out.”

With baseball statistics being such a key component in the baseball world, people are taking advantage. The ability to understand sabermetrics has been a skill sought after by many, but perfected by few. According to David Grabiner, a professor and author of The Sabermetric Manifesto, the basic goal of sabermetrics is to evaluate a situation or player for a given purpose. The most common use of statistics is to evaluate past performance and to predict future performance (2). People want to understand a player’s value and what they bring to a franchise. Seeing this craving for numbers, countless websites have been created in an effort to allow fans to further reach the game of baseball. Websites such as Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs, offer advanced statistics to the casual fan. Baseball-Reference is commonly used by major league teams as a statistical database as there are no limits to what the website can do. FanGraphs is a website more accessible for fans but is still used in select major league circles for its capability to customize spreadsheets and graphs. Literature has also become a key component in the way teams analyze statistics. Each year, numerous books are published predicting statistical outputs for the upcoming season and other statistical measures. Select Major League Baseball front offices are eager to get their hands on these statistical encyclopedias. Two of the more well-known annual publications are the Baseball Prospectus Annual and the Bill James Handbook. The Baseball Prospectus Annual mainly focuses on the minor leagues and player development. It analyzes team’s farm system and how it will turn out in years to come. The Bill James Handbook is said to be owned by every general manager in baseball. Each year, Bill James and his team at ACTA Sports publishes “The Handbook” to provide statistics for the past season and projections for the upcoming season. “The Handbook” offers a player register in which every current major league baseball player’s career statistics are published for all to see. It also offers Bill James’ own statistical projections for each player in the upcoming season. These projected statistics play a major influence in what transactions a team will make in the offseason and how much a player is of value to a team. As the statistical revolution is changing baseball, the internet and literature have helped teams analyze and project player performance.

Using statistical analysis in all aspects of the game of baseball allows a front office to properly get the most “bang for their buck” as some teams are not blessed with the revenue and budget that other teams are. Unlike scouting, statistics do not discriminate. You are what your numbers say you are. Small market teams versus large market teams. The baseball equivalent to David versus Goliath. In this case however, David holds statistical analysis rather than a sling and a stone and Goliath can only fret at the way David uses his weapon. “The pleasure of rooting for Goliath is that you can expect to win. The pleasure of rooting for David is that, while you don’t know what to expect, you stand at least a chance of being inspired” (Lewis 187). Major League Baseball has many small market teams including the Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and Minnesota Twins. In his article Playing the Numbers Game, Steve Gierschier, a SABR (Society of American Baseball Research) member and Sporting News staff writer, says that many of Bill James’ philosophies are being embraced by baseball front offices. Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s, is among the most notable at using James’ theories and philosophies as guidance for how he has conducted his day-to-day operations and has been successful (3). Andrew Steelman states that the Oakland A’s front office is analyzed in depth in Michael Lewis’ 2003 book, Moneyball. Moneyball follows the A’s through the 2002 season in which the team won the American League Western Division despite having one of the lowest payrolls in baseball (2). The steps in which Beane takes to develop a winning team are extensive and detailed. With a tight budget, Beane must always think ten steps ahead or else he will fall five steps behind. Tom MacLennan, a contributor to The Journal of Popular Culture, analyzes Moneyball’s philosophies and what it brings to the table in his article, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. “Moneyball by Michael Lewis explores a significant paradigm shift in baseball: namely, why some baseball executives seem to be much better than others are at getting more wins out of fewer dollars. Although the game on the field is ruthlessly competitive, there is much incompetence among the executives and scouts” (MacLennan 1). Billy Beane is one of the few executives in baseball, along with Andrew Friedman of the Tampa Bay Rays, to use statistics to their advantage and to develop a system with a long term goal rather than a short term solution. Michael Lewis explains that people in their respective fields operate with beliefs and biases. To the extent you can eliminate both and replace them with data, you gain a clear advantage (98). Beane and Friedman have used the data that is there in front of them to their advantage in building highly respected, winning franchises. Jacob Silverman points out how baseball is able to use numbers by stating that sabermetrics are made possible because baseball is a sport in which every pitch, every play, every inning is recorded and analyzed (1). Unlike most sports, baseball is capable of being fully recorded and every play can be archived. In the article M.V.P. Debate Goes Beyond the Box Score by Nate Silver, an established sabermetrician and writer, Silver states that statistics enable the ability to measure different elements of the game- defense, situational hitting, base  running- which were once weak points of statistical analysis (1). Being able to now analyze every component of the game, general managers who use statistical analysis are a step ahead of those who don’t. However, a small market general manager must have a plan. They must live and die by the plan. Money will not just become available. It’s getting the most of what you have that’s key. According to MacLennan, Billy Beane takes structure to a whole new level. Billy Beane’s approach to the A’s is to make the system, rather than the player, the star. Beane wants to be idolized for his creativity with statistics and his approach to running a team (2). This philosophy allows teams to not over-commit and overvalue a single player, but rather have a strategy on how to make the team successful year in and year out. With a budget of roughly $40 million, Beane’s goal is to win games as cheaply as possible. To do this effectively, he acquires players with the qualities that fit his system that the market undervalues and sells the players whom the market overvalues (MacLennan 2). No general manager in baseball better understands what Sabermetrics can do more than Billy Beane. A statistic is only useful if it is properly understood. Therefore, a large part of sabermetrics involves the understanding of how to use statistics properly and which statistics are useful for what purposes (Grabiner 1). Billy Beane understands how to properly use Sabermetrics and advanced statistics and this leads to the Athletics maintaining a competitive team. Opposing teams often see Beane and others as lucky and say their results are flukes. According to Andrew Steelman, “Other general managers may look at the A's and simply think that their recent success has been a fluke. In their minds, the traditional way of running a baseball team - from judging talent to managing a budget - has worked for generations (even if it really hasn't) and with time will be proven superior to Beane's unorthodox methods” (4). The bridge between large market baseball teams and small market teams was once a hard one to cross but through statistical strategies and budgeting, teams are able to shorten the gap and make for a more competitive game.

The trademark symbol of the statistical revolution has been the use of the on-base percentage statistic. Ask a casual fan about Moneyball and their first response will be “On-Base percentage is superior to batting average.” Billy Beane’s use of the stat has changed the way baseball is played and scouted. On-Base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason. The aforementioned Allan Roth was the first statistician to state that on-base percentage is a more valuable statistic than batting average. Bill James brought the philosophy to life in his Baseball Abstracts. Both Billy Beane and Paul DePodesta (Billy Beane’s Assistant General Manager) analyzed the works of Bill James and the way he looked at the game of baseball. Beane and DePodesta used on-base percentage to search for players who could fit the Athletic mold (Steelman 3). Having this set philosophy that players who get on-base the most score more runs which results in more wins has allowed the Athletics to be successful despite playing in a small market. Players such as Scott Hatteberg are often overlooked in the baseball circuit but the Athletics see Hatteberg as a player who will benefit them as his on-base percentage ranked in the top ten percent of all players. With on-base percentage being the most proficient stat that Billy Beane uses, Beane had to put it into focus in the Athletics system. Tom MacLennan discloses how Beane was able to accomplish the same belief throughout the organization by saying “To do this, Beane replaced traditional scouts with statistical number crunchers” (1). This has allowed to uniformity throughout the organization as all employees share the same beliefs and philosophies when it comes to baseball. According to Nate Silver, statistics have validated the conventional wisdom that getting the leadoff hitter on base increases s team’s chance of scoring greatly (3). When the leadoff hitter reaches base, the team’s chance of scoring a run in that particular inning goes up fifty percent. Therefore it is effective to stress to the players the importance of getting on base. However, general managers can only do so much in emphasizing on-base percentage. According to Tom MacLennan, one great step Beane took to make sure his use of statistical analysis showed on the field was to hire a field manager that implemented his policies and beliefs, including the importance of on-base percentage (2). The importance of unison throughout an organization cannot be stressed enough. Battles between the manager, players, and front office can crush a franchise. Hiring a manager who shares the same beliefs is very important when it comes to the success of the team.  As Moneyball has emerged as an established theory, the statistic on-base percentage and its direct influence on the winning of baseball games has led to key changes in how the game is looked at.

Using statistical analysis in major league baseball is beneficial because it allows teams to analyze players properly despite not bearing the revenue and economic stability that other teams possess. The development of statistics has allowed teams like the Oakland A’s to level the playing field and compete at the highest level. With the efforts of Bill James, Allan Roth, and Henry Chadwick, baseball has emerged as a game for thinkers and philosophers as well as a game for athletes. These men, not blessed with baseball talent, have forever changed the way the game will be played. Statistics in baseball are as important as home plate and the pitcher’s mound. This revolution will not look back, but only continue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

Gietschier, Steve. "Playing the numbers game." Sporting News. 26 Aug. 2005: 22.

eLibrary. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

Grabiner, David. "The Sabermetric Manifesto." N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

Lewis, Michael. Moneyball. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003. Print.

MacLennan, Tom. "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game." Journal of Popular Culture 4(2005):780. eLibrary. Web. 27 Nov. 2012.

Silver, Nate. "M.V.P. Debate Goes Beyond The Numbers in a Box Score." New York Times. 15 Nov. 2012: B13. eLibrary. Web. 18 Dec. 2012.

Silverman, Jacob. "How Sabermetrics Works." N.p., n. d. Web. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

Steelman, Aaron. "Baseball Science." Region Focus. 01 Jul. 2004: 32. eLibrary. Web. 29 Nov. 2012.

Woodrum, Bradley. "What Is Sabermetrics? And Which Teams Use It?." N.p., 12 2012. Web. Web. 15 Dec. 2012.

“Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior. Here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”

“Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior. Here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”
- Ford C. Frick

On Saturday January, 19, 2013, I lost my hero. I never met him. I was never in the same place as him. But that doesn’t matter. The impact of Stanley Frank Musial on this seventeen-year old’s life goes beyond words. His legacy will forever live on in my life and the others in which he touched.

I have studied baseball my entire life. I understand how to recognize greatness. I became a St. Louis Cardinals fan in the summer of 2003. When I made the decision to become a part of Cardinal Nation, I came to the conclusion that I must know everything I possibly can about the Birds on the Bat. This led me to studying Stan Musial. Right off the bat (pardon the pun), he became my hero. The definition of hero is different for everyone. For me, a hero is someone in whom you look up to and cherish who they are. The way Stan Musial went about his life: always having a smile on his face, signing every autograph, working hard to achieve his best, being triumphant in the face of adversity. That is greatness. That is somebody worth looking up to.     

From 1941 to 1963, Stan Musial delivered. He played every single game of his storied, 22-year career with the Cardinals. In his first game, on September 17, 1941, the 20-year-old Musial got two base hits in a 3-2 Cards win. In his last game, on September 29, 1963, the 42-year-old Musial got two base hits in a 3-2 Cards win. Musial won three MVP awards, led the league in hitting seven times, and won three World Series titles. He played in 24 All-Star games, tied for the most ever, and was selected as an All-Star in 20 consecutive seasons. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot and was named to MLB’s All-Century team in 1999. ESPN recently ranked him the sixth-best baseball player of all time in their Hall of 100. All of this while missing his entire age-24 season due to military service in 1945. What is most notable about Musial is just how underrated of a legend he was. He does not hold any of the high-profile career or single-season records. He didn’t hit home runs like Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron, he never hit .400 like Ted Williams, and he didn’t have more hits than Pete Rose,. Looking at any one leaderboard fails to describe Musial’s greatness. His true value comes when looking across categories and realizing that he’s near the top of everything. He hit for average and power, he had peak and longevity. He was – without question – one of the best to ever play the game. Here are his career totals:

 
Games – 3,026 (6th all-time)
Hits – 3,630 (4th)
Doubles – 725 (3rd)
Triples – 177 (19th)
Home Runs – 475 (28th)
Total Bases – 6,134 (2nd)
Runs – 1,949 (9th)
Runs Batted In – 1,949 (6th)
Walks – 1,599 (13th)
Batting Average – .331 (30th)
Slugging Percentage – .559 (19th)

The stats cannot pay justice to Stan Musial. Stan Musial changed the game of baseball in St. Louis forever. He was humble and he was real. Musial embodied the humble, Midwestern ideals of the city where he spent his entire career. Has there ever been a man more perfectly suited to be the icon of a city? Of a region? Of a tribe scattered across the heartland, all of whom buy t-shirts and jerseys and hats with little red birds on them and make their pilgrimages to the holy land, the one named after a beer baron?

I wrote this on April 14, 2012. I believe it speaks volumes now after we have lost ‘The Man’:

“Stan ‘The Man’ Musial means more to the Cardinals organization than any player will ever mean to any franchise. As Stan gets older, the amount of his public showings get shorter and shorter. That's why we must cherish the opportunity for the chance to see one of the best men in history. Cherish the chance to see Stan show off that corkscrew batting stance that made him such a great hitter. Cherish the chance to see him make 47,000 Cardinals fans rise to their feet knowing they are in the presence of a hero. Cherish the tears you shed when you see him. Just remember how great the life of Stan Musial has been and resemble the life he lived. Treat others with the respect they deserve and give them the chance to remember something forever. The legend of Stan Musial goes beyond the baseball field. It takes more than talent to be a successful ballplayer. One must have strong character and strong demeanor. Stan has that. The Presidential Medal of Freedom only added to the greatness of a boy from Donora, Pennsylvania. Remember Stan Musial for more than who he was on the baseball field. Stan Musial. More than a name. A hero. A legend. Stan Musial is Cardinals Baseball and Cardinals Nation needs to take advantage of having such a prestigious man in the history of their organization.”

Tim Kurkjian put it this way: “Baseball history tends to forget Musial's stunning greatness because he was in the Midwest and played at the same time as Williams and Joe DiMaggio and at the beginning of the careers of Willie Mays and Aaron. But there's no denying Musial's place in history, an outfielder/first baseman with an unorthodox swing and a smile that could light up a ballpark. In retirement, whenever he made an appearance at a Cardinals game, the fans couldn't get enough of him. It can be argued that no player in the game's glorious history was more important to his franchise, or more beloved in his town, than Musial was in St. Louis.”

As I walk into my room, I see a picture of Stan. I see him smiling playing the game that shapes my life. And I begin to cry. Heroes aren’t supposed to die. It doesn’t seem right know he’s gone. Opening Day will never be the same. We lost a legend. A legend that changed so many lives. Stan Musial. He was, and will always be, Stan the Man.

2012 Awards

While the front office of each major league club is busy during the offseason, so are some of the top baseball writers in the country. Yes, the writers are busy writing, but they are also making important decisions as well. They are the ones who vote for some of the most prestigious awards, including Rookie of the Year, Manager of the Year, Cy Young and MVP. This year features some of the tightest races that we’ve seen in recent memory. The speculation on who will win these close races has been alive since July. Now it's my turn to say who I feel should win each BBWAA award as well as several others.

AL MVP: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Probably the closest race of all will be argumentative either way. If Cabrera wins, Trout fans will be angry. If Trout wins, Cabrera fans will be angry. As for my opinion, I feel Trout should win the award. There are a few classic arguments that get presented when deciding who the MVP should be, with classic being the operative word. Among these arguments are batting average, RBI, whether their team advanced to the playoffs, and how they played down the stretch. Since the inception of each baseball fan’s conscious as to what makes a great baseball player, well, great, we’ve been taught that’s someone who hits for a high batting average, mashes a lot of home runs, and drives home droves of runs. To that end, yes, Miguel Cabrera should win the MVP in the most hands-down sort of fashion conceivable. But along with father time, naturally, baseball has evolved. The players have evolved, the in-game strategies have evolved, even the way we statistically break the game down, and consume the information, has evolved. In many ways, I can see the Trout-Cabrera MVP discussion being the watershed moment in the transition from the traditional stats we’ve all known and fallen in love with into the next wave of modern information. And although it’s almost become a dirty word at this point among many mainstream media personnel, Sabermetrics is that new, modern tool. To me, Mike Trout is the MVP, and it’s not even a particularly close race. He played in 20 fewer games than everyone in the American League, and still posted an historical Wins Above Replacement figure, which, according to Fangraphs (fWAR), finished at a robust 10.0. Miguel Cabrera generated 7.1 fWAR, 3rd in the American League behind the aforementioned Trout, and Robinson Cano (7.8 fWAR).It’s not that I don’t consider the Triple Crown to be an impressive feat to accomplish; I do. After all, it hasn’t happened in 45 years, and it plays a lurid role behind the romanticism of baseball, and why fans who love baseball, really love baseball. But within this new-wave of statistics in the baseball lexicon, we’ve come to realize that batting average isn’t nearly as important as on-base percentage, and that RBI is a stat predicated on who’s on base in front of you, rather than what a player generates in one single at bat. For instance, Miguel Cabrera was the cleanup hitter in Detroit, making it elementary that he’d have more runs batted in than Mike Trout, a leadoff hitter. Now let’s get into some stats.

Offense

The surface numbers are what make this race nearly impossible for Mike Trout to win. Miguel Cabrera finished up with the most home runs in the AL (44), the most RBI (139) and the highest batting average (.330). Mike Trout, even if he had played the same allotted amount of games as Cabrera, wouldn’t have eclipsed him in home runs or RBI, as he finished with 30 and 83 in those two categories, respectively. So, yeah, if you need any explanation in Cabrera’s MVP legitimacy, look no further than this paragraph. However, if we’re looking at Sabermetrics, then offensively — Cabrera’s lone contribution on a baseball diamond — they show that he wasn’t any better than Trout.

In terms of wRC+, which is defined as “[an attempt] to quantify a player’s total offensive value and measure it by runs,” Mike Trout finished at 166 (where 100 is league average); Cabrera also finished at 166. In terms of wOBA, defined “to measure a hitter’s overall offensive value, based on the relative values of each distinct offensive event,” Trout finished at .409; Cabrera at .417.

They were precisely even in wRC+, and Cabrera was a whole eight one-thousandths of a point better than Trout in the wOBA department — virtually identical. By way of my batting order argument, this information leads one to believe that had Trout been batting in the 4-hole in Anaheim’s lineup over the course of the season, and had he played in as many games as Cabrera, he would have generated as many runs. That’s why RBI is an outdated statistic; it’s measured by opportunity, not skill.

Defense

According to Fangraphs, the DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) measurement is quantified by using UZR (Ultimate Zone Range). It’s used, as you yourself can probably deduce, to determine how many runs away from zero a player saved his team, or cost them. In the Trout vs. Cabrera discussion, this is the singularly-most glaring difference between the two players. It’s said that the four priority positions on the diamond from a defensive standpoint are all up the middle, which is why you generally see teams trying to build around catching, shortstop, second base and center field. Trout occupies the latter. In 2012, Trout’s UZR was 11.4, meaning he saved his team 11+ runs roaming center field. This figure was 3rd in baseball, behind Michael Bourn‘s incredible 22.4, and Ben Revere‘s 16.4. Cabrera, on the other hand, playing 3rd base, posted a UZR of -10.0, meaning he actually cost his team ten runs over the course of the season. That figure was 2nd-worst among all Major League 3rd basemen. Between the two, the difference away from zero [(11.4 - (-10.0)] says Mike Trout was defensively a little over 21 runs better than Miguel Cabrera in 2012.

Conclusion:
Yes, I realize a Triple Crown is something special. Very special in fact. But look at the advanced statistics. Mike Trout had an unbelievable season. His season would be empty without a MVP award.

NL MVP: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
Every one of you just said to yourself: "What about Buster Posey?" What Buster Posey did, coming back from that leg injury, was truly remarkable. However, Molina is the MVP. "Yadi" as Cardinal Nation refers to their franchise player has steadily improved each of his nine major league seasons. When he emerged from the minor leagues, everyone knew the defensive capabilities were there. Molina was projected as a perennial Gold Glove winner but has now evolved into a perennial all-star. While Posey had a great season, Yadier Molina had the bigger overall impact on his team. When Albert Pujols made the decision to move to the West Coast on December 8th, the Cardinal franchise was changed. A leader was gone. A superstar was gone. Molina filled the leadership void left by Pujols' exit and helped rookie manager Mike Matheny guide the Cardinals into the postseason. St. Louis was a team who relied heavily on veteran players with lengthy medical records. Given the loss of Pujols and future Hall of Famers Tony La Russa and Dave Duncan, this could have been a difficult transition season. Molina single handily made sure it wasn't. Molina was remarkable for just how many things he did well. He hit for average, a career-high .315; he hit for power, the 22 home runs are as many as he slugged between 2004 and 2007; he played his usual peerless defense, throwing out 48% of base-stealers. He even ran the bases well, taking 12 of his own on 15 chances. Posey played 29 games at first base. Molina played 0 at first base. Having that consistent backstop helped an army of promising young hurlers evolve into future stars.

AL Cy Young: David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

David Price was the best pitcher on the best rotation in the American League. The southpaw dominated. Especially against tough competition. Price was 10-2, 2.51 ERA in 16 starts against AL East teams, representing four of the league's top eight offensive teams by on-base plus slugging percentage, or OPS. He was 13-3, 2.27 ERA in 19 games (and 62 percent of his innings) against teams that finished .500 or better. Price faced hitters with the highest aggregate OPS, as compiled by Baseball Prospectus, of the finalists, .763 (fifth among AL starters). Price had the second-highest WAR number of all AL pitchers, with 6.4. Now let's look at how Price's 2012 numbers have stacked up against previous AL Cy Young winners: Of the past 10 winners, Price's ERA is lower than six pitchers. Only five won more games, and only six bested him in strikeouts (205). If Price doesn't win this award, something is wrong with the BBWAA.

 

NL Cy Young and Breakout Pitcher: RA Dickey, New York Mets

Don't you just love a feel good story like RA Dickey? After the release of his tell-all book in the offseason, Dickey posted incredible numbers en route to one of the best seasons ever by a knuckleballer. Dickey recorded a league-best 230 strikeouts in 233 2/3 innings, while walking just 54. That strikeout ability combined with the low number of walks put Dickey in a unique class of controlling the game's most unpredictable pitch, "The Knuckler." Dickey should win because of what he did and how he pitches. He was on a team that wasn’t very good. Sorry, Mets fans. Yet, Dickey still went out and dominated the competition that he faced. He had 20 wins, which is behind only Gio Gonzalez who was also a finalist. He also threw five complete games. Let’s also not forget about the fact that Dickey had to overcome adversity to be at this level. Dickey wasn’t ever supposed to pitch again. He decided to start throwing the knuckleball, a lost pitch in modern MLB. Dickey has two different types of knuckleballers: one that is thrown around the low 70s and one that is thrown in the upper 70s. The faster one even topped out at 81 mph. Dickey put up a truly remarkable season and is fully deserving of taking home the prize for best pitcher in the senior circuit.

AL Rookie of the Year: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Trout had arguably the best rookie season in major league history, and remember, he didn’t play his first game of 2012 until April 28. Before you continue reading, remember that I love the WAR statistic. Trout led the majors with 10.7 WAR. That is the second-highest WAR for a player in his age 20 or younger season, surpassed only by Dwight Gooden’s 11.9 WAR for his age 20 for the 1985 New York Mets. It was tied for the 13th-best WAR for any AL player since 1900, and was the third-highest WAR by any player in the last 20 seasons, beaten only by a pair of seasons by Barry Bonds (11.6 WAR in both 2001 and 2002). Trout was the fifth player in major-league history to have a season in which he hit at least .300, with 30 home runs, 40 steals, and 120 runs scored.

NL Rookie of the Year: Wade Miley, Arizona Diamonbacks

From Tyler Kepner:

Ken Griffey Jr. was 19 as a rookie for Seattle in 1989. He hit .264 with 16 homers and 61 runs batted in, a strong showing for his age that foreshadowed greatness. But Gregg Olson, Baltimore’s closer, had a better season and was rookie of the year.

Wade Miley of Arizona is this year’s Olson. The left-handed Miley has been a steady presence all year long in Arizona’s rotation, going 16-10 with a 3.25 earned run average. He should win the National League award over Bryce Harper, Washington’s 19-year-old sensation.

AL Manager of the Year: Buck Showalter, Baltimore Orioles

The last time the Baltimore Orioles made the playoffs, I was two years old. The division the Orioles play in is arguably the toughest in all of baseball. Four of the league's top eight offensive teams by OPS came from the AL East. Yet, the Orioles were able to make the playoffs and contend against baseball's stiffest competition. They were able to do this through the decisions of their manager and the uncanny moves he would make. With a rotation that consisted of no proven pitchers, Showalter was able to win games through the use of his bullpen. Jim Johnson was lights out. Once the O's had a lead, they rarely relinquished it. Extra Inning games were practically automatic wins. It takes a great manager to motivate his team to be more than what their talent says they are. And that's what Buck Showalter did. He convinced his team that they could compete with the best teams in baseball. And they did just that.

 

NL Manager of the Year: Davey Johnson, Washington Nationals

Many people threw the Nationals' postseason chances out the window even before a single game was played. "They don't have the experience." "They are too young." Davey Johnson led this "inexperienced, youthful" team to the best record in baseball and a spot in the playoffs where they were eventually eliminated by the St. Louis Cardinals in a heartbreaking Game 5 for the Nationals Faithful. A franchise that hadn't experienced postseason play since the 1930s was able to get a feel of just how special it really is. I was at Game 3 of the NLDS and the atmosphere was truly remarkable. Well, at least for the first few innings. The Cardinals changed that climate but that is beside the point. Under Johnson's leadership, the Nationals achieved what few thought they would. He trusted his veterans. He trusted his up and coming stars. His leadership was felt in that clubhouse and the results showed.

 

That wraps up the traditional awards. Now for several other categories where there is no BBWAA voting.

 

Closer of the Year: Fernando Rodney, Tampa Bay Rays

Fernando Rodney 2012: 2 Wins, 0.60 ERA (Let that grasp your mind), 48 Saves, 0.78 WHIP, 76 K.

Having that lockdown closer is especially important in today's game. The job of a closer is to record saves and not give up runs – in that order. Rodney had a 0.60 ERA in 74.2 innings pitched and he’s converted 48 of 50 saves. Rodney had been extremely erratic his whole career, posting an ERA in the 4.00s for each of his last five seasons. What happened this year is nearly unprecedented, as he went from walking more batters than he struck out in 2011 to striking out 4.5 times as many as he has walked this year. Truly an incredible season. Just look at that stat line again. Wow.


Comeback Player of the Year: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

Some will say; "Well shouldn't he win the MVP too?" That honor goes to Yadier Molina in my opinion. But what Posey did this season was truly remarkable. After playing only 45 games in 2011 due to a leg injury suffered during a home plate collision with Florida Marlin, Scott Cousins, Posey picked up right where he left off in 2010. In his rookie season, Posey was named Rookie of the Year and led his team to its first World Series Championship since 1954. Posey was the superstar on the 2012 champion Giants team. When the offense was slumping, Posey picked his teammates up and was able to lead a pitching staff that ranked among the best in baseball. Oh yeah, he also had the highest batting average in all of baseball. Hats off and congrats to you, Mr. Posey on a great year and a great comeback.

 

Executive of the Year: Billy Beane, Oakland A's

The 2011-2012 offseason strategy of the Oakland A's: rebuild the team for a hopeful move to San Jose. That strategy led to the trades of Trevor Cahill, Gio Gonzalez, and Andrew Bailey. All all-stars at one time in their respective careers. All still young and in their prime/not quite in their prime. This looked like as good a rebuilding case if I've ever seen one. What it turned into however, was an American League West championship. How? Well, that is something lots of people are trying to figure out. This team had no business competing with the likes of the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels. Beane's crafty in season trades and waiver signings helped lead this team to what it accomplished. Moneyball 2.0.

Breakout Hitter of the Year: Allen Craig, St. Louis Cardinals

From Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

First baseman Pujols exited via free agency. Veteran Lance Berkman broke down. Replacement slugger Beltan labored through the dog days of summer and new No. 3 hitter Matt Holliday struggled down the stretch with nagging back problems. Amid all that, Allen Craig emerged as an outstanding clean-up hitter while playing first base and the corner outfield spots. In 469 at bats, he stroked 35 doubles, hit 22 homers and drove in 92 runs. While many young veterans prospered during Matheny's initial managerial campaign, Craig's breakthrough was most critical. He became the impact hitter this lineup desperately needed post-Pujols. His 2012 numbers projected over 550 at bats would have been MVP-worthy.

Postseason MVP: Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants

I am a St. Louis Cardinals fan. I witnessed first-hand what Marco Scutaro did to lead the Giants to their second World Series championship in three years. Story Time: April 15, 2007. Oakland A's vs. New York Yankees. Marco Scutaro, the A's light hitting shortstop steps in against the best closer of all-time, Mariano Rivera. The Yankees led 4-2 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. Scutaro hit a 0-2 cutter off the left field foul pole sending the Oakland Colliseum into pure bedlam. Scutaro, who was hitting .050 at the time, had just hit a three run home run against Mariano Rivera. Easily one of the best experiences of my life. Back to 2012, that pesky Marco Scutaro propelled his team in October, rather than April, to a championship by hitting nearly .500 in the NLCS and delivering the go-ahead hit in Game 4 of the World Series. A great postseason by a great player and a great man.

 

Postseason Moment: St. Louis Cardinals, Game 5 NLDS

You seriously can't make this stuff up. 2011 World Series Game 6. David Freese erases elimination in the 9th inning with a 2 RBI triple. Then in the 10th, Lance Berkman tied the game with a RBI single scoring Jon Jay. Both occured when the Cardinals were down to their last strike. Now let's fast forward to September 12, 2012. The Cardinals are down 6-0 after three innings at Nationals Stadium in a win or take all Game 5. The Cardinals claw back to 6-5 but hopes are soon crushed after the Nationals tally on a run in the bottom of the 8th. So how do the Cardinals respond? The best way they know how. Don't give up. Don't ever give up. The Cardinals are down to their last strike five times this time around and do not fail to make it exciting. Daniel Descalso ties the game with a 2 RBI single on the first pitch he sees from hard-throwing Nationals closer, Drew Storen. Nationals fans are stunned. Shell-shocked. Embarrassed. There is really no word to describe what the feeling was like in that stadium. Then former first round pick Pete Kozma gives the Cardinals a two run lead driving in David Freese and Descalso. Jason Motte closes the door and the Cardinals advance. Just like that. In a matter of fifteen minutes, the Nationals went from booking a flight to San Francisco to dreaming of what could have been. Just call them the Comeback Cardinals.

 

Play of the Year: Mike Trout, June 27

Just watch this and there will be no arguments: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=22644539&c_id=mlb&topic_id=vtp_must_c

 

The Magic of Baseball

There are illusions created by baseball. They allow the imagination to travel endless journeys, painting pictures of fantasy as it goes along. This is the part of the magic of baseball. But it has not survived for over a hundred years on illusion alone. Although today’s fans have never seen Christy Matthewson pitch, they can say with conviction that he was great-not only because of stories which drift down through the ages telling of his greatness, but because of the greatness he left behind. This is the proof of his acclaim. Yet the records are not merely black and white figures on a piece of paper. They also tell of his speed, control, and endurance and inspire a colorful dialogue wherever baseball is played. The dialogue can be heated and often emotional, and may even throw the reality out of proportion. But these men are saved from the realm of myth by the same records which bring them to that threshold. This, too, is the magic.

 

            The design of baseball and its strategies require a fan patience not demanded by other sports. Although events can suddenly happen on a baseball field, the excitement is nurturing, the slow and necessary aging process of a game and a season.

 

 

          The magic of baseball is the ninth inning-the last fragment of the game- in which the conflict is finally resolved. As it is with the final inning, so it is with the season. Baseball is the pennant race-the full schedule, play upon play, game after game, in which fulfillment is reached. A single game is an isolated event. The strategies become lost, the perspective distorted. The magic of baseball is the reward after waiting and watching is over. For most it’s the intangible reward of an uncaptured image, a memory, or the full roar of 50,000 throats sending a runner home.

 

 

 

*Part of this entry stems from a passage in the 1969 Baseball Encyclopedia

2012 Fielding Bible Awards

The 2012 Awards

First Base – Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees Mark Teixeira finally wins his first Fielding Bible Award at first base. Always well known for his defense, Teixeira broke through for another one of his huge defensive years in 2012 as he has done before from time to time. In 2003 and 2005, before the Fielding Bible Award began, he had seasons of 19 runs saved and 13 runs saved respectively. In 2008 he had his best season with 21 Defensive Runs Saved, but lost the Fielding Bible Award in a close vote to Albert Pujols. In 2012 he notched 17 runs and earned his first Fielding Bible Award. But it’s not that his defense has been poor in his other seasons. In the last decade Mark has never cost his team runs in any single year. But in his four best seasons he has saved 70 runs, while only saving a total of 24 runs in the other six.

Second Base – Darwin Barney, Chicago CubsDarwin Barney’s defense is a shining star in an otherwise cloudy season for the 2012 Chicago Cubs. After a nondescript debut at second base in 2011, when he saved only one run defensively, Barney led all second basemen in 2012 with 28 runs saved. This total led by a wide margin. He had a lot more runs saved than defending Fielding Bible Award winner Dustin Pedroia’s total of 11, a lot more than Robinson Cano’s 15, and a lot more than Brandon Phillips’ 11. Those three came in second, third and fourth in a vote that wasn’t close; Barney received eight of ten first-place votes. Barney’s vote tabulation of 96 points was only four short of perfection.

Third Base – Adrian Beltre, TexasAdrian Beltre has been the best defensive third baseman of our generation, and he now has his fourth Fielding Bible Award to prove it. But he has had competition. When Beltre won his first award in 2006, he barely beat out Scott Rolen and Joe Crede for the award. He won the award pretty easily in 2008 over Evan Longoria, but Longoria gave him a much tougher battle in 2011 when Beltre beat him by a 98-90 score in the voting. This year it was Mike Moustakas on Beltre’s heels. Third base was 2012’s slimmest margin of victory, with Beltre winning 90 to 86 in the tabulation. Brett Lawrie was a close third with 83 points. Both Lawrie and Moustakas had a few more runs saved than Beltre this year (20 and 14, respectively, compared to 13 Defensive Runs Saved for Beltre), but it is Beltre’s long time excellence year after year that allowed him to retain the award this year. He has saved the most runs at third base in baseball over the last three years with 45. But if Lawrie or Moustakas repeat next year what they did this year, one of them will no doubt unseat Beltre.

Shortstop – Brendan Ryan, SeattleBrendan Ryan is the best defender in baseball. Period. Make that double period. His has saved 67 runs for his teams defensively over the last three years, the highest total among all players. The next highest runs saved total is not even close (Michael Bourn, 51). Ryan led all shortstops in 2012 with 27 runs saved, led in 2011 with 18, and finished second in both 2010 and 2009 with 22 runs saved each year. Seattle recognizes the value of Ryan’s defense, and that’s why they keep putting him out there day after day despite his .194 batting average during the 2012 season. It will be interesting to see if the American League coaches and managers, who vote for the Gold Glove Awards, can look past Ryan’s offense and base their ballot on his defense alone. This has been one of the problems with the Gold Glove voting—a certain amount of offense has always been required for what should be a defense-only award. Gold Glove voting has never allowed for a position player hitting below the Mendoza line to win a Gold Glove. Hopefully Ryan will be the first.

Left Field – Alex Gordon, Kansas CityIn the history of the Fielding Bible Awards, Carl Crawford and Brett Gardner have won every award given out to left fielders except one. But this year both Crawford and Gardner were injured, opening the door for Alex Gordon. Gordon didn’t stroll through that door—he tore it off its hinges and burst through the other side. He lapped the field with his 24 runs saved defensively, his nearest competitors being Martin Prado of Atlanta with 12 and Tampa Bay’s Desmond Jennings with 9 runs saved. Gordon was a unanimous choice for the 2012 Fielding Bible Award, finishing first on every single ballot cast by the panelists.

Center Field – Mike Trout, Los Angeles AngelsCan Mike Trout win every single award in his rookie season? In 1975 another rookie center fielder, Fred Lynn, won the MVP award, the Rookie of the Year award, and a Gold Glove. It was the first and last time this has ever been done. (Technically, Ichiro also won the same three awards in 2001, but he wasn’t really a rookie at age 27 having played many years of professional baseball in Japan, was he?) Mike Trout can now top that. Trout wins his first award in a possible Grand Slam of Awards with a Fielding Bible Award for his play defensively. He has incredible range, especially on balls hit deep, where he saved many a run, converting possible doubles and triples into outs. He made 23 more plays on balls hit deep than an average center fielder would have made on the identical type of batted balls. The other thing that set him apart was his four home-run saving catches in 2012. Cameron Maybin was second with three, and no one else had more than two.

Right Field – Jason Heyward, AtlantaAfter finishing second to Justin Upton in 2011, Jason Heyward wins his first Fielding Bible Award in 2012. Heyward demonstrated that his superlative performance in 2011 was no fluke. And neither was 2010. In 2011 he led all right fielders with 15 runs saved defensively. He saved 15 runs in 2010 as well. He topped both those years in 2012 with 20 runs saved, just two behind Josh Reddick’s total of 22. How does he do it? He covers a ton of ground in right field, whether the ball is hit shallow, medium, or deep. In each of the last three years he has made between 30 and 40 more plays than an average right fielder would have made. All those extra plays more than make up for what is a slightly below average throwing arm for a right fielder.

Catcher – Yadier Molina, St. LouisYadier is back. After a one-year hiatus when he came in second to Matt Wieters, Molina wins his fifth Fielding Bible Award, tying him with Albert Pujols for the most awards won in the seven-year history of The Fielding Bible Awards. In 2011 Molina dropped to his all-time low only throwing out 25% of baserunners attempting to steal. In 2012 he threw out 46%, an MLB leading percentage in line with the rest of his career. On top of that he was superlative handling bunts, saving four runs in the process and giving him 16 Defensive Runs Saved on the season, the most among catchers in baseball last year

Pitcher – Mark Buehrle, Miami MarlinsMark Buehrle wins his fourth consecutive Fielding Bible Award. His 12 Defensive Runs Saved was the highest total among pitchers. As a player who only plays once every five games compared to those in other positions, it is Buehrle’s consistency defensively that really stands out. In the last nine years, he has ranked no worse than number 11 in Defensive Runs Saved among the 175 pitchers we rank each year. In seven of those nine years he was no worse than fifth. In that time span, only 42 runners have stolen a base on him, while 48 have been thrown out and another 31 have been picked off by Buehrle. That comes out to 32 runs saved for Buehrle preventing stolen bases when we do our calculations. On top of that, he has saved another 36 runs with the way he has fielded his position in those nine years. Buehrle joins Alex Gordon and Yadier Molina as the third player in 2012 to receive a perfect total of 100 points in the balloting. The Fielding Bible Awards have never had more than one unanimous selection in any other year.

Straight from: http://www.fieldingbible.com/default.asp

Mike Trout 100 Game Records

Mike Trout is having an unbelievable season to say the least. Trout has carried the Angels offense and is on pace for an MVP season. Trout qualifies as a rookie and would become just the third player in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season (Fred Lynn in 1975, Ichiro in 2001). Trout has played in only 99 games this season and is setting records in his first 100 games of his rookie season. His stats compare to legends such as Joe DiMaggio. A look at Trout compared to other great rookie seasons in MLB history:

MOST HITS, FIRST 100 GAMES OF ROOKIE SEASON (since 1930)
YEAR..........................................Games
.... H ....AB ....AVG
1936 DiMaggio, Joe, Yankees .........100 ....153 - 461 - .332
1954 Moon, Wally, Cardinals ...........100.....145...428 - .339
1964 Oliva, Tony, Twins ...................100 ....144 ..428 - .336
1934 Trosky, Hal, Indians .................100 ...140 ..409 - .342
2012 Trout, Mike, Angels .................99 ...137 ..400 - .343

MOST RUNS, FIRST 100 GAMES OF ROOKIE SEASON (since 1900)
YEAR ..........................Games Runs
1936 DiMaggio, Joe ..........100 100
2012 Trout, Mike ................99 96
1911 Jackson, Joe ............100 96
1924 Cuyler, Kiki ...............100 84
1951 Minoso, Minnie .........100 84

MOST SB, FIRST 100 GAMES OF ROOKIE SEASON (since 1981)
YEAR
...................................SB
1985 Coleman, Vince............. 81
1981 Raines, Tim....................71
1984 Samuel, Juan.................47
1986 Cangelosi, John.............44
1995 Veras, Quilvio.................42
1982 Dernier, Bob...................40
1990 Cole, Alex.......................40
1992 Listach, Pat....................39
2012 Trout, Mike....................39
1984 Pettis, Gary....................39

As you can see, Trout is having one of the greatest rookie seasons of all-time and is demolishing American League pitching this season. Trout brings the whole package and can be labeled a "five tool" player.