Welcome to Behind the Plate With DJ, a weekly look at what is going on in the world of baseball. This series will weigh in on the interesting, the controversial, and the downright cool. The play of the week could be an incredible play or an unusual one. If something made you scratch your head, you will probably find it here. So sit back, relax, and let’s take a look at the week that was.
Opening Day
Pittsburgh Pirates starter Francisco Liriano opened the Major League season with a ball just off the outside corner to St. Louis Cardinal third baseman Matt Carpenter. Liriano drove in the first run of the game, and thus a pitcher was the Major League leader in RBI. Francisco Cervelli hit a triple in the sixth inning to give a catcher the MLB lead in triples. The Pirates treated their home fans to a 4-1 victory over the Cardinals.
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In the second game of Opening Day, the Toronto Blue Jays traveled to face the Tampa Bay Rays. Troy Tulowitzki hit the first Major League home run of the season in the eighth inning. Corey Dickerson hit the second home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Chris Archer had 12 strikeouts in a losing effort.
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The nightcap featured a rematch of the 2015 World Series as the Kansas City Royals hosted the New York Mets. The Mets got to watch the Royals be presented with the World Series trophy and the World Series banner be raised at the stadium. Tuesday, they get to watch the Royals receive their World Series rings. The Royals used aggressive base running to put pressure on the Mets just like they did during the World Series.
And just like that, the Major League season is under way. Play Ball!
Roster Surprise
The Boston Red Sox acquired Pablo Sandoval last season hoping for an offensive threat at third base. They signed him for five years and $95 million. It seemed like a large amount at the time for his career numbers. He was a lifetime .294 hitter, averaging about 15 home runs per season. He did have an OPS+ of 123 (see below for an explanation of OPS+) in his career.
What they received in 2015 was a .245 hitter with 10 home runs and 47 RBI with an OPS+ of 76. There were only five hitters out of 142 who had enough at bats to qualify that had a lower OPS+. That is definitely not what the Red Sox had in mind for $19 million per year.
The Red Sox were not comforted by Sandoval’s spring, either. Sandoval hit .233 with two home runs and six RBI in 17 games. Enter Travis Shaw. Shaw had a decent rookie year, though he only played 65 games. He hit .270 with 13 home runs, 36 RBI, and an OPS+ of 115. He followed that up by hitting .339 with two home runs and 10 RBI this spring.
So the Red Sox will be starting a second-year player making the league minimum will be starting at third base while an eight-year veteran making $19 million will be riding the pine.
Advanced Stat of the Week
Every week, Behind the Plate will look at an advanced stat that is being used in baseball. These stats give a better idea on what value a player gives a team. This week’s stat is OPS+.
OPS+ starts with OPS, which is on base percentage plus slugging percentage, which are two common statistics that have been commonly used for some time. Adding them is simple arithmetic. The + means that there are adjustments made to take into account factors that would affect OPS, such as the ballpark. Then the numbers are normalized so that the average hitter has an OPS+ of 100. An above average hitter will have an OPS+ greater than 100, a below-average hitter will have an OPS+ less than 100.
The reason you would use OPS as opposed to a more common stat like batting average is that OPS is more accurate about a player’s value. Batting average does not take into account extra-base hits or walks. If a .265 hitter hits 40 doubles and 20 home runs, they are more likely to produce more runs than a .280 hitter with 20 doubles and 5 home runs.
The reason to use OPS+ over OPS is just because it is easier to tell how much value a player had without knowing the OPS of other hitters. It is easy to see that Manny Machado’s OPS+ of 131 is very good and Sandoval’s OPS+ of 76 is downright horrible. It is harder to tell whether or not an OPS of .658 is good or not (it’s not).
Play of the Week
This week’s play of the week involves the first application of the new slide rule. Jose Bautista came sliding in to break up a double play and reached out and grab the second baseman’s ankle in order to try and break up the double play.
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Series to Watch
Los Angeles Dodgers (3-0) at San Francisco Giants (2-1)
The Giants home opener is part of a four-game series against their division rival Dodgers. These two teams figure to be in a battle for the division crown and the battle starts now.
The Giants opened the season in Milwaukee with a 12-3 victory in a game in which Madison Bumgarner walked in a run and gave up two home runs. Johnny Cueto went seven innings giving up just one run on six hits in the second game, which the Giants won 2-1. The Giants were not able to secure the sweep, as the Brewers managed to slip by with a 4-3 win in the finale.
The Dodgers started the season with a pair of shutouts in San Diego. They disappointed the home crowd on Opening Day by defeating the Padres 15-0, then beat them 3-0 and 7-0 to secure the best opening series in MLB history. They joined the St. Louis Cardinals as the only teams to start the season off with three consecutive shutouts.
This series will set the tone for how the NL West is going to be won. Look forward to a hard-fought series. The Dodgers are chasing history, trying match or exceed the 32 consecutive shutout innings to start a season. The Giants will be out to prove that the “even year” magic is true.
