Dodgers of the Decade: First Base
December 28, 2009 at 9:16 am | Posted in Eric Karros, Hee-Seop Choi, James Loney, Nomar Garciaparra, Olmedo Saenz | 21 CommentsI have to say, I was surprised with the results of the catcher poll. Despite Paul LoDuca having put up the best overall season and slightly better overall stats, Russell Martin won the vote for best Dodger catcher of the 2000s by a score of 68% to 31%. I figured Martin would win, but not by that much. I suppose the steroid allegations carried more weight than I’d thought they would, or maybe Dodger fans just have short memories. Special thanks to Chad Kreuter’s wife and mom, who clearly must have been the two people behind his two votes.
Lets move on to first base. And what a motley crew this is; you’ve got a 1990s Dodger star in the twilight of his career, a star shortstop trying to make the position switch in his hometown, a top prospect still trying to take the next step, a portly pinch-hitting fan favorite, and possibly the most divisive Dodger (non-Pierre division) of the last ten years. Good luck choosing from among all that.
You may notice that there’s one eligible player missing here, and that’s Shawn Green. Yes, he did play more than 100 games at 1B as a Dodger, and that’s the threshold. But he only played first base regularly in his final season in Los Angeles, with the huge majority being played in right field, so that’s where we’re placing him. I was going to include defensive stats, but UZR doesn’t kick in until 2002, so I’m not sure how to account for the first two years. I’ve left it out for now.
Dodgers of the Decade team:
C: Russell Martin (68%)
First Base
James Loney (463 games, 2006-09)
Dodger stats: .295/.354/.451 .805 45 hr 265 rbi
WAR: 3.6
Eric Karros (418 games, 2000-02)
Dodger stats: .253/.317/.418 .735 59 hr 242 rbi
WAR: 0.6
Olmedo Saenz (381 games, 2004-07)
Dodger stats: .263/.334/.484 .818 38 hr 151 rbi
WAR: 1.7
Nomar Garciaparra (298 games, 2006-08)
Dodger stats: .289/.345/.445 .790 35 hr 180 rbi
WAR: 1.4
Hee-Seop Choi (164 games, 2004-05)
Dodger stats: .238/.328/.419 .747 15 hr 48 rbi
WAR: 0.6
Top three seasons
2.1 WAR Garciaparra, 2006
1.7 WAR Loney, 2009
1.5 WAR Loney, 2007
No one really stands out here to me. Karros was at the end of his career to start the decade, while Loney’s just at the beginning of his career and hasn’t fully realized his talent. While the best single season was probably Nomar’s 2006, it was also really the only season he was any good at all. Saenz was a bench player who was only nominally a first baseman, and I always felt that the biggest travesty of the Jim Tracy era was playing Jason Phillips at 1B down the stretch of the lost 2005 season rather than Choi mainly out of spite from the LoDuca deal. I assume Loney will win because he has the highest overall WAR and is the freshest in people’s minds, but how sad is it that two seasons which are subpar for a first baseman are probably going to be enough to make him the best first baseman of the entire decade?
Make your choice. Who’s your Dodger first baseman of the 00s?
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You know my feelings on Eric Karros – I hated him as a Dodger, I hated him even more when he was the main reason we dealt Paul Konerko and as a talking head, he is a bigger joke than Tim McCarver on Fox.
Now, if Nomar could have stayed healthy, he would’ve been my choice. Unfortunately, the Nomar we got was in the midst of completely falling apart. A damned shame because he was very good for about four months.
I often think that the number one reason Assclown fired PDP was not because of Plaschke or Simers not liking the guy or the mess with the failed Charles Johnson trade, but the fact that he put his reputation on the line with the acquisition of Choi, even though he must’ve known that Tracy would never give the guy a real shot. Sure, Choi had holes in his swing bigger than Jupiter (so did Karros) and he had the range of a gimpy-legged Karros, but he was not as terrible as portrayed. He just lacked for consistent playing time and a manager who would take the risk.
Gotta go with Loney. On defense alone, he is head and shoulders above any of the other contenders. Wish he had some pop, but he is young and has shown that, in short stretches, he can hit with some pop and he still has the potential of winning a batting title. He has improved his plate discipline and there are about a dozen or more teams who would be quite happy with Geoffrey.
Comment by grabarkewitz — December 28, 2009 #
I agree that Choi’s range was terrible, but I also felt he never got enough credit for being OUTSTANDING at picking poor throws out of the dirt.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness — December 28, 2009 #
That is true, Mike. Choi wasn’t a total Karros at first. He saved more than a few bad throws. But, that seems to go by the wayside because his games at first were few and far between – thank you, Gibberish Jim. It would’ve been interesting to see what would’ve happened with Choi if he was given a half season of daily play.
Comment by grabarkewitz — December 28, 2009 #
So far this poll surprises me. I know that Loney has lots of potential, but every year we keep saying that. Karros was at the end of his career, but I think Nomar held this team together. He was the only bright spot during that time. I was always surprised that teams did not pitch around him more often.
Comment by Greg — December 28, 2009 #
I’m a little surprised too, Nomar was so good in 2006. But then he actively hurt the team in 07 and 08, so I guess that’s not helping.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness — December 28, 2009 #
My favorite thing out of this 1B list is that Olmedo Saenz, who was the definitive replacement level player (for around $1 million a year) was actually 1.7 Wins Above Replacement. Former All-Star Nomar was 1.4.
Comment by Mike Sharperson Lives! — December 29, 2009 #
[...] Dodgers of the Decade team: C: Russell Martin (68%) 1B: James Loney (62%) [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Second Base « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — December 29, 2009 #
[...] of the Decade team: C: Russell Martin (68%) 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff [...]
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[...] of the Decade team: C: Russell Martin (68%) 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre [...]
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[...] of the Decade team: C: Russell Martin (68%) 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield [...]
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[...] of the Decade team: C: Russell Martin (68%) 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Left-Handed Reliever « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 6, 2010 #
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Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Right-Handed Reliever « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 7, 2010 #
[...] of the Decade team: C: Russell Martin (68%) 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield [...]
Pingback by Dodgers of the Decade: Closer « Mike Scioscia’s tragic illness — January 8, 2010 #
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[...] of the Decade team: C: Russell Martin (68%) 1B: James Loney (62%) 2B: Jeff Kent (88%) 3B: Adrian Beltre (80%) SS: Rafael Furcal (87%) LF: Gary Sheffield [...]
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