Thought some of the people who feel he no longer has a place on a major league roster should read this: http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseb...un08,0,365752.story?page=1&coll=ny-mets-print
He is an old man who has to get lucky that the pitcher throws him something soft for him to be productive, he sucks
You can't evaluate baseball players by what you think you see. Fact is, the stats show that Franco has been a good role player who fits a specific need very well. There's a lot of good young players who don't have the skill or experience to exploit an opposing pitcher when they're thrown something soft.
I don't think I see anything, it is clear as day that he can't catch up to a fastball anymore, there were times this year when he struggles to hit even the softer fastballs And stats can be spun in so many ways to prove different points, he is batting in the .180s, he sucks
The idea of an "elite pinch hitter" is laughable in and of itself, let alone that Franco is an example of one. They have a different name for guys that can consistently get hits when called upon, everyday players.
I think people who've actually played baseball would disagree with you; pinch-hitting requires a completely different mentality than starting and playing everday. There's a reason that most star players struggle when called upon to pinch hit. The Yankees definitely don't win the 2000 world series without guys like Luis Sojo and Jose Vizcaino on their bench. Now, those two players were both mediocre. If they were forced to play everyday, they would be exposed. Lenny Harris fit that description too. Yet there's a reason that these three guys stuck around the major leagues for so long. Being a good pinch hitter is a unique skill.
Ah the old standby, you have nothing to refute what I said so it's time to play the "people who play baseball understand" card. Contrary to popular belief being able to hit or throw a baseball does not confer any mystical understanding about the correct way to play the game. Being a pinch hitter is not a skill. Show me the "best" pinch hitter any given season and I'll show you one of the luckiest guys in baseball. You're dealing with extremely small sample sizes and if an "elite" PH was capable of producing good results over the course of the season they'd be playing every day.
Why would they be playing everyday? Why is it illogical that different players fit different roles more adequately than others? Look at Endy Chavez with the Mets. Terrific bench player. Every team would be glad to have him on their team. But I think most teams would agree that he's nothing more than a part-time player, and that he'd lose most of his effectiveness if he's pressed into the starting lineup, like the Nats tried doing in 2005.
I think you hit it on the head. Most bench players have a skill that makes then valuable to a team. In Chavez's case he's excellent defensively, has speed, can bunt for a base hit. Easley provides a HR threat off the bench. Julio Franco...does none of these things. He's just what he is, an old, bad hitter that for some reason gets the lionshare of PH AB's for the Mets.
What have you done to prove your assertion? If all he has is the "people who play baseball understand card", all you have is the "nyjunc it's true because I say it is card". Some players ARE better pinch hitters than others, and for reasons other than luck. Some players handle sitting for 8 innings and then coming in cold better mentally than others do. Therefore they are better prepared to hit in that situation.
Where's your data that backs any of what you're saying up? Who are these players that are consistently good PH'ers?
Where's yours? I don't have the energy to go looking through numbers of players and comparing their stats when they play every day to when they pinch hit. If you do, go nuts. I just know, and this comes from playing baseball for almost 20 years of my life, that some guys don't like to come into a game cold and have to face live pitching, usually in an important situation. A lot of guys who aren't in the lineup that day check out mentally, and aren't prepared to have a good at bat when called on like that. It's the same thing as some pitchers who don't deal well with coming into an inning in the middle of it, and pitch better when they start clean. This is a very similar argument to whether clutch hitting exists.
The burden of proof is on you. You're claiming that such a thing as "pinch hit skill" exists, you've got to demonstate that it does. I'm also not arguing that it's harder to come into the game as a PH then if you were a starter. If you're so inclined there's a pretty interesting article http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=5404&mode=print&nocache=1172518606 that talks about the difference in players performances as starters and as PHers. That being said I haven't seen anything to suggest that there are guys year in and year out that perform better as PH'ers then they do as starters. In most cases we're talking about such small sample sizes its hard to conclude anything other then luck is the deciding factor on a player having a "good" year PH'ing or not.
All data from Retrosheet: Career PH totals- Luis Sojo: 50 AB, .220/.278/.240, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 1 XBH (a double), 4 BB/7 K BTW- He had 0 PH at-bats for the Yankees in 2000, including playoffs. Jose Vizcaino- 315 AB, .232/.294/.279, 1 HR, 37 RBI, 28 BB/66 K BTW- He went 4-for-17 (.235) in the 2000 postseason, all singles, with no walks and 5 K. Hahahahaha.
umm, did you watch the 2000 postseason? I specifically mentioned Vizcaino because he got a game winning hit in the world series.
Yeah, and he also started that game. Congrats, a replacement-level platoon player had a good game in the World Series. That's entirely irrelevant to a discussion about pinch hitters.
Yeah, it's not truly a skill. Pinch hitting, skill-wise, is no different than hitting in a non-pinch situation. Most pinch hitters, like you wrote, are guys who are not good enough to play everyday. Many times they hit for a pitcher. That doesn't necessarily indicate any amazing ability. It just indicates the guy is a better option than a crummy pitcher. Does anyone want to venture a guess as to the percentage of times a pinch hitter hits for a pitcher? (I don't have the answer. I suppose it is at least 50% of the time. Might even be as high as 70%.) ____ Some lists- Most Career Pinch Hits 212- Lenny Harris 150- Manny Mota 145- Smoky Burgess 143- Greg Gross 139- Dave Hansen 139- Mark Sweeney 126- Johnny Vander Wal 123- Jose Morales 116- Jerry Lynch 114- Red Lucas 113- Steve Braun 108- Terry Crowley 108- Denny Walling 107- Gates Brown 105- Orlando Palmeiro 103- Mike Lum 102- Jim Dwyer 100- Rusty Staub Most Pinch Hits in a Season 28- Johnny Vander Wal, 1995 26- Lenny Harris, 1999 25- Jose Morales, 1976 24- Dave Philley, 1961 24- Vic Davalillo, 1970 24- Rusty Staub, 1983 24- Gerald Perry, 1993 23- Greg Norton, 2003 22- Sam Leslie, 1932 22- Peanuts Lowrey, 1953 22- Red Schoendienst, 1962 22- Wallace Johnson, 1988 22- Mark Sweeney, 1997 22- Lenny Harris, 2002 22- Daryle Ward, 2006 Highest Career Batting Average as a Pinch Hitter (min. 150 AB) .320- Alex Arias .320- Tommy Davis .312- Frenchy Bordagaray .311- Harold Baines .310- Greg Colbrunn .307- Frank Baumholtz .306- Sid Bream .306- Mark Carreon .303- Red Schoendienst .300- Fats Fothergill Highest Batting Average as a Pinch Hitter in a Season (min. 30 AB) .486- Ed Kranepool, 1974 .467- Smead Jolley, 1931 .465- Frenchy Bordagaray, 1938 .457- Rick Miller, 1983 .455- Bill Spiers, 1997 .455- Jorge Piedra, 2005 .452- Elmer Valo, 1955 .452- Jose Pagan, 1969 .452- Mark Johnson, 1996 .450- Gates Brown, 1968 .433- Ted Easterly, 1912 .433- Milt Thompson, 1985 .433- Randy Bush, 1986
being an elite pinch hitter is like being the hottest ugly girl. you still ugly, even if your better looking then the uglier girls.
They also fill an important role on a major league roster. Just like ugly girls have an important evolutionary purpose (befriending hotter women that need to feel better about themselves).
