Category: MLB
Posted by Tom Gage (The Detroit News) on Tue, Nov 18, 2008 at 6:01 PMAngels' Rodriquez's single MVP vote was mine - why?
Did you see that the Angels' Francisco Rodriguez got one first-place for MVP? It was my vote - and I'm stunned that after 62 saves, five more than the previous record and more saves than two teams had victories in 2008 - he got only one first-place vote.
It tells me that saves don't impress anyone anymore. They impress me (maybe because the Tigers had only 62 save opportuntities this year and blew 28 of them), but they appear to be a de-valued stat.
Question for you all: Are saves underrated or overated?
Comments
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RE: Angels' Rodriquez's single MVP vote was mine - why?
The fact that Todd Jones got all the saves he did with less than average stuff should be all the evidence you need that the save is an overvalued statistic in baseball. Big deal --- a guy comes in with no runners on in the ninth and gets three outs. More value should be placed on the middle relievers who come in with guys on base and limit the damage so the game can get to the closer. They used to call these guys "firemen" because they came in and put out the fire. Hence the "Fireman of the Year" award. Now the only fire a closer puts out is one he starts...
Hot stove league
Just curious if anyone knows if Freddie Garcia is still in the radar as possible pitching candidate for 2009 in Detroit.
K-Rod
Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod) was not even the best reliever in the AL. He was not even the second or third best. Arguably, K-Rod was the only fifth best closer behind Mariano Rivera, Jonathan Papelbon, Joakim Soria, and Joe Nathan. The number of saves that a closer gets is NOT the most important stat. There are other more indicative stats that correlate better to a reliever's quality, such as WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) and holds (% of inherited baserunners scored). I also feel that save PERCENTAGE is more important than just the number of saves. K-Rod's 2008 season reminds me very much of Bobby Thigpen's 57-save season in 1990 with the Chicago White Sox. Both K-Rod and Thigpen were very good relievers but not the best. They merely received more opportunities to save.
The 2008 Angels played in many close ballgames with its stellar pitching and so-so offense, thus giving K-Rod many, many chances. As a previous poster alluded to, K-Rod (and the Angels) also benefitted from playing in the weak AL West.
one vote for K-Rod
Tom
K-Rod served on a Goliath team living in the House Of Davids. Alot of the Angels players stats are overrated - due to the poor level of competition in the AL West.
Both K-Rod and Big Vlad looked bad in the post-season. Makes us wonder what both player stats would be -- had the Angels played in the AL East.
Mr. Gage
Who had the most holds in the AL in 2008? Don't know, offhand? Neither do I. Yet a hold is virtually the same stat as a save, it's just accomplished at a different time in the game.
Saves, like quality starts and K/W ratio, are interesting and helpful stats, but I don't think they are important enough to identify the best player in the league.
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