With the All-Star game quickly approaching I thought instead of doing a who got snubbed piece it would be a little more exciting to do a piece about a player who even though he got elected to the All-Star game this year, never quite seems to get his due on either side of the plate. That is one thing that I dislike about casual baseball fan, they tend to pick and stick with “names” instead of the real stats that tell the true story. But thanks to advanced metrics let me tell you a little something about a player I feel NEVER gets the respect for his game that he deserves.
Quickly, can you name the American League leader in fWAR behind Mike Trout? How about the player that leads nearly ever defensive metric by leaps and bounds including OOZ (out of zone plays), UZR (ultimate zone rating) and DRS (defensive runs saved). This player is in my opinion the best defensive player in the game and does everything to hold his own on offense as well. Alex Gordon does it all for the Kansas City Royals and I plan on showing you exactly what I mean with this article.
First, let’s start with the defense, no matter what metric of aged basic stat you choose to look at, Gordon is either at the top by a large margin or sitting in 2nd place by a slim amount. Lets start with my favorite defensive metric, and the one that should really be used to show the game-changing impact of a player on defense, DRS, or defensive runs saved.
A quick top 5 in the American League :
1. Josh Donaldson , 18 DRS
2. Alex Gordon , 17 DRS
3. Dustin Pedroia , 10 DRS
4. Jackie Bradley Jr , 9 DRS
5. Ian Kinsler , 9 DRS
I have well documented before just how much of a stud that Josh Donaldson is on defense, knowing that Gordon is a mere 1 DRS below Donaldson shows me exactly what I need to know about Gordon that I already know about Donaldson, They are both game-changing defenders and Gordon has a 7 run difference on the next highest on the list, Pedroia with 10. That is an amazing story telling metric to me.
Next let’s hits the UZR, or ultimate zone rating, I am using FanGraphs.Com for this information for the record. UZR is basically a defensive metric that measures the range of a defender and the top 5 in the American League should really open your eyes.
1. Alex Gordon , 23.9 UZR
2. Josh Donaldson , 12.5 UZR
3. Jackie Bradley Jr , 11.7 UZR
4. Dustin Pedroia , 9.7 UZR
5. J.J. Hardy , 6.8 UZR
Are you kidding me? Alex Gordon dominates this metric and it’s not even close. Gordon is a gold glove defender with the amount of range that is not even comparable among his peers in the American League.
The last defensive metric I want to look at it OOZ, or plays made out of zone. This metric is simply used to show how many plays that a player made out of normal average zone at his position. This list is usually dominated by shortstops and outfielders naturally and the top 5 in the American League right now is no different.
1. Alexi Ramirez , 83 OOZ
2. Alex Gordon , 66 OOZ
3. Jonathan Villar , 59 OOZ
4. Leonys Martin , 56 OOZ
5. Jackie Bradley Jr , 55 OOZ
Once again, no matter what stat or metric you want to look at , you will find Gordon either at the top or neat the top. If it wasn’t for Alexi Ramirez and his outstanding play at Shortstop for the White Sox this year, Gordon would be leading the American League in another defensive metric. I hope these metrics open your eyes to just how much range and game breaking ability that Gordon has on the defensive side of the ball.
Before I jump into his offense, I simply want to show you the top 5 in American League fWAR, just to prove how much that Gordon’s defense proves he is an elite player.
American League fWAR leaders.
1. Mike Trout , 5.5 WAR
2. Alex Gordon , 4.5 WAR
3. Ian Kinsler , 3.7 WAR
4. Adam Jones , 3.6 WAR
5. Josh Donaldson , 3.5 WAR
Only Mike Trout has a better all around game that Alex Gordon thus far in the 2014 season and it is truly a remarkable feat for Gordon to have such a high WAR and be ranked far above players such as Miguel Cabrera (3.3), Jose Bautista (3.4) and Evan Longoria (2.2).
While Gordon is an elite defender, He is obviously not at the top of any offensive metric but he has slashed to a .268 /.348 /.425 tune and has some pretty decent metrics, 116 wRC+ , .343 wOBA while scoring 47 runs, driving in 22 and stealing 6 bags. Gordon plays his part quite well in the Kansas City line up and is one of the main reasons that the Royals are still in contention this far into the season. Sure you would like to see his slash line bumped up a little bit in the remainder of the season but my point here is to show that Gordon is well above average on offense and at an elite level on defense.
I am very happy that Gordon was named to the All Star team this year, it is very fitting for a great player who is having an MVP type year, yes I do believe that. WAR tells us that he is in MVP contention, so this Tuesday when you are watching the All Star game and Gordon gets his turn to take the field, remember that you are watching perhaps the greatest defender in the American League, and in my opinion, the most underrated and undervalued player in the American League. Alex Gordon is one of those guys, like Ben Zobrist a few years ago, that followers of advanced metrics can really latch on and make a case for as a legit MVP player that the casual fan may just pass off as an average player. Just another case of advanced metrics telling the TRUE story of a player.
