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I came across an interesting statistic while Twittering this morning that says a lot about the value of a certain star player, and just how off-base his team's fans might be about his contributions.
Want to see it? Okay. Here it is:
Most Wins Above Replacement by SS (2011-2013)- Andrus 12, Tulo 11.9, Hardy 11.2, Y Escobar 10.7, Aybar 10.4, Reyes 10.1, Simmons 9.6
— Mark Simon (@msimonespn) November 12, 2013
There are two really interesting things about Simon's tweet. First, Andrelton Simmons is so good at defense that he's reached that 9.6 figure in only 206 big-league contests. That's approximately one win every 21½ games. That's tops among everyone on that list. However, Troy Tulowitzki isn't far behind. He's been worth 11.9 WAR in only 316 games, or one win every 26½ contests.
Here is a breakdown of percentage of games played over the last three seasons for each of the players listed above:
| Elvis Andrus | 95% |
| Troy Tulowitzki | 65% |
| J.J. Hardy | 92% |
| Yunel Escobar | 89% |
| Erick Aybar | 87% |
| Jose Reyes | 78% |
| Andrelton Simmons | 42% |
Tulowitzki is worth more each of the other six shortstops on that list despite playing in a fewer percentage of his team's games since the start of the 2011 than all of them except for Simmons. I don't want to downplay the importance of being on the field regularly, but at the same time, it's pretty obvious how badly misinformed a certain chunk of the fanbase is in terms of Tulo's performance.
I've seen some strange comments over the last few days. One person referred to Tulowitzki as being "only a name at this point." I saw another Rockies fan pining to receive Allen Craig -- a guy who spent significant time during a key point in the season on the disabled list -- in a deal because he's a better player, and less of an injury risk, than Tulo.
Come on. Just ... come on. Clean it up, people.
In other news, Tulo probably isn't going to be traded. At least, that's what the Rockies' brass is saying. That's a quick, sharp turn from the direction things seemed to be heading on Sunday night.
Links
- One longshot to fill the Rockies' right field vacancy is apparently off the market, as Marlon Byrd will reportedly sign with the Phillies.
- Catcher collisions and expanded instant replay are on the docket for today's meetings, one GM told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.
- Fangraphs' Jeff Sullivan brings up some interesting points on a guy who I'd like to see wearing purple pinstripes next season.