This is the first in a series to review the Braves on a position by position basis and compare each against the league. Today… the easiest one: 1st base.
Freddie Freeman is the first baseman of the Atlanta Braves – a fact that is not insignificant, given the instability this position faced prior to his arrival.
From 1980 through 2009 – thirty seasons of baseball – fangraphs lists 28 different names of Braves’ first basemen with a minimum of 100 plate appearances credited to them.
Names like Sid Bream, Robert Fick, Rico Brogna, Wes Helms, Greg Norton, Greg Colbrunn, and yes – Mark Texieira – are on that list. Even Jarrod Saltalamacchia made it (153 PA).
The players with the most tenure over that period were these:
- Bob Horner (3092 PA)
- Chris Chambliss (3012)
- Fred McGriff (2705)
- Gerald Perry (2294)
In fact, these were the only ones with over 2000 PAs. In short, the position had a turnstile installed somewhere around the coaches box on that side of the field.
But over the past 8 seasons? Just 7 names. With one clear leader:
- Freddie Freeman (4,304 plate appearances)
Nobody else had over 750 in those years (Eric Hinske 731)… and that was with only 357 innings in the field, so even their methodology on assigning him to the position has to be questioned.
Freeman is under contract with the Braves through the 2021 season – 4 more years – and that’s a good thing. But how did the Atlanta 1st basemen – all of them used in 2017 – stack up against the field?
The Aggregate
If Freeman had not been hit on the wrist, we might very well be complaining that he wasn’t getting enough MVP consideration, thanks to the way his team finished out the year.
As it was, though, Matt Adams certainly held up his end of the bargain – to the point that there are those believing that the Braves would be better off keeping him for a bench role in 2018.
Here are the fangraphs’ WAR numbers for the position – by team (all MLB):
- Reds (Votto). Best in WAR, Offensive WAR component, wRC+, and OBP. 2nd in average and slugging.
- Braves. 2nd in WAR, Offensive WAR component and slugging; 3rd (tie) for wRC+
- Diamondbacks (Goldschmidt). 3rd in WAR and its offensive component. 2nd in OBP and wRC+.
- Giants
- Cardinals, Nationals, Royals, White Sox, A’s, Cubs rounded out the Top 10 (using fWAR)
Defensively, fangraphs’ general metrics gave the nod to the Giants (Posey ranking the best, then Michael Morse and Brandon Belt).
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When broken down…
- DRS (Defensive Runs Saved): Reds (11), Cubs, DBacks, Twins, Red Sox (8). Braves get credit for -1 (17th)
- Plays: Giants, Cards, Reds, A’s, Twins… Braves 18th (162)
- RZR (Revised Zone Rating – “the proportion of balls hit into a fielder’s zone that he successfully converted into an out”): Braves 23rd (76.1%). Best was Twins and DBacks at 85%.
- OOZ (Out of Zone plays): DBacks and Giants at 41; Braves 17th (25).
- Putouts: 1500 for the Rockies, Braves 5th at 1384.
- Errors: Marlins, Cubs, Tigers, and Blue Jays all had just 3. Braves (18th) with 10. Freeman had just 4 of those.
- The Scoop metric – Braves 8th with 34 (Rangers #1 with 43; Astros next at 39).
Overall, I believe we can conclude that Braves’ 1st basemen were roughly average to just below average in fielding with Freeman himself being a tick better than average.
Offensively, while Freeman was nearly #1 on his own, the position fell 2nd overall in the majors, and clearly there’s no need to even consider an upgrade… since there’s truly no way to do that anyway.
Never mind that taking Joey Votto out of Cincinnati drops his OPS roughly 100 points while Freeman doesn’t have that luxury… and he played on a sketchy wrist for the last 3 months of the year.
I indicated at the top that this one would be easy… and it is. Freddie Freeman is the Braves’ 1st baseman and will remain so for the near future, at least. The turnstile was not brought in from Turner Field to SunTrust Park.
Next: It Starts Tonight... But What Will Happen?
That’s a really good thing, because the 28-year-old has really come into his own, and promises that his offense will remain at or near the top of the game for the foreseeable future.