http://tinyurl.com/ojt2uf9
The old school scout is tanned and paunchy. His face is leathery from
decades of sitting in sunburned high school bleachers; his eyes are wrinkled
from all the squinting. Cut him open, he bleeds rosin. He has a radar gun, a
notebook and some binoculars. He knows what he knows.
"Joey Votto is supposed to drive in runs,'' he says. "The guys in front of
him are paid to score them. When you're batting third in any lineup, if
you're taking close pitches with runners on base, you're not doing your job.''
The new age executive is young and lean. He wears a tie. He has a laptop,
which he opens to reveal the secrets of baseball. His secrets, anyway. He
looks at the old scout and says, "Tell me again where you got your Economics
degree?''
The young exec uses terms the scout finds exotic. He seems to talk in code:
WAR. OPS. BABIP.
BABIP?
The exec loves Joey Votto. He thinks Votto earns every penny of the $9.5
million he's making this year, and the $225 million he will make through
2023, if he plays out his current contract. The young exec knows what he
knows.
"Look how much better he makes the hitters around him,'' he says. "Look at
the opportunities he's creating to score runs, not just for himself, but for
others.''
The debate rages. Scout says, "He has 22 RBIs in 47 games. That's a 75-RBI
pace. Unacceptable.''
Young exec says, "He's in the top five in nearly every offensive category
directly related to run production. RBIs are a dated way to measure a
player's offensive ability.''
Scout pauses, arms his mouth with a bit of Skoal Wintergreen to pouch his
lower lip. Momentarily, he will line a fine stream of brown at the
executive's Cole Haans. "My number three hitter isn't walking with runners in
scoring position. Not on a pitch that's a quarter-inch off the plate,'' he
says.
And so it goes. The Cincinnati Reds first baseman, a former NL MVP and a
current cornerstone of one of the best teams in the game, is at the center of
a fascinating discussion between old and new, Skoal and Skype, traditional
and innovative. The narrative is ongoing, and won't change until Votto starts
crashing balls into the seats and the gaps. Until he has more RBIs than, oh,
Yuniesky Betancourt.
Votto has seven homers and 22 RBIs. He needed three homers and 5 RBIs in the
past week, just to reach those modest totals. Nine National League first
basemen have driven in more runs. Three of Votto's own teammates have more
RBI. Miguel Cabrera alone had 55 driven in after Thursday's games.
This has caused some consternation in Cincinnati, where worrying about the
Reds