JJ Hardy: Comparison to his Competition
Postby TuckerBlair89 » November 22nd, 2011, 2:02 pm
Hardy had a terrific first season in Baltimore. He continuously excelled with the bat, while playing above average defense along the way as well. I compared the statistics of Hardy versus the other qualifying SS in the league. All stats are taken from Fangraphs (http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=ss&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=y&type=8&season=2011&month=0&season1=2011&ind=0&team=0&players=0)
There were 20 qualifying SS in 2011:
As the above stats indicate, you know exactly what you are getting with Hardy. He is by no means an on-base machine, even though his BABIP is interestingly higher than one would expect. That is probably due to his 30 HR. Hardy HAS been a slugging machine though, tying only with Troy Tulowitzki in HR.
The most interesting aspect of Hardy's statistics from 2011 is how effective he was with the glove. He ranked 2nd in Fld(Also called UZR) at 10.7, only surpassed by Alexei Ramirez at 11.9.
Compare this to a player like Asdrubal Cabrera, and you could argue that Hardy was the more valuable player overall. Hardy was very steady with the glove, although he did not have the flashy plays to show for it.
Overall, the Orioles struck gold on the Hardy trade. He is certainly not a Troy Tulowitzki, but he is a pretty darn good player on a fair contract. He could be a very nice trade piece in a year or two if he can stay healthy.