That Eric Hinske?

by Tommy Rancel on Jan 12, 2009 11:25 AM EST

Take a look at this list of Rays in order of UZR/150(min. 250 innings at one position). Now, see if a name appears that you wouldn't expect. If that name appears twice and ahead of B.J. Upton, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett and Aki Iwamura, then you're thinking along with me.

Name	Pos	G	GS	UZR/150
Crawford	LF	108	103	28.6
Longoria	3B	119	118	17.7
Gross	RF	120	75	15.4
Aybar	3B	41	40	13
Hinske	RF	49	47	11.6
Hinske	LF	40	37	9.9
Upton	CF	143	141	5
Pena	1B	132	131	4.5
Bartlett	SS	125	122	2
Iwamura	2B	152	151	0.6
Zobrist	SS	35	33	-15

According to UZR/150, Eric Hinske wasn't a bad fielder at all and not nearly as bad as we all made him out to be. Of course he only had 600 innings in the outfield this season, but in those 600 innings he was better than Denard Span, Justin Upton, Matt Kemp and Jay Bruce. How? I do not know.

Hinske hasn't attracted much interest on the open market, except for a possible interest by a Japanese team, but for a team looking for a platoon outfielder or a power bat off the bench, they could do a lot worse that Hinske(I'm looking at you Dayton Moore). If he doesn't end up with a Major League deal or something overseas, I wouldn't mind bringing him back and stashing him away in Durham on a split contract.

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Comments

I don't buy his rating.

It’s based on the balls in zone data, Justin uses the same, and while he’s not as bad as you expect, he’s still closer to -5 than 0. This is the only player I’ve seen split like this, so either he’s an outlier or there’s something wrong with the input data.

Can anyone with BJO sub post his +/- numbers?

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 11:28 AM EST reply actions

Seriously, Eric Hinske can't be a good outfielder

by Tommy Rancel on Jan 12, 2009 11:29 AM EST up reply actions

Stop hating on white people!

Top Josh Paul Pornos- Big Navi Stroking, 2pitchers1cup, BJ to the Balls, Riggans Your Thingans

by SRQman on Jan 12, 2009 11:40 AM EST up reply actions

Shut it, honkey.

by Erik Hahmann on Jan 12, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

PMR also says he was negative.

http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2008/11/13/660346/2008-rf-defense-by-pmr

Usually PMR/UZR/+/-, ect. agree, so I’m thinking there’s something wrong with the data.

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 11:31 AM EST up reply actions

CHONE also has him in the same group as

Cust, Abreu, Shelley Duncan and Jose Guillen

by Tommy Rancel on Jan 12, 2009 11:33 AM EST up reply actions

I just realized I wasn't looking at UZR/150.

Hinske’s plain ol’ UZR in the OF is 5. That doesn’t fit in with the rest of his career. Either he had a flukishly decent defensive season, or the input data was wrong.

I can see the former, I don’t really think MGL or Appelman would make a mistake on the latter.

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 11:35 AM EST up reply actions

This is why we say three years of defensive data = one year of offensive data.

It’s also why there’s no golden reference for defensive stats.

Use UZR, PMR, and +/- together to get an answer. Generally they tend to agree, this case, not so much.

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 11:41 AM EST up reply actions

I think

HE IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS

/Denny Green

by Erik Hahmann on Jan 12, 2009 11:43 AM EST up reply actions

I think you just hate Hinske and love Gross.

by Tommy Rancel on Jan 12, 2009 11:56 AM EST up reply actions

Hinske turned out little Evan into a terror.

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 11:57 AM EST up reply actions

But Hinske has a positive UZR in the OF for his entire career

You really think multiple seasons are flukey?

by weebs on Jan 12, 2009 1:36 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe not.

I just don’t understand why everything but UZR says otherwise. Odd.

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 1:48 PM EST up reply actions

You think Upton ranged over to take balls from his range?

I’m a little unclear on how UZR would handle that.

by weebs on Jan 12, 2009 2:04 PM EST up reply actions

Doubt it.

Upton would’ve taken balls from right-center, but that would’ve hurt Hinske I believe (noting it as a play Hinske didn’t make within his zone). I’d have to email MGL to verify though.

I wish we knew the hangtime on an average flyout for Hinske versus average.

by R.J. Anderson on Jan 12, 2009 2:08 PM EST up reply actions

Hang time

by Tommy Rancel on Jan 12, 2009 4:07 PM EST up reply actions

Hinske as a good outfielder gives me California Dreams

http://www.lacoctelera.com/myfiles/quefuede/California%20Dreams02.jpg

Anyway, as I was lying in the puddle, I think I may have found a way for us to get Bonds and Griffey, and we wouldn't have to give up that much.

~George Costanza~

by Sandy Kazmir on Jan 12, 2009 4:16 PM EST up reply actions

dammit

Anyway, as I was lying in the puddle, I think I may have found a way for us to get Bonds and Griffey, and we wouldn't have to give up that much.

~George Costanza~

by Sandy Kazmir on Jan 12, 2009 4:17 PM EST up reply actions

Either he had a flukishly decent defensive season, or the input data was wrong.

I think its rather obvious to everyone who watched him last year that he was a bad defensive player with some of the worst OF range Ive ever seen. Why do you rely so heavily on these numbers, rather then what you saw out of him last year yourself? Clearly either the data is wrong or that statistical measurement is unreliable.

by Rays4242 on Jan 12, 2009 6:25 PM EST up reply actions