At the tip of October, MLB introduced their finalists for the Gold Glove awards. Every MLB fan collectively put palm to face on the sight of Juan Soto being named a finalist for the NL proper subject Gold Glove. Thankfully, he didn’t win the award. MLB coaches and managers dodged an enormous bullet with that, as a result of I don’t understand how they may’ve defined a Soto Gold Glove win and saved the integrity of the award intact.
However, Soto’s inclusion was just the start, a small dose of what was to return. On Thursday, MLB introduced the recipients of its coveted Silver Slugger Award, naming one of the best hitters in each leagues at each place. All in all, I couldn’t agree extra with most of those selections, however one recipient is such an abhorrently dangerous determination, I couldn’t assist however complain via my laptop display: National League DH recipient, Josh Bell.
If you’ve adopted my work earlier than, you realize my ideas on Josh Bell’s 2022 season. While he was nice with the Nationals, he was arguably the worst hitter in baseball after being traded to the San Diego Padres — alongside teammate Juan Soto. With San Diego, Bell slashed .192/.316/.271 throughout 53 video games. That was good for a 75 OPS-plus, making him 25 % worse than a mean hitter with the Pads. Not excellent for somebody who’d already been named an All-Star.
Despite these horrid numbers, Bell nonetheless had a stable season total, posting a complete OPS-plus of 128, his highest since 2019. His 153 OPS-plus as a member of the Nationals would’ve been the very best of his profession had he maintained his tempo. However, that first two-thirds of the season doesn’t absolve Bell of his abysmal closing stretch, or his lack of time as a DH.
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Bell didn’t play as a DH a lot in any respect. Across 32 video games (31 video games began) as a DH in 2022, Bell accrued solely 134 plate appearances. Here’s an inventory of each participant within the National League with extra time spent as a DH this yr:
- Nelson Cruz
- Daniel Vogelbach
- Luke Voit
- Bryce Harper
- Andrew McCutchen
- Charlie Blackmon
- Marcell Ozuna
- Albert Pujols
- Justin Turner
- Garrett Cooper
- J.D. Davis
- Willson Contreras
- Ketel Marte
- Christian Yelich
- Tommy La Stella
- And a partridge in a fucking pear tree
Now, simply because these guys spent extra time on the place doesn’t imply they had been higher DHs. Let’s be sincere. So, of all these names, right here’s who additionally had a greater OPS-plus in 2022 than Josh Bell (128):
- Harper
- Pujols
- Contreras (tied with a 128 OPS-plus)
Now, if you take a look at it like that, Bell’s choice doesn’t look that dangerous. Sure, Pujols most likely deserved it extra. After all, The Machine completed forward of Bell in house runs, batting common, slugging proportion, OPS, and OPS-plus. He did all that at 42 years previous whereas reaching 700 profession house runs. That in and of itself ought to represent a Silver Slugger, however I’ll look past that for the sake that it was shut. Harper was undoubtedly a greater hitter, however he solely performed in 99 video games, so he’s void from the dialog. So, in the end, yeah, Bell isn’t that dangerous a selection, proper? Well…till you take a look at Bell’s stats as a DH.
See, Bell’s 128 OPS-plus was on the season as an entire. As a chosen hitter, his numbers are far worse, slashing .235/.338./.339, good for a .677 OPS and 93 OPS-plus. With that in thoughts, let’s take a look at all of the gamers from two lists in the past who had a greater OPS-plus as a DH:
- Harper
- Pujols
- Marte
- Vogelbach
- Davis
- Cooper
- Contreras
- Blackmon
- Turner
Amongst these gamers (as a DH), Bell had the bottom batting common, the third-lowest OBP, the bottom slugging proportion, the fewest plate appearances, and the bottom OPS. Bell was significantly better offensively as a primary baseman and harm his group offensively as a DH. There isn’t any motive why he ought to’ve been given the award at that place. For somebody to play lower than 1 / 4 of video games at DH, but win the award for one of the best participant at that place, is infuriating. There had been a number of higher candidates who performed higher as their group’s DH, and some who performed higher total. When push got here to shove within the closing stretch of the season, Bell additionally disappeared, and though he re-emerged barely within the postseason, that also doesn’t imply he deserved the {hardware}.
I may excuse when Soto was named a finalist for the Gold Glove Award, as a result of he certified however didn’t win. I can’t excuse this. Bell was not one of the best DH within the National League, not by an extended shot, and naming him a Silver Slugger was an terrible, terrible determination.