Baseball Thoughts...

by Dusty Writes

May 2026

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On Luis Arraez:

In a previous article on SSTN, albeit a while back, Paul Semendinger mentioned that he would have wanted the Yankees to acquire Luis Arraez. Arraez seems to be very underrated and many media and fans consistently point out what he doesn't do well, rather than what he does do well.

Arraez gets criticized for only being a singles hitter, which is incorrect. While it is true, he is not a homerun hitter, he does average more than 30 doubles per a 162- game season. Also, he is the most difficult batter to strike out in MLB, which doesn't show up in some statistics, but is a tremendous asset. I haven't watched him play every day, but when I did, he seemed to be an o.k. defensive player, who made some outstanding plays. 

While his defensive skills have been criticized, how reliable are defensive statistics? 

There was a very interesting article last week by the San Francisco Chronicle and the headline said about Luis Arraez, "He's a three-time batting champ and now a defensive standout."

The article said Arraez's defense at second base this season is the best in MLB, according to Fangraphs and Statcast. Fangraphs has Arraez's (DEF) overall defensive metric at 6.0, well ahead of Cubs Gold Glove winner Nico Hoerner at 4.6 and Arraez has 9 outs above average (OAA), compared to Hoerner's 6 outs above average (OAA).

The article also said Arraez is a smart baserunner, aware of baserunning situations.

Arraez's manager and Arraez's teammates have said he is a fantastic positive clubhouse presence and mentor to other players on his team. 

The article said the Giants may trade him and at his current salary of $12 million, he is a bargain.

We have consistently heard about how poor Arraez's defense and baserunning is, yet this article says the complete opposite. 

On Intangibles (And Long-Lasting Impact):

Many players throughout baseball history are very underrated because the intangibles they provide don't show up in the box score or in any statistic, such as being a good clubhouse presence, mentoring other players, having low strikeout totals as a batter.

Many fans and media don't put nearly enough emphasis on intangibles. No statistic, whether they are traditional stats or modern stats, can give the complete picture of a player's career. 

Here are just two examples: Should Sparky Lyle be in the Hall of Fame? Should he have his number retired or have a plaque in Monument Park?  If we add Lyle's intangibles, his impressive career becomes much more impressive. For example, Ron Guidry, who some say should be in the Hall of Fame, has said on many occasions that Sparky Lyle taught him how to throw the slider, and if Lyle didn't teach him that pitch, Guidry said he never would have had the excellent career that he did. 

The Hall of Fame and teams, in addition to many fans and media, usually don't give credit to players for making other players better. Lyle will get credit for his excellent career, but nowhere in the statistics does he get credit for Guidry's career.

Who is the best catcher in Yankees history? Yogi Berra or Bill Dickey? Who is the best catcher of all time? Is it Johnny Bench, Yogi Berra, or someone else? 

Perhaps Dickey is the best catcher of all-time, not only because of his stats, but because of his tremendous contributions to the Yankees after he retired.  Yogi Berra and Elston Howard have said that they would not have had anywhere close to the careers they had without Bill Dickey's excellent instruction. 

There are no stats to give credit to Bill Dickey for playing a very big part in developing the fantastic careers of Berra and Howard. Nearly 20 years after Dickey retired from his fantastic Yankees career, the Yankees were consistently winning pennants and world series, in large part by big contributions from Berra and Howard, who were mentored by Dickey. 

While Berra may or may not have better stats than Dickey, Dickey's overall contributions to the Yankees while he played and after he retired, may make Dickey the catcher who made the biggest contribution in Yankees history. Berra, however, was a manager and coach for the Yankees, and his contributions to the Yankees after his retirement may have been significant, though I would guess Dickey's overall contributions to the Yankees would be more significant than Berra's.