Royals-Sox: Kendall in the Wind

Well, I see the Chicago Cubs just traded for Jason Kendall. I have a lot of respect for Kendall. This is a guy who has squeezed everything out of his body and has had a very good Major League career. He’s a catcher who never could throw. He could not hit with power. He grounded into a lot of double plays. He didn’t walk particularly often. He never really developed a reputation (as far as I know) as a great receiver who handled pitchers well.

And yet he has played catcher in the big leagues for 12 years, he has more than 1,800 hits, he’s a three-time All-Star and so on. How did he do it? Well, he did it about as unconventionally as anyone in recent memory. He was a catcher who could steal bases (from 1997 to 2002, he stole double digit bases every year – since the Deadball era, no other catcher has that long a streak). He got on base a lot, mostly because he put the ball in play (he twice led the league in fewest strikeouts per at-bat) and he got hit by a lot of pitches (he’s been hit by 212 pitches, seventh all-time). And he developed a reputation as a guy who played to win.

I cannot tell you how much I admire that – the man just invented a whole new category of player, the scrappy and speedy catcher who gets plunked. I’ve always been amazed by those people who have the imagination to create a whole new identity – the 6-foot-9 point guard (Magic), the unblockable blitzing linebacker (Lawrence Taylor), the bulldog sportswriter (Dick Young), the vicious sports talk show host (Pete Franklin), the annoying political hack who appears on television (take your pick), the comedian whose only talent is playing a drunk (Foster Brooks) and so on.

But, sadly, the magic is gone for Jason Kendall. He is in the midst of, quite possibly, the worst season in baseball history. I don’t mean this to be overdramatic – the man has a 46 OPS+. He’s hitting .226, his OBP is .262, his slugging percentage is .281. Even when you judge him by Kendall standards, he has only stolen three bases and hit by three pitches. It’s an absolutely abysmal year – and then you look at his catching and see that he has caught just 15 of 74 base runners. It’s hard to imagine anyone being worse than that, isn’t it?

Then again Cubs fans had grown used to watching Michael Barrett, who couldn’t hit, couldn’t throw and got into two fights in the dugout.

Editor's note: Are you guys going to give me credit for these headlines or what? I began my career as a copy editor in Charlotte and was well-known then for being the worst headline writer in the history of the world. But look at me now! Kendall in the Wind? Kason Point? Come on! Chris Berman eat your heart out.