Second base: Chase Utley

Mark Ellis actually has the highest zone rating among second basemen, which I bring up because it turns out that Ellis ended up being the most important player in the infamous Johnny Damon deal. He was a throw-in.

Ellis is a pretty good example of all-things-Moneyball. In fact, he’s worth bringing up just to point out how much Michael Lewis’ book changed the landscape.

I remember that Damon trade very clearly. The Royals had determined that there was no way they were going to sign Johnny Damon. So they wanted to maximize his value by trading him during the off-season. Here's the context of the time in Kansas City -- the Royals were, at that moment, the best young hitting team in baseball. They had (and all of these guys were still young then), Damon (who had hit .327 and scored 136 runs), Carlos Beltran (who had an off-year), Jermaine Dye (who had been an All-Star starter), Mike Sweeney (who had driven in 144 runs) and Joe Randa (who had driven in 106 runs). They also had a young Mark Quinn, who had hit .294 with 20 homers and finished third in the Rookie of the Year vote.

What the Royals did NOT have, however, was pitching, and they especially did not have a bullpen. The Royals had set a team record for runs scored in 2000, but they had gone 77-85, in part because the bullpen had a 5.59 ERA and had blown more saves than recorded. It is true that the Royals did not have much starting pitching either, but as any fan, manager or baseball executive knows, nothing sucks the life out of you more than having a bad bullpen. Sure, in the grand scheme of things losing 5-4 is losing 5-4 no matter when the runs are scored.

But going into the ninth with a 4-2 lead and losing 5-4 just hurts more. The Royals did an awful lot of that in 2000. And there’s absolutely no doubt that thoroughly shaped general manager Allard Baird’s thinking.

The three-way trade ended up like this:

Oakland received Johnny Damon, Mark Ellis and Cory Lidle.
Tampa Bay received Ben Grieve.
Kansas City received Roberto Hernandez, Angel Berroa and A.J. Hinch.

I don’t want to break down the whole trade, though it seems pretty obvious who got the best of it. No, I want to say that Allard Baird had fallen in love with the idea of a dependable closer, and he had become convinced that Hernandez would be as dependable as he was likely to find (Roberto had 32 saves and a 3.12 ERA in 2000 though, looking back, he did give up more hits than innings pitched and a career-high nine homers).

But Baird wanted more than just Hernandez. His scouts really impressed on him the need to get shortstop Angel Berroa. Billy Beane, that shrewd Oakland general manager, made it sound like he simply could not give up on Berroa. After some haggling, Beane said, “OK, well, how about you throw in Mark Ellis.”

Allard considered this. He liked Ellis. But the Royals already had a second baseman he felt was their future (Carlos Febles) and Allard really coveted the shortstop. I think, looking back, he misjudged Ellis a little bit, and suspected the was going to be a utility infielder. A general manager simply will not hold up a deal to keep a potential utility infielder. So the deal was struck.

-- Hernandez had two blah years in Kansas City.
-- Berroa won Rookie of the Year and looked exactly like the player Baird had anticipated and then fell off the face of the earth.
-- Damon played one year in Oakland, had the worst season of his life, then signed with Boston, led the Idiots, and became a folk hero. And then signed with the Yankees.
-- A.J. Hinch will probably be a general manager someday very soon.
-- Ben Grieve imploded into himself like a dying star.

And that leaves Ellis … and the whole point of this. Why did Billy Beane want Mark Ellis? Because the guy GOT ON BASE. Remember, this was before Moneyball hit book stands, just before on-base percentage became the stat du jour. Ellis had a .400 on-base percentage at three levels with the Royals. He walked a lot. And as we know that’s precisely what Oakland wanted at that time. And that's what lots of teams want now. I suspect that these days a player with a .400 on-base percentage in the minor leagues is coveted a lot more than he might have been just seven or eight years ago.

The funny part is that Mark Ellis ended up not being especially good at getting on base. Ellis doesn’t walk a lot. His OBP this year is .327 and it was .319 last year. But they ended up getting a GOOD player when healthy – he hits some homers, he’s very steady, and he makes all the plays in his zone.

OK, back to the defensive choice. I chose Chase Utley because it seems to me he’s the best all-around defensive second baseman in the game. Ellis may be steadier. Orlando Hudson has more range and is flashier. Aaron Hill is terrific. But day-in, day-out, I think Utley’s the guy.

So how about this: Chase Utley is on pace to hit .334 with 66 doubles, 27 homers, 127 runs scored, 132 RBIs and he’s the best defensive second baseman in the game. I mean, seriously, where does THAT season rank among the greatest seasons ever. I realize he plays in a bandbox, and we’re still in an offensive era and all that. But wow.

(While I was writing this, apparently, Chase Utley broke his hand and will now be out close to a month. That's a real shame).

Note: I saw the comment from brilliant reader Daniel saying that Manny Ramirez is, at worst, below average and usually plays better than that. I’m sure Daniel as a Sox fan sees Manny a lot more than me. But I can tell you that I’ve never seen average defense from Manny, but more importantly I am looking at some defensive numbers here that make it pretty clear Ramirez is indeed quite putrid (or, if you prefer, rancid). I don’t want to give anything away until we get to left field. But I will tell you that Daniel s right about this: Adam Dunn is putrid and rancid.

Best defensive second basemen (in order):
1. Chase Utley
2. Aaron Hill
3. Orlando Hudson
4. Brandon Phillips
5. Mark Ellis

Worst defensive second basemen (in order)
1. Jeff Kent
2. Rickie Weeks
3. Craig Biggio
4. Freddy Sanchez
5. Dan Uggla