It’s not Mats Sundin, it’s not Roy Halladay, and it’s not Chris Bosh. John McDonald of the Toronto Blue Jays has become one of the collective favorites in this town, not only by all of the wannabe knowledgeable Jays fans, but also by the general educated sports fan. The question I have for everyone out there is WHY? Let’s break it down and look at what this guy actually brings to the table.
First, let’s look at offence. This as we all know is where the Jays as a team need lot of help.
John McDonald through 77 at-bats this season has a batting average of .195, an on-base percentage of .247, and a whopping OPS of .507. His two main counterparts on this team are David Eckstein, and Marco Scutaro. Eckstein’s OPS is at .715, while Scutaro’s is at .678. Clearly those stats prove that McDonald should be receiving as little number of at-bats as possible. Most Jays fans realize that he is not a good hitter, but nearly all don’t understand just how bad he actually is. At shortstop the offensive options for the Jays should be, in order: 1) Eckstein 2) Scutaro 3) McDonald
Now let’s take a look at defence. Keep in mind that the Jays play great defence as a team. This is an area that doesn’t need to be upgraded.
McDonald has played the bulk of his games at shortstop, so I will use those numbers as the prime indicators. Through 31 games McDonald has 4 errors, and a fielding percentage of .958. Now onto his counterparts. David Eckstein, who through 56 games at shortstop has 9 errors with a fielding percentage of .960, and Marco Scutaro through 38 games is at 4 and .974. With that said, going buy the numbers alone, the defensive options for the Jays should be, in order: 1) Scutaro 2) Eckstein 3) McDonald
Furthermore, VORP is a great counting stat for total offence (http://www.stathead.com/bbeng/woolner/vorpdescnew.htm). Basically it is the number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player would contribute if given the same percentage of team plate appearances. For most players, the more you play your VORP automotically goes up. Even if you are a very bad player it will go up if you play all season. McDonald is one of the few players in baseball where it actually goes the other way, the more he plays, the worse his stat gets. It's like counting base-hits whereas your hit total goes down as you get more at-bats.
So this brings me back to my original question. Why does the City of Toronto have a collective man-crush on John McDonald?
First, let’s look at offence. This as we all know is where the Jays as a team need lot of help.
John McDonald through 77 at-bats this season has a batting average of .195, an on-base percentage of .247, and a whopping OPS of .507. His two main counterparts on this team are David Eckstein, and Marco Scutaro. Eckstein’s OPS is at .715, while Scutaro’s is at .678. Clearly those stats prove that McDonald should be receiving as little number of at-bats as possible. Most Jays fans realize that he is not a good hitter, but nearly all don’t understand just how bad he actually is. At shortstop the offensive options for the Jays should be, in order: 1) Eckstein 2) Scutaro 3) McDonald
Now let’s take a look at defence. Keep in mind that the Jays play great defence as a team. This is an area that doesn’t need to be upgraded.
McDonald has played the bulk of his games at shortstop, so I will use those numbers as the prime indicators. Through 31 games McDonald has 4 errors, and a fielding percentage of .958. Now onto his counterparts. David Eckstein, who through 56 games at shortstop has 9 errors with a fielding percentage of .960, and Marco Scutaro through 38 games is at 4 and .974. With that said, going buy the numbers alone, the defensive options for the Jays should be, in order: 1) Scutaro 2) Eckstein 3) McDonald
Furthermore, VORP is a great counting stat for total offence (http://www.stathead.com/bbeng/woolner/vorpdescnew.htm). Basically it is the number of runs contributed beyond what a replacement-level player would contribute if given the same percentage of team plate appearances. For most players, the more you play your VORP automotically goes up. Even if you are a very bad player it will go up if you play all season. McDonald is one of the few players in baseball where it actually goes the other way, the more he plays, the worse his stat gets. It's like counting base-hits whereas your hit total goes down as you get more at-bats.
So this brings me back to my original question. Why does the City of Toronto have a collective man-crush on John McDonald?
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