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2008 Though you can find his picture in the dictionary next to "generic second baseman," Iguchi meant a lot more than that to the Phillies after Chase Utley broke his hand in late July. Quickly obtained from the White Sox, Iguchi batted .301/.357/.425 in Utley's stead, saving the Phils from a month of starts by Honest Abe Nu?ez. Utley made a quick return, and Iguchi, his job done, spent the last month pinch-hitting. Iguchi signed a one-year, $3.85 million contract with the Padres, where he'll be a modest upgrade. 2007 Among the 18 major league players to record at least 1,000 defensive innings at second base last season, Iguchi was involved in the fewest double plays by far, turning the deuce just .56 times per 9 innings (Adam Kennedy was the next-lowest at .60, while Mark Grudzielanek led the league at .87). The White Sox`s pitching staff generates its fair share of groundballs, and Iguchi has good defensive partners in Joe Crede and Juan Uribe, so this really does point toward Iguchi as the source of the sort of missed opportunities that might cost the White Sox a win or two over the course of the season. That`s the bad, but the good is everything else. Iguchi has a robust and underrated offensive skill set that can be useful virtually anywhere in the batting order and helps to compensate for his defensive limitations. 2006 Iguchi`s defense is an interesting case. He won a Gold Glove on the other side of the Pacific, where it`s apparently considered ungentlemanly for an opposing runner to come in hard on the double play. Iguchi went through phases at the start of the year where he was maladroit around the deuce, either standing right in the baseline and risking his manhood, or overcompensating and standing too far away. Between that concern and a bat that`s just average, there`s the sense that while Iguchi provided excellent bang for the buck, he could be the victim of an upgrade at the trade deadline.
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