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2008 Stairs reversed what seemed like a fade into oblivion last year with his best season since he was a regular with the A's. He even played 600 innings in the field without hurting himself or those around him, which may be a bigger surprise than his .297 EqA. A new two-year deal will take him through age 41; how much he plays will depend on the health and performance of Lind, Overbay, and Frank Thomas. 2007 The One-Ton Human Hamster Wheel is slowing to a close. Stairs probably has 200 decent platoon at-bats left in his stick, but he`s having more trouble drawing walks as his power fades, as pitchers can challenge him without fear of reprisal. He`s fully into the itinerant phase that often marks the end of an average player`s career; the minor league deal he signed with the Blue Jays in December marks his fourth club since the July trading deadline. 2006 For the second straight year, Stairs enjoyed playing on a 100-loss team so much that he re-upped before the season ended for barely a million dollars. He`s the one true take`n rake hitter on the roster, and that has value on a team where no one else managed even 50 walks. His defensive `flexibility` consists mostly of his ability to play both first base or an outfield corner with an alarming lack of dexterity. Has no obvious role on the team that doesn`t take playing time away from a young hitter, but this could still end well if the Royals trade him for prospects at the trading deadline. Since they`ve punted on that opportunity each of the last two years, why would they change now? 2005 Okay, sentiment still has its place in the organization. Stairs' slugging average dropped 110 points in his first season as a Royal, but the team loved his clubhouse influence so much that they signed him for another year before the season had even ended. He's not part of the solution, he's part of the problem, especially since he's a menace to his pitchers in left field, and at DH he's a menace to Pickering's playing time. 2003 Wonder Hamster moves on. Played pretty well in his role last season, filling in for nasty injuries and against particular right-handers. His swing resembles a golf swing more than a baseball swing, and he still doesn’t leave anything behind when he takes his rips. He’s still got some plate discipline and some power, but he’s more of an endgame Hail Mary now than someone you want out there on a regular basis, even in a platoon role. Now that he’s a Pirate, he should become a lunch bucket hero in the Steel City. 2002 Stairs was everything the Cubs should have expected him to be and then some, but apparently they didn’t know what they were getting. Don Baylor’s whining about Stairs’s pull-hitting ways was probably the single silliest thing any manager said all year (Non-Brenly Division). Did Baylor think he was getting Gerald Perry? A team like the Braves would have killed to have Stairs at first base in 2001. The Wonder Hamster is still a valuable platoon player and will be a great pickup for some team. 2001 After coming into camp in shape in 1999, Matt Stairs spent the next off-season following the Rod Beck conditioning program. It made him a hero to the Superfans on Sheffield and Addison, not to mention a few BP writers, but it hurt his play in 2000. Traded to the Cubs for a waiver claim on Eric Ireland, he'll play first base as long as Sammy Sosa is in the fold. Stairs will huff and puff and hustle wherever he plays, but like John Kruk, he’s a good bet to fade quickly. 2000 Before the 1999 season, Stairs decided to change his beer-league body. He dumped 25 pounds of fat, put on 12 of muscle and quit smoking. I guess this isn't the same game Babe Ruth played after all. Given how cavalier the A's are about who plays where, they could probably swap Jason Giambi and Matt Stairs between right field and first base and improve themselves defensively, except Stairs might kill himself hustling to run down pop-ups. One of the more entertaining moments of the season was when he crushed a Keith Foulke palmball into the Coliseum seats, followed by plenty of White Sox whining that the A's must be stealing signs. Foulke's out pitch is the palmball, so how hard would it have been for Stairs to know what was coming? 1998 Eric Walker deserves some credit for this guy. Eric’s a good analyst who has always advocated more playing time for Stairs, and everyone who really studied minor league performance knew he could hit. 1997 was no fluke, but don’t be surprised to see a late season dropoff from him in 1998. His defense was spotty and entertaining; a corner outfield spot really pushes his limits. 1997 Having learned their lesson with Geronimo Berroa, the A’s snatched Matt Stairs off the scrap pile, gave him some playing time and weren’t disappointed. Another very good minor league hitter, Stairs was given up on when it was decided he’d never make a good infielder. Now he’s an outfielder with a good, accurate arm who can give a team excellent left-handed pop. Hopefully, his role will expand next season. 1996 Way to go, Sandy. Matt Stairs is another Geronimo Berroa, but from the left side. Has been beating up on pitching in AAA and AA for a few years in the Montreal and Boston chains, but a bad rep in terms of defense and attitude have kept him from getting the MLB playing time he deserves. Realistically, if he gets the starting LF job in Oakland, I expect him to hit something like .275/.335/.450 or so. Very quick hands. Suffers from the phantom first step on defense a slight lifting of the lead foot before taking that first step. That can cost you 3-5 feet on all the edges of your range, and major league hitters will eat that kind of mistake alive.
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