Catching the Damn Ball: Third Basemen

This is the second in a series of rankings of major-league defenders,
highlighting the top ten and bottom five at each position. The ratings are
a combination of Zone Rating, Range Factor and my best (and admittedly
grossly flawed) assessment of the job they’re doing.

The Top

1. Troy Glaus, Anaheim. Glaus is ridiculously athletic for a
guy his size. He looks like a huge, corn-fed Nebraska lineman, but he has
remarkable flexibility, above average mechanics and technique and is
exceptional at taking advantage of defensive opportunities as they
arise–read: catching people napping. He could probably play shortstop well
enough to start for most teams. Glaus makes a few errors, but he will make
fewer over time–a statement you may consider repeated for the next guy on
the list.

2. Adrian Beltre, Los Angeles. One of a quartet of
ridiculously valuable third basemen playing in California, Beltre is the
least polished defensively. His initial movements are exceptionally fast,
and often in the right direction. His footwork is outstanding, as is his
mobility in all directions. Watch his throwing motion carefully…and don’t
try it at home.

3. Tony Batista, Toronto. Batista has tremendous range and
would be one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball if Toronto
chose to play him there. He has a quick release of the ball, makes
off-balance throws very well and has adapted his attack angle well to
playing on turf.

4. Scott Rolen, Philadelphia. Rolen is probably at his peak
defensively. He’s quite good at all facets of defense, particularly
charging bunted balls. His positioning is more static than other defenders,
but I’m never sure how much of that the player is responsible for compared
to the coaching staff. Rolen is very steady and practiced in his movements,
which would normally lead me to expect him to age well defensively, but I’m
worried that his injuries will soon sap him of range and flexibility.

5. Robin Ventura, New York. Ventura is smart, predictable and
starts the double play as well as anyone ever has. Watch him throw the ball
to Edgardo Alfonzo to start those things. The ball always arrives at the
right spot, which isn’t easy a lot of times when you’re moving and trying
to throw to a particular point. Ventura’s ability to do this is absolutely
uncanny.

6. Mike Lowell, Florida. I can’t tell you how surprised I am
to see Lowell here. His footwork is absolutely impeccable; I had never
concentrated on his defense before, and what a shock! His anticipation and
attack angle are great, giving him time to make a good solid catch and
throw each time. He reminds me of Matt Williams at the same age, but with
slightly less quickness. I don’t know if he moves to his right well enough
to be considered for a more demanding position, but who cares. This guy can
pick it; if you have kids who play, make them watch this guy!

7. Phil Nevin, San Diego. Athleticism and arm strength are
sure nice things to have. Nevin has absolutely mastered the various
defensive moves that he’s made. He’s not young by baseball standards, but I
wouldn’t be surprised to see him actually improve as a defender. He makes
the occasional misstep, but makes up for it with a rocket of an arm and
quick hands. Probably my favorite third baseman to watch these days.

8. Jeff Cirillo, Colorado. I was very surprised when Cirillo
moved to third base a few years back, as I didn’t think he had enough of an
arm to play over there. (More than a few coaches think it’s better to hide
a weak arm at third base rather than at second base; I disagree.) It turns
out that he does have a relatively weak arm, but his release is very quick.
He has good range to the front, left and right and goes back exceptionally
well on balls hit in foul territory.

9. Matt Williams, Arizona. Williams is still a graceful and
effective defender. His footwork and technique are still pristine, and he
wastes no motion in making plays. If he had started his career at shortstop
he’d probably still be there, and he’d probably be headed for the Hall of
Fame.

10. Cal Ripken, Baltimore. Yes, I know he’s 40. Check him
out! Watch his positioning, footwork and release. If he’s healthy, he’s
still an irritating-as-all-hell defender to play against. Ripken’s ball
release is smooth and his throws are quick and accurate. As an A’s fan, I
can’t tell you how much agony this guy’s positioning has caused me over the
last 18 years. And few would ever accuse me of favoring an aging veteran….

The Bottom

1. Dean Palmer, Detroit. Here’s the Baseball
Prospectus defensive challenge of the day: identify one thing that
Palmer does well defensively compared to his peers. I’ve tried and failed.
He’s one of the worst defensive third baseman ever to walk the face of MLB,
but probably not worse than Carney Lansford.

2. Michael Barrett, Montreal. Barrett is clearly not used to
the position. His movements are tentative and dramatic, his footwork
sporadic and sloppy (the footwork is different when throwing from third to
first than from catcher to second.) and his instincts are not yet honed.
He’ll be better by next year, something I don’t think I can say about…

3. Eric Chavez, Oakland. Yeesh. Chavez’s footwork is
non-existent. Good third basemen make throws on balance probably 65 to 70%
of the time. Chavez makes about half his throws off-balance, causing
inaccuracy and lost velocity. This costs the A’s in lost double plays and
extra baserunners. I don’t know if Chavez is going to get better. He’s a
natural with the bat, and might have a career similar to Will
Clark‘s–both offensively and defensively. I think he and Ben
Grieve may be battling for the first-base job sooner than the A’s would
like.

4. Mike Lamb, Texas. This is probably unfair, because it’s
heavily tinted by me seeing Lamb in the worst possible light. I got tapes
of him in four games, and yecccch!! Bad positioning, bad decisions,
tentative footwork, erratic throwing motion, technique that would have a
high-school coach telling Lamb to run laps. His numbers aren’t that bad,
and I’m told that two of the games I saw were while he was pretty sick.

5. David Bell, Seattle. Bell is probably not really the
fifth-worst defensive third baseman in baseball, but he’s similar to Jay
Bell in a lot of ways, and I wanted you to take a look at him. His
technique and movements are pretty solid, but slow. I wonder sometimes if
when that happens, it’s the result of too much thinking on the field,
rather than just reacting. Watch David Bell and see if you can identify
something he’s doing in preparation for fielding (rocking back onto his
heels?) that may be causing the strange delay.

That’s all for now. Next up: inspiring lots of angry mail from Derek
Jeter fans.

If you have any comments, questions or suggestions (preferably limiting
yourself to those that are anatomically possible), feel free to e-mail me
at huckabay@baseballprospectus.com. Due to time constraints, I will not
able to personally respond to most e-mails, but know that every one of them
is read and given thought. Thanks for reading.

Gary Huckabay can be reached at huckabay@baseballprospectus.com.