It wasn’t all that long ago that a defensive wizard at shortstop in Rey Ordonez was playing for the New York Mets. Ordonez was never really anything special with his bat. He was a career .246/.289/.310 hitter. But he did win a Gold Glove at his position for three consecutive years from 1997-99 while making many a highlight reel plays from his feet, knees, belly or mid-air for the Mets.
During Ordonez’s three Gold Glove campaigns, the Mets paid him an average annual salary of $720,833. In 2014 currency, that number equates to an annual average of $1.06 million. That’s a fairly underwhelming number for world-class talent at what many consider to be the most challenging defensive position in baseball. It’s also worth noting for this reason that Ordonez was signed as an IFA and was not drafted.
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To give you a better idea of just how valuable Ordonez was with his glove, his best year at shortstop is right on par with Hall of Fame SS Ozzie Smith. Ordonez’s FPCT in 1999 was .994 across 1316.2 innings. He had 640 chances, recorded 220 put-outs, 416 assists, was part of 91 double plays and committed only four errors. His total zone fielding runs above average (Rtot) was 33. Lastly, Ordonez’s dWAR in 1999 was 4.0.
Smith’s best defensive season came a decade earlier in 1989. His Rtot was 32 and his FPCT was .976 across 1336.1 innings. Smith had 209 put-outs, 483 assists, turned 73 double plays but committed 17 errors in 709 chances. His dWAR is documented as 4.7 in 1989.
Conversely, in the American League in 1999, the Gold Glove winning shortstop was the Indians’ Omar Vizquel. His FPCT was .976, his Rtot number was less than half of what Ordonez’s was at 14 and his dWAR was 2.0. The league fielding percentage at Vizquel and Ordonez’s position in 1999 was a humble .967. This should give you an idea of just how valuable Ordonez’s defense was to the Mets in 1999. He was twice as good on defense as the best shortstop the AL had to offer and more efficient than one of the greatest ever to play the position during his best statistical season in Smith.
Ordonez’s ability also directly translated to team success, as the Mets won 97 games in ’99 and made it all the way to the NLCS. Obviously his ability did not last for as long as the ‘Wizard of Oz’ or ‘Little O,’ but for that three year stretch with the Mets, he was something special.
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So what does all this have to do with bucking the trend? Well, once again the Mets find themselves with one of the premier defensive players at his position who is also something special in center fielder Juan Lagares. Unlike they did with Ordonez, they’re willing to sign him to an extension to retain his services (the Mets traded Ordonez to Tampa Bay before the 2003 season).
Lagares indubitably plays the most challenging and high-profile outfield position in the game, and he plays it very well. Worthy of a dollar value of 23 million, to be exact. He’s only 26 and statistically was the best outfielder in all of MLB in 2014 according to the UZR/150 measure by FanGraphs. The Ultimate Zone Rating accounts for a number of components and the 150 simply scales each player’s competencies over a 150 game window.
In a time when it pays more handsomely to be capable of hitting 30 home runs and driving in 100 base runners per season, it’s a bit refreshing to see the Mets acknowledge that defense in still an important facet of the game and assets should be rewarded.
Though Juan Lagares’ offensive prowess does stand to out-produce Ordonez’s career numbers, but it does not take away from the fact that he makes magic happen with his leather.
In 2014 Lagares hit .281 in 416 at-bats and swiped 13 bases primarily in a leadoff capacity, whereas Ordonez was a No. 8 hitter in the NL for most of his career. Lagares is also having a very nice spring, currently hitting .345/.400/.655 with three home runs and six RBI, signalling that a breakout season on offense could possibly even be in the cards.