New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano has been under fire lately for his lack of hustle, which makes his current injury all the more ironic.
Just days after coming under fire for not running out a grounder in two consecutive games, New York Mets second baseman Robinson Cano was placed on the 10-day IL Tuesday after injuring his quads – wait for it – while running out a grounder.
Cano’s reputation has followed him throughout his Hall of Fame-worthy career. The game comes so easily to the second baseman, that at times he’s described as “lazy” or perhaps even “carefree.”
One could look at Cano defensively, and insert the same narrative that experts and analysts have attached to his apparent lack of hustle on the basepaths. However, because his defensive metrics point toward Cano being elite on the field, these same people like to use adjectives like “smooth” when describing his defensive ability.
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The fact of the matter is, you don’t become a Hall of Fame worthy player on laziness, and by the time Cano’s playing career is behind him, he’s looking at being arguably the greatest second baseman of all time.
What’s more, He did it all while most onlookers projected a negative perception of him.
Compare Cano to someone he came up with, like Brett Gardner for example and you’ll see just how wrong most people are about him. For many Yankees fans, Brett Gardner has been the heart and soul of the organization since his emergence in 2008. He’s small in stature, speedy, and gets by on guile, something most fans would likely admit is something Cano lacks.
However, despite debuting one season before Cano, Gardner’s career stats are far inferior to his former teammate.
- Robinson Cano: 56.7 fWAR
- Brett Gardner: 33.2 fWAR
This begs the question: who would you take?
This isn’t meant to slight Gardner’s career. Instead, it is to point out the hypocrisy in onlookers of the sport. Instead of loathing whatever it is you think the type of player Cano is, perhaps its time for Mets fans to start appreciating him what he actually brings to the table.