Bay vs. Manny - defensively — abridged version
I’ll spare you the details (thus the “abridged version), but suffice to say that when examining defensive metrics, surprisingly Manny is generally measured to be a better LF than Jason Bay - though both are below average. Many fans and media use “hustle” as the lone metric when assessing defensive value. Manny doesn’t usually appear to be hustling, so the general conclusion is he’s not that good defensively - and he’s not, but…. Bay does usually appear to be hustling, so the general conclusion is that he *is* good defensively. Unfortunately, he’s actually not very good in absolute terms (based on the actual, unbiased defensive metrics) and probably not even as good as Manny (based on the actual, unbiased defensive metrics).
Indeed, it’s this approach that “earned” Jeter three Gold Glove Awards - when he had no business being considered for even one. But fans, media, and fellow players (who actually vote for the GG) see a guy diving all over creation and ass-ume he must therefore be good. He does hustle at all times, he is a terrific hitter and a heads-up ballplayer - but just because we so often hear “past a diving Jeter”, that doesn’t mean he’s a good/great defensive SS. (I think the only phrase in recent memory that comes up more often during a given sports telecast was “Bruins fail to clear the zone” in the Boston-Carolina playoff series… but I digress.)
Cal Ripken didn’t dive nearly as much as Jeter (heck - who does?), but Ripken was a far superior defensive SS… by any metric you want to use (outside “how many times he dove for the ball”). But I bet if you asked most fans who was better, they’d say Jeter - and may even point to Jeter’s 3 GGs over Ripken’s 2 GGs. Course, Ripken had the misfortune of playing a very good shortstop around the time that Omar Vizquel was playing better/great SS… otherwise Ripken likely would’ve earned more than two. But the point is that Ripken positioned himself so well, and moved well (especially for a big guy), so he made the plays without appearing to “hustle” as much as others perhaps.
I’m ecstatic to have Jason Bay (and I’m eager to have Theo sign him for another 4-5 years) - but Manny Ramirez is not only (still) a better hitter, but he is also a better fielder… if we’re being honest with ourselves.