Who's the most underrated player on the Rangers... Defensively? - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

Murphy3 · 07-10-2003, 10:28 PM

One possible answer... Juan Gonzalez

I can remember when people actually questioned this guys defense. I've always been amazed by this..

He doesn't necessarily make the spectactular catches..however, he does make the plays that he should make. He commits very few errors...

His biggest strength? He has an absolute gun for an arm. Not only does he have a gun, but few in the game, if any, put the ball right on the money like Juan does.

Last year, while playing less than half the games in right field, Juan led the AL in outfield assists..

This year, he's repeating that accomplishment with 10 outfield assists already. A couple of games ago, he threw a runner out at third from medium deep right field.. the throw was a cannon that made it to the third baseman in the air.. To top it off, it was absolutely pefect.. below waist high right on the base..just perfect to apply the tag.

It's time this guy gets credit for the good defense that he actually does play. He's one of the best fielding right fielders in the game of baseball..

dallas_esq · 07-10-2003, 10:36 PM

I think his fielding skills were not overlooked when he was chosen as the American League MVP a few years back. I would guess that he possibly is the most underrated fielder though.

Murphy3 · 07-10-2003, 11:00 PM

to be honest, i don't think fielding played a significant role at all in either of juan's MVP awards

Rhylan · 07-11-2003, 12:13 AM

His defense isn't underrated but I wanna give props to my boy Donnie Sadler.

The Crippler · 07-11-2003, 10:47 AM

did you know that in the history of baseball, there have been only 3 players with offensive numbers comparable to Donnie Sadler's overall spareness? That's an accomplishment. Hell, pitchers have better numbers than Donnie baseball...

I just love that he's taking at-bats against lefties away from Blalock...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

Rhylan · 07-11-2003, 11:05 AM

I don't care. He's from Valley Mills, we played in their district in 7th and 8th grade. That's my dog right there. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

The Crippler · 07-11-2003, 12:33 PM

ahh, I see. I don't mind him on the team, but taking ABs from Hank is a travesty to the first degree. Hank needs to learn to hit lefties and I would rather him learn in a year such like this instead of the next few years.

Drbio · 07-11-2003, 02:43 PM

Sadler is a nice guy. He paid for a really nice baseball/softball complex on the edge of Valley Mills and left an endowment for the upkeep of the facility. He's a really nice guy. It's a good thing too, because he sucks eggs in the majors.

Did you guys see Gonzo's throw out of right field to gun down the guy at third the other night? It was a lazer. A freaking lazer. The guy always has played solid defense. It's just that his freakishly huge arms and offense are so amazing that people like to focus on that.

Murphy3 · 07-13-2003, 11:06 PM

another thing that hurts juan at times is that he has such long strides that it looks almost like he's half-assing it around the outfield. well, it's just not the case.

for years and years, there was the misconception that the guy was a defensive liability.. i just hope that that stigma has gone away

mavsfanforever · 07-15-2003, 10:13 AM

I am not sure Juan's defense is underrated or not but certainly A-Rod's defense is overrated.