Quote:
Huh?
.262 career batting average in 184 games is bad? I'll agree he has no slugging ability, but the dude stole 54 bases in 59 attempts in his career. Yes, his OBP is only slightly better than Stubbs as he rarely takes a walk...........but.......
He's only 26 years old. Change of scenery might do him some good.
I'd take a minor league flyer on him.
|
This is precisely why everyone should forget they ever heard of Batting Average. If you think Batting Average is a good statistic you might be fooled into thinking Tony Campana is a baseball player. Campana is a case study in why Batting Average is a heavily flawed and misleading stat.
Campana's career OBP is .306 which is bad but not awful. His career SLG is .299 which is just downright terrible. His career OPS of .605 is pathetic. His career OPS+ of 67 shows he is not worthy of being anywhere near the major leagues. The stolen bases add a very slight bit of value, but the impact of stolen bases is drastically overestimated by some fans. Campana's career wOBA (which factors in both his hitting and his baserunning) is a woeful .272 so it is plain as day that he is not worthy of being in the league.
If a team has the luxury of using a roster slot for a player that can solely be used as a defensive replacement or pinch runner without ever coming to the plate then he would be a good option. But no good team should ever waste a valuable roster slot in that manner. Any defensive value and baserunning value he generates would quickly be obliterated at the plate.
He will be 27 years old in a couple months and he is 5'8" and 165 so he is highly unlikely to ever get any better than he already is. Good for him for making it all the way to the major leagues. He got the most out of his body. But he is not an option for a team like the Reds.