Scouting report for J.J. Hardy

[jjkoestler]

A friend of mine who is a Twins fan sent me a scouting report on Gomez today. I wanted to return the favor and send her a scouting report about Hardy. So far I have:

 

The Good

Handsome. Very Handsome. Will probably start a boy band with Joe Mauer.

Cannon-like arm

Above average power for a SS

 

The Bad

Streaky

Limited range

 

What else should I add? Thanks in advance.

[sbrylski]

Was in an episode of The Young & Restless and loved the experience.

 

Pull hitter.

[RyDogg66]

below average foot speed for a SS.

[Tedaldtada]

Steady defender with a penchant for the unspectacular.

 

Just out of curiosity, what did the Gomez report say?

[JohnBriggs12]

RyDogg66 was giving him the benefit of the doubt when he said he's below average speed wise. He's not just below average, he's very slow. He's strictly a station to station guy. On a positive, he generally knows his limitations so he'll almost never try going form first to third on a hit and he'll usually hold up at third on line drive hits instead of trying to score from second.

[homer]

I would add pin point accurate to the description of his arm. His throws are almost always right on the first baseman's glove.

[DHonks]

JJ's defense is steady as can be, but his offense is streaky. Throughout his big league career he has struggled with his offensive identity, as he's openly gone on the record as saying he's a dead pull hitter, yet his best offensive stretches have come when going to all fields. He also tends to battle through nagging injuries which hamper production. When given a few days of rest, he often comes back strong. With defense, has the Jeter-like quality of always being in the right spot. Oh yeah...in the 9th, you're hoping the ball gets hit to him, as it's an automatic out

[jjkoestler]

Steady defender with a penchant for the unspectacular.

 

Just out of curiosity, what did the Gomez report say?

"I write to talk about your new center fielder come over from the fair

twin cities, Gomez. As today is evidence, Go Go can hit on occasion:

Homeboy hit for the cycle last May. However, those days are reasonably

few. He'll freakin swing at anything. It's great to watch him at bat,

he's a total spaz. Great unless you need him to actually hit something,

then you'll tear your hair out.

 

All that said, he's fast, he's a

black hole in the field. Homeboy will end up with a couple golden

gloves for sure.

 

I'll keep an eye on him as best as possible but I

don't have the head to pay attention to both leagues. Let me know when

he steals first. It'll totally happen."

[CheezWizHed]

Brought many non-baseball-interested females to the sport.

 

My niece was a huge fan, so big that she named her horse JJ (I'm pretty sure it was a compliment). She was so devastated by the trade, she recently sold the horse (of course, there were a couple non-related reasons also).

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Pays for his salary through sales of pink #7 jerseys.

 

Steady as they come in the field, streaky with pop at the plate.

[logan82]

His range looks bad because he is slow and he never dives but it is actually pretty good because he has good instincts and plays back a few steps.

[BrewCrewForever]

below average foot speed for a SS.

That is one of the things that most drove me nuts about Hardy. How is a guy in that athletic of shape and his size not faster? I mean he could be considered down right slow.

 

 

[endaround]

Well his ankle did you know explode on him

[TooLiveBrew]

Gomez

 

The good

Fast

Can hit on occasion/Has hit for cycle

Great defense/Black hole in CF

Is going to steal first base

Homeboy

 

The bad

Doesn't hit when you need him to

Will freakin' swing at anything

Total spaz

Will cause hair loss in fans

Homeboy

[topper09er]

BrewCrewIn2004[/b]]

RyDogg66[/b]]below average foot speed for a SS.

That is one of the things that most drove me nuts about Hardy. How is a guy in that athletic of shape and his size not faster? I mean he could be considered down right slow.

 

I cannot think of any professional athlete of a similar body type/age (6'2", 200, mid 20s) who is slower. Even notorious slow guys like Sean Casey was 6'4" 235 or pocket passing QBs can at least run occasionally when they are still in their 20s.

 

 

[Schlitz001]

When the Brewers held their 60-yard dash in Spring Training back in 2007, Hardy posted the 5th best time in camphttp://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070228&content_id=1820348&vkey=spt2007news&fext=.jsp&c_id=milbeating out both Braun and Weeks. Of course this was before his ankle injury.

 

I think part of the reason he is perceived as being slow comes from how ridiculous he looks when he runs. He looks like if he pumps his arms hard enough he might escape the fire that's burning his backside.

[topper09er]

a few stats, career XB%, % of time runner takes more than 1 base on a single or more than 2 bases on a double when possible.

Career numbers for NL SS of 2009:

Rollins 48%

Ramirez 48%

Escobar, Y 48%

Reyes 50%

Guzman 53%

 

Ryan 47%

Theriot 46%

Hardy 36%

Janish 41%

Tejada 45%

Wilson 51%

 

Furcal 49%

Tulowitzki 54%

Renteria 46%

Drew, S 40%

no padre has enough PT

 

Also

Hart 49%

Braun 48%

Fielder, Prince 20%

Fielder, Cecil 26% (played in a much larger stadium in Detroit?)

 

After seeing this in the current era of more slugging SS I wonder Hardy ranks all-time on XB% among SS through age 27? I would think very close to the bottom.

[monty57]

Was that 60-yard dash official a female by any chance?

[topper09er]

getting carried away here but Hardy is slow...

there have been 232 players who have played at least 530 games at SS, including hardy, and he ranks 229th with 5 career SB.

[PKBadger]

I'd be wary of the Gomez scouting report; ubiquitous use of the word "homeboy" indicates that it may have been written in the late-1990s.

[battlekow]

Hardy's first Twins homer.

[LaprilOne]

I'd be wary of the Gomez scouting report; ubiquitous use of the word "homeboy" indicates that it may have been written in the late-1990s.

 

Thank you, I was thinking the same.

[AJAY]

I think Hardy sometimes has trouble keeping his head clear. When he slumps, he beats himself up and makes things worse. In my opinion, he can be prone to mental funks. He seemed very distracted by the talk of Escobar replacing him. I recall that he wanted some time off before reporting to the minors.

[pmg4]

But Gomez hit one first. Haha!

[InsomniacInkRoss]

If it's your girlfriends birthday, Hardy will hit a home run, and you will catch it.