The picture to the right is from Bronx Baseball Daily and is a look at what Giambi looks like now, which is quite different that he looked like with the Yankees (even with the mustache as shown by the New York Daily News picture on the right). But throughout his image changes, one thing remained about Giambi: the man could rake. Courtesy of Baseball-Reference, here's a look at what Giambi did in his time with the Yankees on offense:
| Year | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ | GDP | HBP | SF | IBB | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 31 | 155 | 689 | 560 | 120 | 176 | 34 | 41 | 122 | 109 | 112 | .314 | .435 | .598 | 1.034 | 172 | 18 | 15 | 5 | 4 | AS,MVP-5,SS |
| 2003 | 32 | 156 | 690 | 535 | 97 | 134 | 25 | 41 | 107 | 129 | 140 | .250 | .412 | .527 | .939 | 148 | 9 | 21 | 5 | 9 | AS,MVP-13 |
| 2004 | 33 | 80 | 322 | 264 | 33 | 55 | 9 | 12 | 40 | 47 | 62 | .208 | .342 | .379 | .720 | 90 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | AS |
| 2005 | 34 | 139 | 545 | 417 | 74 | 113 | 14 | 32 | 87 | 108 | 109 | .271 | .440 | .535 | .975 | 161 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 5 | MVP-18 |
| 2006 | 35 | 139 | 579 | 446 | 92 | 113 | 25 | 37 | 113 | 110 | 106 | .253 | .413 | .558 | .971 | 148 | 10 | 16 | 7 | 12 | MVP-14 |
| 2007 | 36 | 83 | 303 | 254 | 31 | 60 | 8 | 14 | 39 | 40 | 66 | .236 | .356 | .433 | .790 | 107 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 37 | 145 | 565 | 458 | 68 | 113 | 19 | 32 | 96 | 76 | 111 | .247 | .373 | .502 | .876 | 128 | 6 | 22 | 9 | 5 | |
| NYY (7 yrs) | 897 | 3693 | 2934 | 515 | 764 | 134 | 209 | 604 | 619 | 706 | .260 | .404 | .521 | .925 | 143 | 56 | 109 | 31 | 38 | ||
Giambi's 2005 was a great return as he won Comeback Player of the Year and led in OBP and walks--despite only 545 PAs--and hit 32 HR. The next season he improved on his HR total and finished 14th in the MVP voting. In 2007, Giambi had another rough year, getting only 303 PA and hitting only 13 HR. 2008 was Giambi's last season with the Yankees and he had a bounceback year hitting 32 HR, but the Yankees were more than happy letting him walk in the off-season.
Giambi's ability to reach base despite low batting averages was pretty historic for the Yankees. Out of players who batted less than .255 and qualified for the batting title, here are a list of the highest OBPs courtesy of B-R's Play Index:
| Rk | Player | OBP | BA | Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | HBP | SLG | OPS | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Bishop | .426 | .252 | 1930 | 30 | PHA | AL | 130 | 588 | 441 | 117 | 111 | 27 | 10 | 38 | 128 | 0 | 60 | 6 | .408 | .834 | *4 |
| 2 | Gary Sheffield | .424 | .250 | 1997 | 28 | FLA | NL | 135 | 582 | 444 | 86 | 111 | 22 | 21 | 71 | 121 | 11 | 79 | 15 | .446 | .870 | *9/D |
| 3 | Mickey Tettleton | .419 | .248 | 1994 | 33 | DET | AL | 107 | 444 | 339 | 57 | 84 | 18 | 17 | 51 | 97 | 10 | 98 | 5 | .463 | .882 | 23D9/7 |
| 4 | Gene Tenace | .415 | .233 | 1977 | 30 | SDP | NL | 147 | 581 | 437 | 66 | 102 | 24 | 15 | 61 | 125 | 10 | 119 | 13 | .410 | .824 | *235 |
| 5 | Jason Giambi | .413 | .253 | 2006 | 35 | NYY | AL | 139 | 579 | 446 | 92 | 113 | 25 | 37 | 113 | 110 | 12 | 106 | 16 | .558 | .971 | *D3 |
| 6 | Jason Giambi | .412 | .250 | 2003 | 32 | NYY | AL | 156 | 690 | 535 | 97 | 134 | 25 | 41 | 107 | 129 | 9 | 140 | 21 | .527 | .939 | *3D |
| 7 | Eddie Yost | .412 | .231 | 1956 | 29 | WSH | AL | 152 | 684 | 515 | 94 | 119 | 17 | 11 | 53 | 151 | 9 | 82 | 8 | .336 | .748 | *5/9 |
| 8 | Max Bishop | .412 | .254 | 1932 | 32 | PHA | AL | 114 | 522 | 409 | 89 | 104 | 24 | 5 | 37 | 110 | 0 | 43 | 0 | .359 | .772 | *4 |
| Season | Team | Batting | Fielding | Replacement | Positional | RAR | WAR | Dollars | Salary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Yankees | 65.5 | -1.8 | 23.0 | -13.5 | 73.1 | 7.3 | $19.0 | $10.4 | |
| 2003 | Yankees | 44.1 | -2.1 | 23.0 | -13.8 | 51.3 | 5.0 | $14.1 | $11.4 | |
| 2004 | Yankees | -1.6 | 1.7 | 10.7 | -6.2 | 4.6 | 0.4 | $1.4 | $12.4 | |
| 2005 | Yankees | 44.0 | -4.8 | 18.2 | -11.2 | 46.3 | 4.6 | $15.8 | $13.4 | |
| 2006 | Yankees | 37.5 | -7.1 | 19.3 | -11.7 | 38.0 | 3.7 | $13.6 | $20.4 | |
| 2007 | Yankees | 4.6 | 1.4 | 10.1 | -7.1 | 9.1 | 0.9 | $3.6 | $23.4 | |
| 2008 | Yankees | 22.8 | -6.1 | 18.8 | -10.5 | 25.0 | 2.5 | $11.2 | $23.4 | |
| Total * | 217.1 | -18.8 | 123.1 | -74.0 | 274.4 | 24.5 | $78.8 | 115.0 |
One thing that the defensive numbers don't show is that he was a real detriment at times to the rest of his infielders. Giambi couldn't throw and wasn't agile enough at times to get off the base to save errant throws. I know that some feel differently, but I believe it has helped Jeter and Cano up the middle knowing that Mark Teixeira now mans firstbase and is a lot more reliable defensively. 2004 and 2007 ended up the best defensive years for Giambi, but that was either due to too small a sample size or the fact that not playing as much kept him healthier and with more range at first. Truthfully, that should have been the Yankees plan all along--to take Giambi out of the field and make him a full-time DH, eliminating the fielding issues all-together.
And then there was the other stuff: The BALCO investigation, the "apology", the lucky thong, the mustache, the partying, the Mitchell investigation, his place in "The Yankee Years", etc. Giambi was always a likable enough guy, though, to get past any of his missteps. While A-Rod seemed to try to want to be everything to everyone, Giambi just wanted to go out, hit home runs and party--and I think people respected him for being somewhat genuine (though his apology where he didn't say what he was apologizing for still irks many). When the Yankees didn't re-sign Giambi last off-season, I was worried about how the clubhouse chemistry would be for the guy who seemed to break a lot of the tension, but new characters such as A.J. Burnett and Nick Swisher seemed to fill in fine.
The truth is that Jason Giambi was never worth the money he was paid, but I feel that revisionist history is skewing his value to the Yankees' lineup. At the time, defense wasn't valued as it was now and the Moneyball ideal of getting on base was certainly embodied in Giambi. The Giambino was brought in to hit home runs and he did just that hitting 209 in his 7 years in Pinstripes (which is an average of 30 HR a season--amazing considering he had two where he didn't hit 15). That all being said, having a 1st baseman who is a good defender has shown that while Yankee fans may miss Giambi as a personality, they have more than moved past him as a player. But I'm sure Giambi's time in the Bronx will not be forgotten soon.
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I think we forget that Giambi was the first big offensive free agent brought in after 2001 and represented the beginning of the Yankees' massive spending and consistent pursuit of All Star free agents. He was the big time slugger that George Steinbrenner had always craved and after the Yankees barely hit a lick against the Diamondbacks (with exception of their three wins at home, in which they still only managed to scratch 9 runs). He was expected to be a perennial MVP candidate who would lead the Yankees to several titles.
ReplyDeleteHe was coming off two years where he hit well over .300, hit a ton of homers, drove in a ton runs, and got on base at an unearthly rate. His first year in pinstripes was the only one that even came close to those trends. After his first year, he continued to maintain his power numbers but never hit for a high average again. Much of this had to do with injuries and his steroid withdrawal, which forced him to basically rebuild his body.
If you remember, in 2005, he got off to a horrendous start and lost a lot of playing time to Tino Martinez, who had a torrid month of May. They almost sent him down and even considered attempting to void his contract. However, Giambi worked closely with Don Mattingly to rebuild himself as a hitter. Mattingly had him focus on pulling the ball (he had previously been capable of hitting the ball to all fields with power). Although it made Giambi less of a multidimensional hitter (and helped to create the exaggerated infield shift used against him), it helped him redevelop his power stroke and helped him drive in runs. He continued to hit for a low average but still managed to get on base quite frequently.
Also, Andrew mentioned the fact that Giambi should have been a DH from the start. I agreed as well, especially since Nick Johnson was major league ready and at the time was considered an elite defensive first basemen. Yet the Yankees decided that Giambi would get the bulk of the playing time at first base since he was the new signed, high paid veteran. In addition, Giambi's offensive splits when playing first base vs hitting as the designated hitter were like night and day. Naturally, the Yankees decided they needed to do whatever was necessary to get the maximum possible offensive production out of him.
I think at the end, you touched upon a good point that was indicative of the Yankees' troubles: they felt that because they paid someone a lot of money, they needed to play them. Boston is made fun of a lot for paying guys to play elsewhere, but at least they realized when they had a sunk cost.
ReplyDeleteThe Yankees continued to run out Giambi at 1st because of what they paid him. They refused to give up on guys like Kei Igawa, Jaret Wright or Carl Pavano even though they knew what they were getting from them. In 2000, they were tremendously reluctant to move David Cone from the starting rotation because of his salary as well.
As in business, sometimes it's best to just realize a sunk cost and move on instead of continually trying to get water from the stone. Part of it was his hitting splits, but it was mostly due to his salary that the Yankees continued to run out Giambi to first base despite the fact that he wasn't any good there AND increased playing time there got him hurt.