Quoting because a single blue Star isn't enough. Intangibles get it done in baseball. Nothing in those quotes can be measured or quantified. Nothing that Maldy just "does" can be either, or little things he might say in a key moment off handed walking off the field or in a 1on1 mound visit. Catchers are just different and at a point where his pitchers want him and his pitchers are producing for him and with him I don't want to touch it.Deluxe said:
A couple things:
1) There's a difference between defensive ability behind the plate and game calling ability. I'm perfectly ok with the idea that Contreras can match (or even exceed) Maldy in terms of framing, passed ball %, etc.
2) I'm not saying Contreras can't call a game because I honestly don't know how hard he works, preps, what each Cubs pitcher thinks about him, how many games the Cubs won/lost with his adjustments, etc, but the reasons for thinking Maldy is elite go well beyond "trust me bro". Here's what Alex Cora said after the ALCS last year:Quote:
"They made adjustments," Cora said. "Their catcher is really good. He's really good. He did it last year. He's done it in previous years. He gets out of his script and that's something that's very impressive. Obviously, teams pitch to the blue and the red and whatever they pitch to the blue. He gets out of the script when he feels he has to do it.
I suppose it's more "trust experts" than "trust bros". Here's another good article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/26/sports/baseball/martin-maldonado-astros-world-series.htmlQuote:
Valdez, who will start Game 1 for the Astros, said Maldonado had taught him how to pitch, and how to read batters' swings and reactions for clues of how to get them out. He said Maldonado had sat him down before starts to go over his previous game pitch by pitch. And it helps that Maldonado doesn't need a teammate or coach or interpreter to serve as a language intermediary on or off the mound.
"During games, he just comes up by himself," Valdez said. "That way others don't have to translate and I don't get messed up. And even with the gestures he makes behind the plate, I know what I have to do."
Before last year's A.L.C.S. against the Tampa Bay Rays, during which the Astros fell one win short of another World Series trip, Maldonado sat with relievers Enoli Paredes and Javier at the team hotel and walked them through the tendencies of each rival hitter.
Castro, who is in his 11th major-league season, said he and Maldonado had come up in an era of baseball where catchers sifted through their own statistics and video to prepare for games, compared to now, when teams have several people dedicated to producing detailed reports. He said Maldonado's preparation was "on another level."
"If we're on the road, I've been to his room and he's up in the morning studying," Kendeall Graveman said of Maldonado.
When the Astros are in Houston, Maldonado spends his time at home with his children, Graveman said. But when at the stadium or on the road, Maldonado is glued to the screen.
"If we're on the road, I've been to his room and he's up in the morning studying," Graveman said. "And that's also during the season, not just in the postseason. And it's something that no one notices if you're not inside."
When on the mound, Pressly said "98 percent of time" he throws whatever pitch Maldonado signals. Valdez estimated that the number was lower for himself. Graveman said Maldonado tells him that because he is the one throwing the ball, he ultimately has the final say. Whatever Maldonado can do at the plate himself is secondary.
It's hard to put a value on that stuff. But there is value, even if it's not perfectly captured in stats. I think the analysis of how you weigh all that versus what Contreras brings is EXTREMELY complicated. Our baseball ops guys have given me zero reason to not trust them though.
Moneyball made a joke out of scouts but there are plenty of things that they watch in a player and can just see and know, and while they dont always hit on every one those, evaluations help. Sure for every 100 players they evaluate who "do it the right way" some might not make it. And some guys who make it might be show boats and cocky and do some shady stuff end up being great. Maldy has the intangibles, he does it the right way and that is the reason he is a heavy set light hitting player who has still managed to make it 10 years in the pros and every players/coach around him sings his praises
