Marco Scutaro

Posted by Neil Paine on December 4, 2009

As you probably saw in the news already, the Red Sox signed Marco Scutaro Thursday to be their new starting SS. I don't want to get into the merits of the deal (others have already covered that ground) or how Scooter is almost certain to regress after a career year, but instead I want to look at how anomalous a player Scutaro is. He's basically a guy who draws a ton of walks but has no power -- last year he was one of only 22 players to have a BB% (BB/PA) of at least 13.2%:

Rk	Player	BB	PA	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	IBB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Adrian Gonzalez	119	681	2009	27	SDP	NL	153	27	2	40	99	22	.277	.407	.551	.958	*3/D
2	Adam Dunn	116	668	2009	29	WSN	NL	146	29	0	38	105	16	.267	.398	.529	.928	379/D
3	Albert Pujols	115	700	2009	29	STL	NL	186	45	1	47	135	44	.327	.443	.658	1.101	*3/D
4	Prince Fielder	110	719	2009	25	MIL	NL	177	35	3	46	141	21	.299	.412	.602	1.014	*3
5	Chone Figgins	101	729	2009	31	LAA	AL	183	30	7	5	54	0	.298	.395	.393	.789	*5/4D7
6	Chipper Jones	101	596	2009	37	ATL	NL	129	23	2	18	71	18	.264	.388	.430	.818	*5/D
7	Nick Johnson	99	574	2009	30	TOT	NL	133	24	2	8	62	4	.291	.426	.405	.831	*3
8	Nick Swisher	97	607	2009	28	NYY	AL	124	35	1	29	82	2	.249	.371	.498	.869	*93/7D1
9	Lance Berkman	97	562	2009	33	HOU	NL	126	31	1	25	80	14	.274	.399	.509	.907	*3
10	Jason Bay	94	638	2009	30	BOS	AL	142	29	3	36	119	4	.267	.384	.537	.921	*7/D
11	Bobby Abreu	94	667	2009	35	LAA	AL	165	29	3	15	103	7	.293	.390	.435	.825	*9D7
12	Jack Cust	93	612	2009	30	OAK	AL	123	16	0	25	70	5	.240	.356	.417	.773	*D9
13	Kosuke Fukudome	93	603	2009	32	CHC	NL	129	38	5	11	54	3	.259	.375	.421	.796	*89
14	Dan Uggla	92	668	2009	29	FLA	NL	137	27	1	31	90	4	.243	.354	.459	.813	*4
15	Ben Zobrist	91	599	2009	28	TBR	AL	149	28	7	27	91	4	.297	.405	.543	.948	*496/783D5
16	Jayson Werth	91	676	2009	30	PHI	NL	153	26	1	36	99	8	.268	.373	.506	.879	*98/7
17	Marco Scutaro	90	680	2009	33	TOR	AL	162	35	1	12	60	0	.282	.379	.409	.789	*6/4D
18	Todd Helton	89	645	2009	35	COL	NL	177	38	3	15	86	5	.325	.416	.489	.904	*3
19	Carlos Pena	87	570	2009	31	TBR	AL	107	25	2	39	100	11	.227	.356	.537	.893	*3
20	J.D. Drew	82	539	2009	33	BOS	AL	126	30	4	24	68	5	.279	.392	.522	.914	*9/D
21	Alex Rodriguez	80	535	2009	33	NYY	AL	127	17	1	30	100	7	.286	.402	.532	.933	*5/D
22	Brad Hawpe	79	588	2009	30	COL	NL	143	42	3	23	86	7	.285	.384	.519	.903	*9/D

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/4/2009.

Yet he had one of the worst slugging %'s of anyone on that list, and even it was driven largely by BA. Another name that shows up on that list is Chone Figgins; in fact, Figgins and Scutaro are the only players over the past four years to post a walk rate of >= 11% and an isolated power of <= .115:

Rk	Player	OPS+	ISO	BB	PA	To	From	Age	H	2B	3B	HR	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
1	Chone Figgins	98	.089	279	2435	2006	2009	28-31	615	91	22	18	169	58	.291	.372	.380	.753	*5/8479D6	LAA
2	Marco Scutaro	97	.112	232	2074	2006	2009	30-33	485	92	8	31	28	9	.270	.354	.382	.736	*64/579D3	OAK-TOR

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/4/2009.

Finally, here are the only players of the expansion era to have a career walk rate greater than 9.5% and a career ISO under .120:

Rk	Player	OPS+	ISO	BB	PA	To	From	Age	H	2B	3B	HR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
1	Rod Carew	131	.101	1018	10550	1967	1985	21-39	3053	445	112	92	.328	.393	.429	.822	34/D657	MIN-CAL
2	Wade Boggs	130	.115	1412	10740	1982	1999	24-41	3010	578	61	118	.328	.415	.443	.858	*5D/317	BOS-NYY-TBD
3	Mike Hargrove	121	.101	965	6693	1974	1985	24-35	1614	266	28	80	.290	.396	.391	.787	*37/D	TEX-TOT-CLE
4	Pete Rose	118	.106	1566	15861	1963	1986	22-45	4256	746	135	160	.303	.375	.409	.784	37549/8	CIN-PHI-TOT
5	Don Buford	115	.115	672	5347	1963	1972	26-35	1203	157	44	93	.264	.362	.379	.741	745/89	CHW-BAL
6	Bruce Bochte	113	.114	653	5994	1974	1986	23-35	1478	250	21	100	.282	.360	.396	.756	*37/D89	CAL-TOT-SEA-OAK
7	Dave Magadan	112	.089	718	4963	1986	2001	23-38	1197	218	13	42	.288	.390	.377	.767	53/D64	NYM-TOT-FLA-HOU-CHC-OAK-SDP
8	Kevin Seitzer	111	.109	669	6062	1986	1997	24-35	1557	285	35	74	.295	.375	.404	.780	*53D/476981	KCR-MIL-TOT-CLE
9	Carlos May	111	.118	512	4723	1968	1977	20-29	1127	172	23	90	.274	.357	.392	.749	*7D3/9	CHW-TOT
10	Wes Parker	111	.108	532	4835	1964	1972	24-32	1110	194	32	64	.267	.351	.375	.726	*3/987	LAD
11	Brett Butler	110	.086	1129	9545	1981	1997	24-40	2375	277	131	54	.290	.377	.376	.753	*87/9D	ATL-CLE-SFG-LAD-TOT
12	Steve Braun	109	.096	579	4295	1971	1985	23-37	989	155	19	52	.271	.371	.367	.738	75D/49638	MIN-SEA-TOT-KCR-STL
13	Dion James	108	.104	318	3074	1983	1996	20-33	781	142	21	32	.288	.364	.392	.755	789/D3	MIL-ATL-TOT-CLE-NYY
14	Pat Kelly	107	.113	588	5011	1967	1981	22-36	1147	189	35	76	.264	.354	.377	.731	*97D/8	MIN-KCR-CHW-BAL-CLE
15	Chuck Knoblauch	106	.117	804	7385	1991	2002	22-33	1839	322	64	98	.289	.378	.406	.783	*47/D68	MIN-NYY-KCR
16	Bill Doran	106	.107	709	5922	1982	1993	24-35	1366	220	39	84	.266	.354	.373	.728	*4/3675	HOU-TOT-CIN-MIL
17	Willie Randolph	104	.075	1243	9462	1975	1992	20-37	2210	316	65	54	.276	.373	.351	.724	*4/D5	PIT-NYY-LAD-TOT-MIL-NYM
18	Mike Andrews	104	.111	458	3685	1966	1973	22-29	803	140	4	66	.258	.353	.369	.722	*4/3D65	BOS-CHW-TOT
19	Greg Gross	103	.064	523	4355	1973	1989	20-36	1073	130	46	7	.287	.372	.351	.723	798/31	HOU-CHC-PHI
20	Denis Menke	103	.120	698	5934	1962	1974	21-33	1270	225	40	101	.250	.343	.370	.713	*6543/79	MLN-ATL-HOU-CIN
21	John Stearns	102	.115	323	3082	1974	1984	22-32	696	152	10	46	.260	.341	.375	.717	*2/357	PHI-NYM
22	Dave Bergman	101	.109	380	3114	1975	1992	22-39	690	100	16	54	.258	.348	.367	.716	*3/7D98	NYY-HOU-TOT-SFG-DET
23	Ron Hassey	100	.116	385	3906	1978	1991	25-38	914	172	7	71	.266	.340	.382	.722	*2/D3	CLE-TOT-NYY-CHW-OAK-MON
24	Billy North	100	.062	627	4621	1971	1981	23-33	1016	120	31	20	.261	.365	.323	.688	*8/9D7	CHC-OAK-TOT-SFG
25	Elliott Maddox	100	.073	409	3340	1970	1980	22-32	742	121	16	18	.261	.358	.334	.692	859/7643D	DET-WSA-TEX-NYY-BAL-NYM
Rk	Player	OPS+	ISO	BB	PA	To	From	Age	H	2B	3B	HR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
26	Chone Figgins	99	.097	412	4075	2002	2009	24-31	1045	148	53	31	.291	.363	.388	.751	*584/769D	ANA-LAA
27	Mike Scioscia	99	.097	567	5056	1980	1992	21-33	1131	198	12	68	.259	.344	.356	.700	*2	LAD
28	Paul Schaal	99	.100	516	4149	1964	1974	21-31	869	132	26	57	.244	.341	.344	.686	*5/46	LAA-CAL-KCR-TOT
29	Delino DeShields	97	.109	754	6652	1990	2002	21-33	1548	244	74	80	.268	.352	.377	.729	*47/D65839	MON-LAD-STL-BAL-TOT-CHC
30	Ken Oberkfell	97	.084	546	5528	1977	1992	21-36	1354	237	44	29	.278	.351	.362	.713	*54/36D	STL-TOT-ATL-HOU-CAL
31	Johnny Roseboro	97	.110	405	4216	1961	1970	28-37	939	148	25	70	.253	.328	.363	.691	*2/5	LAD-MIN-WSA
32	Quilvio Veras	96	.092	427	3293	1995	2001	24-30	750	129	15	32	.270	.372	.362	.734	*4/98	FLA-SDP-ATL
33	Darryl Hamilton	95	.094	493	5176	1988	2001	23-36	1333	204	37	51	.291	.360	.385	.746	*897/D	MIL-TEX-SFG-TOT-NYM
34	Tom Herr	95	.079	627	6111	1979	1991	23-35	1450	254	41	28	.271	.347	.350	.696	*4/65D8	STL-TOT-PHI
35	Wayne Garrett	95	.102	561	3913	1969	1978	21-30	786	107	22	61	.239	.350	.341	.691	*54/6	NYM-TOT-MON
36	Jose Offerman	94	.100	772	6582	1990	2005	21-36	1551	252	72	57	.273	.360	.373	.732	643/D798	LAD-KCR-BOS-TOT-MIN
37	Jerry Browne	94	.080	393	3707	1986	1995	20-29	866	135	25	23	.271	.351	.351	.702	*45/789D36	TEX-CLE-OAK-FLA
38	Wally Backman	94	.064	371	3708	1980	1993	20-33	893	138	19	10	.275	.349	.339	.687	*45/6	NYM-MIN-PIT-PHI-SEA
39	Wayne Causey	94	.093	360	3411	1961	1968	24-31	768	128	24	33	.258	.338	.351	.689	645	KCA-TOT-CHW
40	Luis Castillo	93	.062	761	7172	1996	2009	20-33	1831	190	57	28	.292	.369	.354	.723	*4	FLA-MIN-TOT-NYM
41	Stan Javier	93	.094	578	5755	1984	2001	20-37	1358	225	40	57	.269	.345	.363	.708	897/3D45	NYY-OAK-TOT-LAD-CAL-SFG-SEA
42	Alan Ashby	93	.116	461	4691	1973	1989	21-37	1010	183	13	90	.245	.320	.361	.681	*2/35	CLE-TOR-HOU
43	Butch Wynegar	93	.092	626	5067	1976	1988	20-32	1102	176	15	65	.255	.348	.347	.695	*2/D5	MIN-TOT-NYY-CAL
44	Rick Miller	93	.081	454	4440	1971	1985	23-37	1046	161	35	28	.269	.346	.350	.696	*897/3D	BOS-CAL
45	Marco Scutaro	92	.119	297	3103	2002	2009	26-33	727	150	13	50	.265	.337	.384	.721	64/5793D	NYM-OAK-TOR
46	Bernie Allen	91	.118	370	3823	1962	1973	23-34	815	140	21	73	.239	.314	.357	.671	*45/D	MIN-WSA-NYY-TOT
47	Jody Reed	90	.080	542	5248	1987	1997	24-34	1231	263	10	27	.270	.349	.350	.700	*46/5D9	BOS-LAD-MIL-SDP-DET
48	Ron Hansen	90	.109	481	4330	1961	1972	23-34	872	134	12	84	.232	.319	.341	.660	*6/543	BAL-CHW-TOT-NYY-KCR
49	Dave Roberts	89	.100	307	3090	1999	2008	27-36	721	95	53	23	.266	.342	.366	.708	*87/9	CLE-LAD-TOT-SDP-SFG
50	Jim Sundberg	89	.100	699	6898	1974	1989	23-38	1493	243	36	95	.248	.327	.348	.674	*2/7D	TEX-MIL-KCR-CHC-TOT
Rk	Player	OPS+	ISO	BB	PA	To	From	Age	H	2B	3B	HR	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Tm
51	Luis Alicea	88	.109	500	4613	1988	2002	22-36	1031	189	53	47	.260	.346	.369	.715	*45/D7639	STL-BOS-ANA-TEX-KCR
52	Chris Speier	88	.103	847	8155	1971	1989	21-39	1759	302	50	112	.246	.327	.349	.676	*654/3	SFG-TOT-MON-CHC
53	Ozzie Smith	87	.066	1072	10778	1978	1996	23-41	2460	402	69	28	.262	.337	.328	.666	*6	SDP-STL
54	Rick Dempsey	87	.114	592	5407	1969	1992	19-42	1093	223	12	96	.233	.319	.347	.666	*2/9D7315	MIN-NYY-TOT-BAL-CLE-LAD-MIL
55	Jose Oquendo	86	.061	448	3737	1983	1995	19-31	821	104	24	14	.256	.346	.317	.663	*46/5937812	NYM-STL
56	Glenn Hubbard	85	.105	539	5122	1978	1989	20-31	1084	214	22	70	.244	.328	.349	.677	*4/D	ATL-OAK
57	Clay Dalrymple	84	.100	372	3352	1961	1971	24-34	667	92	21	51	.231	.321	.331	.651	*2	PHI-BAL
58	Spike Owen	83	.095	569	5615	1983	1995	22-34	1211	215	59	46	.246	.324	.341	.665	*6/543	SEA-TOT-BOS-MON-NYY-CAL
59	Mark McLemore	82	.082	875	7239	1986	2004	21-39	1602	255	47	53	.259	.349	.341	.690	*4795/68D	CAL-TOT-HOU-BAL-TEX-SEA-OAK
60	Jeff Reed	82	.111	391	3566	1984	2000	21-37	774	144	10	61	.250	.334	.361	.695	*2/D5	MIN-MON-TOT-CIN-SFG-COL-CHC
61	Craig Counsell	81	.092	548	5059	1995	2009	24-38	1129	208	39	39	.258	.345	.350	.694	465/3	COL-TOT-FLA-ARI-MIL
62	Mike Gallego	81	.089	326	3379	1985	1997	24-36	700	111	12	42	.239	.320	.328	.648	*465/9	OAK-NYY-STL
63	Gary Pettis	80	.074	521	4237	1982	1992	24-34	855	109	49	21	.236	.332	.310	.642	*8/97	CAL-DET-TEX-TOT
64	Kevin Stocker	79	.089	313	3197	1993	2000	23-30	703	124	28	23	.254	.338	.343	.682	*6	PHI-TBD-TOT
65	Walt Weiss	78	.068	658	5515	1987	2000	23-36	1207	182	31	25	.258	.351	.326	.677	*6	OAK-FLA-COL-ATL
66	Otis Nixon	77	.044	585	5800	1983	1999	24-40	1379	142	27	11	.270	.343	.314	.658	*87/9D6	NYY-CLE-MON-ATL-BOS-TEX-TOR-TOT-MIN
67	Bud Harrelson	76	.052	633	5516	1965	1980	21-36	1120	136	45	7	.236	.327	.288	.616	*6/457	NYM-PHI-TEX
68	Bruce Benedict	71	.057	328	3289	1978	1989	22-33	696	98	6	18	.242	.320	.299	.619	*2	ATL
69	Julio Cruz	71	.062	478	4437	1977	1986	22-31	916	113	27	23	.237	.321	.299	.620	*4/6D	SEA-TOT-CHW

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/4/2009.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 8:10 am and is filed under History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Marco Scutaro”

JDV Says:
December 4th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
There was a time when 35 2B / 12 HR / 60 RBI meant a guy had some 'pop'. I still think so.
TheGoofyOne Says:
December 5th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Yeah, he's not exactly Max Bishop. Not unless he has a few seasons of under 10 homers and 100+ walks.

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