It’s Time to Change the Perception on J.D. Drew
By: Alex Reimer
In December of 2006, Bob Ryan asked Theo Epstein, “what’s the fascination with J.D. Drew?” The Red Sox had just signed Drew to the largest free agent contract of the “Theo Epstein era” (now surpassed by John Lackey), 5 years and 70 million dollars.
Drew opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, following the advice of his agent, Scott Boras. It was Boras who had also advised Drew, a former 1st round pick, to forego signing with the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1997 amateur draft and re-enter the draft in 1998 when he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals. This decision immediately put Drew on the bad side of the “baseball community.” Nobody looks fondly upon the kid coming out of college who turns down an opportunity to play in the major leagues in order to “weigh his options.” It’s the equivalent of not accepting an invitation to the White House. I’m sure those invited to visit with George W. Bush wanted to “weigh their options,” but they went. Because you don’t turn down the president, kid!
Upon entering the big leagues in 1998, the perception around Drew has always been that he’s jaded. You’re more likely to catch Rosie O’Donnell ordering “the small salad” than J.D. Drew with a smile on his face. The perception has been that he’s delicate, refusing to play unless he’s 100%. He has all of the tools to be a great player, but yet has never put together that “marquee year.” This is a roundabout way of saying that Bob Ryan’s question represented and still represents the overwhelming feeling about J.D. Drew.
But it’s time to turn that around. Theo Epstein attempted to do it in a pair of interviews with sports radio WEEI and “The Sports Hub” last fall. Others have since piled on. Because the reality is, J.D. Drew is a good baseball player. A damn good one at that.
What is the most basic principle of hitting? To not get out, or in other words, get on base. Since 2007, Drew has gotten on base at a .390 clip. His .390 on-base percentage over the past 3 years stands as 4th best among outfielders in baseball, behind only Manny Ramirez, Matt Holliday, and Magglio Ordonez.
OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) stands as one of the more heavily valued offensive statistics among baseball front offices today. Drew’s OPS exceeded .900 in both 2008 and 2009. The only other players who have done that along with Drew are Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Berkman, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis, Hanley Ramirez, and Chase Utley.
“Okay, he has nice statistics. But does he perform in the clutch?” Yes.
Drew hit .360 in the 2007 ALCS, and swatted a two-out grand slam in game 6 off of Cleveland’s Fausto Carmona. He went on to hit .333 in the 2007 World Series.
In 2008, Drew’s postseason heroics continued, as he hit a ninth inning tie-breaking homer off of the Angels’ Francisco Rodriguez in game 2 of the ALDS.
“But he’s soft! He doesn’t play hurt.” Partially true, you’re not likely to see J.D. Drew limp off the bench ala Kirk Gibson. But let’s compare Drew to the man he replaced in Boston, Trot Nixon.
Nixon was universally regarded as a “dirt dog,” a man who always found his way onto the field. Except he only played in 130 or more games three times in his career. Drew has played in 130 or more games six times.
“RBI! RBI! Drew only had 68 RBI in 2009. Defend that!” Theo Epstein already kind of did, as he told 98.5 “The Sports Hub” last September, “based on his skill set, he’s always going to have underwhelming RBI totals. When you’re putting together a winning team, that honestly doesn’t matter. When you have a player that takes a ton of walks, who doesn’t put the ball in play at an above-average rate and is a certain type of hitter, he’s not going to drive in a lot of runs.”
Everybody on a baseball team serves a different purpose. Drew is not going to be that “big bopper” who hits 40 home runs and drives in 120. But few guys are. It doesn’t mean he’s an “average” baseball player.
The fascination with J.D. Drew, four years later, remains largely the same as it was in December of ’06. The difference is, the fascination should now be clear to Red Sox fans. The fact that it isn’t clear to all shows that the perception of Boston being the home of “ the most intelligent baseball fans” may be as false a perception as the ones surrounding J.D. Drew.
Alex Reimer is the host of the Red Sox podcast, “Without a Curse.” “Without a Curse” is available on both www.thesportsstuff.com and for download in the iTunes store. Alex is also the host of the “Alex Reimer Show,” which airs every Saturday from 4-6 PM EST on 1120 AM WBNW Boston and www.moneymattersradio.net. Alex can be reached at, Alexredsox076@aol.com.
