It means that your catcher, shortstop, second baseman, and center fielder are all outstanding defensive players.
Bill James used Win Shares (a complicated formula he developed to determine a player’s value to a team) to demonstrate that championship teams do tend to be stronger at catcher, second base, shortstop, and center field than at first base, third base, left field, and right field.
For each MLB season from 1900 through 2003, James selected three teams from each league to represent a championship team, an average team, and a bad one. He then compared the amount of value each team received at each position. The result was that championship teams were 98 percent better than bad teams up the middle, and only 73 percent better than bad teams at the remainder of the positions.
Dan Turkenkopf used another complicated formula, Win Shares above Bench, and came up with the same conclusion: concentrating your resources on players who play the skill positions seems to lead to more wins.
James and Turkenkopf took into account the up-the-middle players’ offensive as well as defensive performances. But a case can be made on defensive prowess alone. More balls are hit up the middle than to the corner spots in the infield and outfield. And a catcher’s ability to call a good game for the pitchers and to throw out would-be base stealers is key to a good defense.
Dodgers moments after clinching the 1959 World Series (photo, MLB.com)
For example, the 1959 Dodgers, who beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series, batted the league average of .257, seventh best among the 16 Major League teams. But at .981, they were the best team in the majors in fielding percentage. Second baseman Jim Gilliam won a Gold Glove. Don Zimmer and Maury Wills shared shortstop duties, and both were solid—Don Demeter patrolled center field. An outstanding defensive player who could field multiple positions, Demeter once played 266 consecutive errorless games in the outfield, a Major League record that stood for almost 30 years. John Roseboro is considered one of the best defensive catchers of the 1960s and won two Gold Gloves.
The 1969 New York Mets, who defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series, were also offensively challenged. They ranked 14th out of the 24 teams in batting average, below the league average. They ranked 17th in home runs. They finished next-to-last in the National League in slugging and OPS (.351 and .662, respectively).
Catching great Jerry Grote (photo courtesy NY Times)
But they were stout defensively up the middle. Catcher Jerry Grote would have won a Gold Glove if Johnny Bench had never existed. Bench won the Gold Glove every year from 1968 to 1977. Shortstop Bud Harrelson won a Gold Glove in 1971, finished with a career .969 fielding percentage, and is the Mets’ all-time leader in defensive WAR at 13.7. He played 54 consecutive errorless games in 1970, at the time a record for a shortstop. Second baseman Ken Boswell, shaky at second base when he entered the league in 1967, had steadily improved. In center field, Tommie Agee was a two-time Gold Glove winner and made two incredible catches against the Orioles in Game 3 that potentially saved five runs. The Mets won 5-0.
The 1976 Cincinnati Reds are the best offensive team of all time. But let’s not overlook their defense, especially up the middle. Bench, as was mentioned, won ten consecutive Gold Gloves. Second baseman Joe Morgan won five Gold Gloves. So did shortstop Dave Concepción. As Bench noted, if not for the arrival of Ozzie Smith, Concepción probably would have won ten Gold Gloves. Center fielder Cesar Gerónimo won one of four consecutive Gold Gloves in 1976.
Not to compare my 1971 Hackensack, New Jersey, high school baseball team with any of the teams mentioned above, but we, too, were strong up the middle. Anchored by first-team All-County catcher Art Sarro and first-team All-County shortstop Tom D’Arminio, we had a solid defense all around, including the middle positions. I was a first-team All-League second baseman, and Joe Pistono, the best centerfielder I ever played with or against, and among the top hitters in the league, probably would have received league honors had he been a senior instead of a junior.
When Joe and I played together on the junior varsity team the year before, he made a play that I will never forget. Passaic Valley had a runner on third with less than two outs. Their batter hit a fly to medium-to-deep center field, and the runner tagged up on third. It seemed like a sure successful sacrifice fly. But Joe uncorked a perfect, one-hop throw to home plate that, to the amazement of all, nailed the runner at home.
In the last game of the 1971 regular season, our record was 15-2, and we were playing the second-place team, Wayne Valley, with a record of 14-3. So we had to win to claim the championship outright. In the first inning, Wayne Valley’s fastest runner was aboard. He lit out to try to steal second, and Art threw a perfect strike to me covering second. Out!
Teammates congratulate Matt Sieger after he hit a home run in the 1971 championship game for his Hackensack, New Jersey, high school.
The next inning, Art hit a tremendous home run to left field that rolled forever (we had no fences on our home field). I followed with my first and only home run in my high school career, a shot that also rolled a long way. Back-to-back homers!
In the fifth inning, Wayne Valley scored once to cut our lead to 3-1 and had runners on first and second with one out. But the next batter grounded to short, and Tom and I pulled off a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.
We went on to win 4-1. Joe caught the final out, a fly ball to center field. Fittingly, the four of us had all played a part in the victory.
Strong up the middle.
