I Don't Miss Ryan Goins

I guess I miss his smile. I've never met him, but he seems like a nice guy and was well respected by his teammates. But as a player, I don't miss him.

Why this comes up is because of Aledmys Diaz's back spasms. The infield was already stretched a bit thin by the absence of Troy Tulowitzki, and if Diaz were to miss time it would put further stress on the team's depth. Luckily, from the sounds of it, Diaz isn't expected to miss more than tonight's game.

That hasn't stopped some in the Blue Jays fanbase to become vocal about how much the Blue Jays are going to regret letting Goins go. He was a fan favorite due to his highlight reel plays at shortstop and second, and his legend grew last season when he went 10-14 with the bases loaded. Suddenly he was considered clutch.

Basing an opinion on a player using 14 at bats probably isn't the wisest decision. Goins was 3-15 with the bases loaded in his career prior to 2017. Also, if he were clutch, wouldn't he have a better OPS in late and close games than .439? That isn't just bad, it's dreadful. Late and close situations are far more important than at bats with the bases loaded and his sample size in late and close situations is across 197 plate appearances, compared to 34 with the bases loaded. Research is pretty heavily on the side that clutch hitting isn't a repeatable skill, but that doesn't stop many from pining over Goins based on a 14 at bat sample in a very specific situation.

Then there's his defence. He made some amazing plays during his first few seasons in the majors and gained the reputation of a defensive wizard. The numbers even backed this up. However, over the past two seasons he has probably been getting by more on reputation. He still graded well at second base, but his work at shortstop was statistically below average last year. This may be blasphemy to some Blue Jays fans, but the numbers seem to bear it out. Now, defensive numbers aren't perfect, but they seem to agree that guys like Andrelton Simmons, Byron Buxton and Kevin Kiermaier are elite. Defensive stats also seem to agree that guys like Melky Cabrera or Chris Colabello aren't good defenders. Remember Colabello in left? Woof! If the defensive numbers tend to agree that the guys that appear to be the best are the best and the guys that appear the worst are the worst, then I trust that they are at least pointing us in the right direction. It's only when the numbers go against a player people want to believe is good that the numbers get questioned. Goins didn't look like the elite glovesman he was early in his career and the numbers agree.

This article isn't so much meant as a reason to bash Ryan Goins, but to address some pet peeves I have about common baseball beliefs. Ryan Goins just so happens to represent those ideas with the way he's viewed as a clutch player or the way he's represented by defensive stats. The front office has done well to improve on what Goins provided. Even if Diaz were to miss time they would be able to get similar production as Goins from Gift Ngoepe or Danny Espinosa. It's also nice to have more upside on hand in the form of Lourdes Gurriel and Richard Urena. There wouldn't even be room for Goins. That still hasn't stopped a surprisingly large and vocal section of the fanbase from voicing their displeasure over the front office letting him go. But, just like Kemo says in Forgetting Sarah Marshall: "It's like the Sopranos. It's OVER. Find a new show."

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