Believe it or not, there are still some who don't know the history between J.D. and the Phillies. We were shocked that someone at Citizens Bank Park asked Christine last year why he was getting booed.
Philly fans will never forgive J.D. And that's OK. But I don't understand why he's not more appreciated by Red Sox fans. Yes, he struggled in his first season as a Red Sox after signing a huge contract, but he redeemed himself with a grand slam in the 1st inning of Game 6 of the 2007 ALCS and has played pretty well since then.
Yes, he's stoic, injury-prone and doesn't post gaudy power numbers. But he is quietly one of the better players in baseball. And as Amalie Benjamin points out, he has even out-performed the five-year $70 million contract the Red Sox were laughed at for giving him:
Just 10 players had an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .900 or greater in 2008 and '09: Pujols, Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Lance Berkman, Mark Teixeira, Kevin Youkilis, Hanley Ramirez, Matt Holliday, Chase Utley - and Drew.
[...]
The offseason of 2006-07 was, in short, a period of abysmal deals around baseball, highlighted by those given out to pitchers Barry Zito, Jason Schmidt, and Kei Igawa. But the outfielder market - in terms of bad contracts - wasn't much better. Instead of signing Drew, Epstein could have chosen Alfonso Soriano ($136 million, eight years), Carlos Lee ($100 million, six years), Gary Matthews Jr. ($50 million, five years), or Juan Pierre ($44 million, five years).
According to the value estimations on fangraphs.com, in the three years since those deals were signed, Soriano has earned $33.4 million (8.0 wins above replacement player), while being paid $41 million. Lee has earned $40 million (9.2 WAR), while being paid $43 million. Matthews has earned -$5.2 million (-1.1 WAR), while being paid $26.2 million. Pierre has earned $15.4 million (3.6 WAR), while being paid $25.5 million.
And Drew? Even with a rough 2007 in which he "earned" just $5.6 million (1.4 WAR), Drew has earned $45.4 million (10.3 WAR) in Boston, while being paid $42 million. So, in the warped world of baseball finances, the argument could be made that Drew is underpaid. Or, perhaps, that he is compensated equally to his value.
Amen. I've been thinking along these lines for awhile. Maybe this is the year that J.D. gets some love from the fans - especially as he wins his second World Championship. {Please excuse Greg, he must be on a sugar high after eating too much chocolate. There is no way that J.D. Drew will be on the 2010 World Champion Phillies.}
For the record, yes, I am aware that Jayson Werth has produced nearly $60 million for little more than $5 million since 2007. I'm not saying the Red Sox have a better right fielder, just that they have a pretty special one who doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
Welcome: The world has a new Nationals fan who shares my name and Zoe's birthday. Congrats to Nick and Maria. Hope you and little Gregory are home soon.
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