Brett Gardner: More Than Just a Strong Spring

When Spring Training opened at George M. Steinbrenner Field this year, competition was in the air. Melky Cabrera stayed in camp instead of playing for his country so he could compete with up and coming prospect Brett Gardner.

The opinion on Gardner has been mixed up to this point. There continues to be a slew of fans loyal to the “Melk Man” insistent that the Yankees keep him in center field. Gardner fans would disagree, citing that his speed is more of an asset than Melky’s arm.

Many of the naysayers against Gardner argued that he simply did not produce at the Major League level. It’s a well known fact, however, that Gardner has experienced adjustment periods at each level. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.

Looking further, you’ll find that Gardner hit .343 and drove in six in his last 10 games in 2008. He also added (no offense to Johnny Damon) potent speed at the top (or bottom) of the lineup.

In fact, he had 13 stolen bases in 42 games, placing fourth on the team in stolen bases behind A-Rod, Bobby Abreu, and Damon.

The total amount of games played between those three: 439.
The total number of stolen bases between those three: 69.

That’s a steal approximately every three games for Gardner and one every five games for the trio. If you break it down further, Damon has been the biggest base stealing threat in recent years. He averaged a steal a little more than once every five days.

Of course, if you want to compare Gardner to his competition, you’ll find Gardner blowing Melky out of the water in that category. 

With speed comes less power, which would be a problem for many lineups. This is the New York Yankees we’re talking about, so power isn’t an issue. With Mark Teixeira and A-Rod in the middle of the lineup and the return of Hideki Matsui and Jorge Posada, the Yankees shouldn’t be worrying about power.

Speed, however, should be a concern. What better combination than Gardner and Damon? To have speed at the top and bottom of the lineup will provide the Yankees with a double threat on the base paths and allow Derek Jeter many opportunities for hit-and-runs in the two spot of the batting order.

It’s pretty clear that no matter who wins the starting job in center field, he will bat ninth anyway.

Finally, it’s the battle of speed versus arm strength. While it’s easy to understand why many fans love Melky’s arm, you can’t stress how important the speed game is in center field. With the size of the Yankees outfield, it’s important to be able to cover a lot of ground.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?