Coco Crisp: Gone in a Flash, Undervalued in Hindsight

"Coco won more games with his glove than Drew won with his bat." -My Dad, right after the 2007 season ended

And he was right.

In fact, Coco saved more runs in the field than anyone in 2007.

His defense was great that season, one of the absolute best center fielders in the game—a large improvement over what he had previously done.

Although most fans were not expecting terrible results from Crisp that year, I highly doubt anyone expected the kind of greatness that would unfold.

But anyway, because Coco's defense was so awesome, and he won so many games with the glove, his overall WARP1 fell in at 48th.

All of that leads me to having to admit a mistake I made:  I undervalued Coco Crisp that year.

Sure, I knew he was a great defender. 

And sure, I could have predicted he had the potential to win a Gold Glove. But with all that said, his overall value was well above what I would have guessed. 

Come playoff time during that magnificent 2007 season, I was an advocate for Ellsbury in center and Drew in right. And to this day, I will stand behind that.

Drew had started to hit better down the stretch that season (not to mention, had a track record of being good). And Ellsbury was tearing the cover off the ball, stealing bases, and was no slouch with the glove, either (ride the lightning).

Most importantly, especially come October, Jacoby just seemed to have "it."

You know what "it" I am talking about, right?

The "it" that allows a player to never succumb to the pressure, never fold when the moment is most stressfull—that "it."

Unfortunately, Ellsbury lacked "it" in 2008.

I didn't feel Coco was the best option to start in the postseason, largely due to his offensive deficiencies. Crisp just couldn't hit when it counted, or at least it seemed that way.

So I thought Ellsbury/Drew contained more upside than Crisp/Ellsbury. And this isn't Adam Dunn we are talking about in right, so the defense didn't take much of a hit with combo No. 1.

But I reiterate, I undervalued the season that Crisp had. I do not shy away from admitting to my analytical mistakes. Everyone makes them, even those with the most expertise.

Coco was not the 48th best player in baseball at the time, but he may very well have had the 48th most valuable season that year.

He could track down balls up the middle with the best of them, and that translated into a year in which many overlooked his true value, or so it seemed. 

And I overlooked it, too.

It is only now that I am able to reflect on Crisp's largely overlooked contributions, like that catch he made against the Mets in 2006, or the amazing at-bat he had in Game 6 against the Rays.

He was actually pretty fun to watch.