Breaking Down the New 'Face of MLB' Race Entering 2015
To paraphrase Joan Osborne (timely reference, I know), "If baseball had a face, what would it look like?"
It's not a simple question. Yes, today's game is stocked with stars. But in the after-Jeter era (the Yankee Captain retired, in case you didn't hear) it's unclear who carries the weighty MLB mantle.
Before we search for an answer, let's parse what we're talking about.
This isn't simply a search for the game's most talented player, or its most colorful. We're looking for the guy who combines the disparate qualities that create a league-wide ambassador, an emblem for baseball in the twenty-teens.
Because everything's better when you slap a number on it, let's break this down into four essential categories: accomplishments (what a player has done), potential (what he's capable of doing), personality (how interesting/charismatic/diplomatic he is) and notoriety (how famous he is among casual fans, and how big of a market he plays in).
We'll grade each candidate in each category on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being a scrub on the bus to Triple-A and 10 being positively Jeter-esque. The combined total will be that player's Face of Baseball (FOB) score (trademark totally not pending).
One more note: We're looking at players just entering or in the midst of their prime, so no fading superstars (Miguel Cabrera) or untested blue chips (Kris Bryant).
OK, enough preamble. To the faces!
Andrew McCutchen
1 of 5
Accomplishments: 9
McCutchen has finished in the top three in National League MVP voting each of the past three seasons, and won the award in 2013.
The Pittsburgh Pirates' center fielder also has a Gold Glove in his trophy case, has made four straight All-Star teams and led the NL in hits in 2012.
Most essentially, he's propelled Pittsburgh back to October relevance, guiding the Bucs to the NLDS in 2013—their first postseason appearance in 21 years—and getting them to the wild card play-in last season.
Potential: 8
McCutchen is entering his age-28 season, so there's every reason to expect more MVP-level production.
He did suffer the first semi-serious injury of his career last year, a rib fracture that landed him on the disabled list.
Still, he wound up playing 146 games, the first time since his rookie year that he failed to eclipse the 150-game mark.
Personality: 9
With his cascading dreadlocks and 1,000-watt grin, McCutchen is instantly recognizable. And, apparently, unfailingly likable.
Here's how veteran pitcher A.J. Burnett summed it up to USA Today's John Perrotto in March 2013:
"He has that big smile for everybody he sees. He doesn't treat some people one way and other people another way. He's a great teammate and a great person. You won't find anyone in this clubhouse who would say one bad word about Andrew.
"
Notoriety: 6
As much as he's accomplished and as bright as his star shines, McCutchen takes a hit here simply because he toils for a small-market club that only recently pulled itself out of mediocrity.
Put McCutchen in New York and he could be next-level famous...though citizens of the Steel City like him right where he is.
FOB score: 32
Buster Posey
2 of 5
Accomplishments: 10
What most players wouldn't dream of doing in a career, Posey has done in a scant five full big league seasons.
Let's recap: a Rookie of the Year award, an MVP, two All-Star appearances, a batting title and three, count 'em three, World Series rings.
And all that while taking a beating behind the dish and handling the San Francisco Giants' perennially potent stable of arms.
It's trendy to credit San Francisco's trio of titles to some ethereal "even-year mojo." But there's a simpler, more credible explanation: Gerald Dempsey "Buster" Posey III.
Potential: 7
When Posey suffered a horrific, season-ending ankle injury during a home plate collision in 2011, many wondered if he'd ever be the same.
He wasn't, of course—he was better.
Still, as long as he's the Giants' primary backstop, it's worth wondering how long his legs will hold up. His production dipped in 2013 and at the outset of 2014, stoking those fears, though a scalding second half earned him a sixth-place MVP finish last year.
Bottom line: Most catchers age prematurely.
Counterargument: Posey isn't most catchers.
Personality: 8
On the surface, Posey comes across as an aw-shucks everyman, never controversial and rarely interesting off the field.
He's got another side, though. Witness the sublimely awful telenovella spoof he filmed with teammate Sergio Romo. (Seriously, if you haven't watched it, it's worth 31 seconds of your life.)
So he's not Marlon Brando...or even Marlon Wayans. But there's some color and charisma hidden under that choir boy smile.
Notoriety: 8
Winning the World Series three times in five years guarantees a certain level of fame.
It's earned Posey his share of commercial endorsements, and the "next Jeter" label from ESPN's Jayson Stark.
Here's Stark in October while the Giants were marching through yet another postseason:
"Like Jeter, from almost the minute Posey showed up in the big leagues, his team started treating the World Series as if it were the annual (or at least bi-annual) family trip.
Like Jeter, Posey's awards and accolades have been flowing, just about nonstop, since he went out and won a player of the month award in his first month as a regular in the big leagues.
Like Jeter, there's a comfortable, easy-going, understated, but intently competitive air about Posey that makes him easy to like but a monster to play against.
"
FOB score: 33
Clayton Kershaw
3 of 5
Accomplishments: 9
We are living in the era of the pitcher, thanks in no small part to Clayton Kershaw.
Marvel at his resume: three NL Cy Young awards, four consecutive MLB ERA titles, four All-Star appearances and—why not?—a 2014 NL MVP.
The only knock is his postseason failures; Kershaw owns a 5.12 ERA in 11 playoff appearances.
Still, there's no doubt the Los Angeles Dodgers' lanky left-hander is the best pitcher of his generation. The question now is whether he'll go down among the greatest of all time.
Potential: 9
Kershaw has logged more than 1,300 big league innings, and began the 2014 season on the DL with a back injury.
Yet he wound up throwing 198 frames in the regular season and 12.2 more in the playoffs. And he's still a few weeks shy of his 27th birthday.
Pitchers can be fragile creatures. So far, there's no reason to doubt Kershaw's durability—or his continued dominance.
Personality: 8
Kershaw is by all accounts a model citizen. In December, he was named MLB's Marvin Miller Man of the Year, an accolade that recognizes a player "whose on-field performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement."
He isn't the most electric character in baseball; ESPN's Mark Saxon describes "the chasm that separates [Kershaw's] personality" from his teammate, gregarious Cuban outfielder Yasiel Puig.
Yet he's assumed a leadership role in the Dodgers' at-times contentious clubhouse with a calm, fiercely competitive demeanor.
Notoriety: 8
Kershaw plays in a massive market and he wears the uniform of baseball's biggest spenders, a club that's in perpetual win-now mode.
Given that, it's possible he'd be even more famous (or infamous) with a bit of Puig's showmanship.
That's quibbling, though. This is the era of the pitcher—and Kershaw is the pitcher. Plain and simple.
FOB score: 34
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Mike Trout
4 of 5
Accomplishments: 9
Want to know how good Trout has been since he broke into the big leagues? He "finally" won the American League MVP in 2014...at the ripe old age of 23.
Add that to a pair of second-place MVP finishes, three All-Star appearances, a Rookie of the Year award and, last season, Trout's first foray into the playoffs.
Yes, the Los Angeles Angels' outfielder went 1-for-12 in an American League Division Series loss to the Kansas City Royals. But rest assured: it won't be Trout's last taste of October baseball.
Potential: 10
It bears repeating: Trout is just 23, an age when many talented players are still waiting to make their MLB debut.
Trout, meanwhile, has already racked up 28.2 WAR, per Baseball-Reference. And—here's a scary thought for opposing pitchers—he might just be getting started.
Personality: 7
Lantern-jawed and clean-cut, Trout straddles the line between affable and bland.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. As Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan notes, "Baseball doesn't manufacture celebrities like the NBA or the NFL, and it rewards stoicism and humility above all."
Still, a little personality goes a long way.
Trout has been compared to Puig. Right now, Trout is unequivocally the superior player, but maybe he could use a dash of Puig's bat-flipping bravado. (Your tastes, naturally, may vary.)
Notoriety: 9
Dull or not, Trout enjoys the benefit of the Tinseltown spotlight.
Yes, the Dodgers eclipse the Angels in the Southern California baseball universe. But LA is the land where stars are born—and right now, on the diamond at least, no star shines brighter than Trout.
FOB score: 35
Giancarlo Stanton
5 of 5
Accomplishments: 8
Pure power hitters are a rare commodity in this post-steroid era (or "post-steroid era" if you're feeling cynical).
Which explains the ridiculous 13-year, $325 million deal the Miami Marlins handed Stanton, one of the few undisputed mashers of his generation.
Stanton does more than hit home runs; in fact, he's a legitimate five-tool talent. But man, those home runs.
Stanton hit 37 of them last year to pace the NL, and they traveled an NL-leading average "true distance" of 484 feet, according to ESPN's Home Run Tracker.
Again, though, Stanton is more than the sum of his dingers. He's the complete package, as evidenced by his second-place finish in NL MVP balloting last year.
Potential: 10
Stanton just turned 25. Which means, like Trout, he could well get even better. Here's how Fox Sports' Jeff Sullivan breaks it down:
"I don't think I need to defend the statement that Stanton is on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory, and while it seems true that players these days are aging differently, Stanton's already achieved an incredible peak, and his decline shouldn't begin in earnest for the better part of a decade. Bets don't get much safer, as long-term contracts go.
"
No argument there, from yours truly or the Marlins.
Personality: 9
It seems silly to mention the fact that Stanton was tapped to judge the Miss Universe pageant, but there you go.
Sorry if you don't care about this stuff, but he's got the movie star looks and crossover appeal to transcend baseball and propel himself into the stratosphere of sports icons quicker than a poorly located fastball.
Notoriety: 9
Stanton attended high school in LA, and before he inked his extension with the Marlins there was talk he could return to his roots.
He still might; his deal contains an opt-out clause, meaning his stay in South Beach may be cut short.
The Fish, though, spent the offseason making good on their promise to overhaul the roster and build a potential winner around their young uber-slugger.
Miami looks poised to at least make noise in 2015, which would elevate Stanton's profile higher still, and possibly give him a chance to shine on baseball's biggest stage.
FOB score: 36
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