Fact is, AJ has been the same player since he came to the Major Leagues in 1998 as a Minnesota Twin. Opposing teams have never liked him but his persona wasn't really known to the media until last October, when AJ stole first base against the Angels' Kelvim Escobar in Game 2 of the ALCS. Since then, all eyes have been on him.
When AJ was a Minnesota Twin and getting into annual battles with the Chicago White Sox, I hated him too. It seemed as if he always knew how to drive another nail into the White Sox coffin during big games between the two teams (and there were plenty.) Ever since he's come to Chicago though, that's changed.
When he's on your team, AJ is just one of those guys you love because he comes to the park everyday and plays his butt off for you. He does everything in his power to help the team win. He's not a fast player yet he always seems able to get from first to third on a single to the outfield. He has a knack for getting his pitchers to keep their heads in the game, and help them get out of tough jams.
And it's all those things he does that drives the opposing teams and their fans nuts.
My sister was in Florida last weekend and missed the entire Cubs/White Sox series. She is a Cubs fan and on Monday night, before she watched the fight between AJ and Cub catcher Michael Barrett, she asked me about AJ.
"I've been reading and hearing that this guy is just a punk, that he does this kind of stuff all the time."
I told her this was the first time I've ever seen AJ get into a fight with a player, while it was the third or fourth time I'd seen Barrett do it. "Then why," she asked, "does he have such a reputation?" I explained it to her the best I could.
Remember the 1993 movie The Sandlot? It was about a nerdy kid who moves to a new neighborhood and becomes friends with a group of kids who play baseball at the local sandlot all the time.
There was a character in that movie (played by Patrick Renna), the catcher, Hamilton "Ham" Porter.
That's who AJ is. When he's behind the plate he does everything in his power to disrupt a hitter's rhythm and focus. He talks smack constantly, distracting a hitter's attention from where it needs to be. The hitter loses focus on the pitcher and what his job is in that current at bat.
Still, words aren't enough to prove anything. Looking inside the numbers will better portray the value of having an AJ Pierzynski on your team.
As of today, AJ leads all American League catchers (minimum 100 At Bats) with a .343 batting average. He's 5th in hits (47), 2nd in doubles (10) and 4th in slugging (.460).
Of all Major League catchers with at least 5 years of service, only 3 have a better career batting average than AJ:
- Mike Piazza-.310
- Ivan Rodriquez-.304
- Jason Kendall-.301
- AJ Pierzynski-.290
AJ has never been a real power threat reaching career highs in home runs (18) and RBI (77) in 2005 with the Chicago White Sox.
Hitting catchers are generally just a bonus, though. A catcher's real value is in his fielding ability and how he handles a pitching staff.
AJ has a career .995 fielding percentage. His Major League record 158 consecutive errorless games streak ended just last Saturday when he made a bad throw to first on a Ronny Cedeno bunt. Keep in mind he has to catch for Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras, two pitchers who always sit at the top of the "Wild Pitch" category. His throwing arm isn't rated as high as most catchers but again, remember who he's catching: Freddy Garcia and Jose Contreras have been easy to run on their entire careers thanks to long strides and motions. Of course, that doesn't matter when it goes against AJ as a stolen base.
As far as how he handles pitchers though, look at this. There are three pitchers still on the Twins who were in the rotation when AJ left Minnesota: Johan Santana, Brad Radke, and Kyle Lohse. When it comes to Cy Young winner Johan Santana it doesn't matter who's catching, but what about the other two?
Brad Radke Win-Loss Record
- 2003 (With AJ.) 14-10
- 2004 (W/O AJ) 11-8
- 2005 9-12
- 2006 4-5
Kyle Lohse Win Loss Record
- 2003 14-11
- 2004 9-13
- 2005 9-13
- 2006 2-4 (Now out of rotation)
Both pitchers' numbers have gone downhill since Pierzynski was let go for Joe Mauer in 2004.
What about his current team? AJ didn't join the Sox until 2005. Let's look at each pitcher's win/loss record since 2003:
Mark Buehrle
- 2003 14-14
- 2004 16-10
- 2005 16-8
- 2006 5-2
Jon Garland
- 2003 12-13
- 2004 12-11
- 2005 18-10
- 2006 3-2
Freddy Garcia
- 2003 12-14
- 2004 13-9
- 2005 15-7
- 2006 7-1
Jose Contreras
- 2003 7-2
- 2004 13-9
- 2005 15-7
- 2006 5-0
Remember that Contreras had a 5.48 ERA in 2004 and only posted a winning record that year thanks to the offensive output of the Yankees.
Speaking of which, Mark Buehrle (3.12), Jon Garland (3.50), and Jose Contreras (3.61) all posted career low ERA's in 2005 with AJ behind the plate. Freddy Garcia (3.87) had his best ERA since 2001 with Pierzynski last season.
Another telling stat: in his five full seasons of Major League service, Pierzynski has been on three division winners, Minnesota in 2002/2003 and Chicago and 2005.
AJ is a winner, pure and simple. The "clubhouse cancer" label wasn't put on him until 2004 in San Francisco by Brett Tomko. One teammate had a problem with him and suddenly he was branded as a liability to a team. But consider that in San Francisco, AJ's personality had to mesh with Barry Bonds who is legion for creating a contentious clubhouse environment.
If you look outside of Brett Tomko's one comment, and inside the numbers it becomes pretty clear that AJ is exactly the kind of teammate a baseball player could hope for. He dishes it but he can take it. Word is, nobody takes more abuse and ribbing from teammates in the White Sox clubhouse than AJ but he laughs it all off and gives some of it back.
Then he gets out on the field and does everything he can to beat you. That's why you hate him and why the Sox and their fans love him.
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