A Perspective on NL East Third Basemen

Before the season started, if I asked you which third baseman you'd want from the NL East, you probably would have replied David Wright of the New York Mets. Heck, you might have even known who Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals was and picked him. It's clear enough that Zimmerman is the class of the division at third base. But, I doubt that Pedro Feliz, the Phillies' sure-handed third baseman, would have been included in that conversation at all.

But I can make a case that this season, Feliz should be considered better than Wright. David Wright's power struggles at the dish this season have been well-chronicled. Before this season, he was widely regarded as one of the best third basemen in the National League. He is a perennial All-Star, a Silver Slugger award winner and has even added some Gold Glove awards, for some strange reason. But now, playing for a punch-less Mets team, Wright's numbers have come down to Earth. Here's how all three of the aforementioned third basemen stack up in 2009 (through 8/10/09):

Zimmerman: .306 BA, 24 HR, 75 RBI, 0 SB, .372 OBP, .537 SLG

Wright: .323 BA, 8 HR, 55 RBI, 24 SB, .414 OBP, .467 SLG

Feliz: .286 BA, 8 HR, 56 RBI, 0 SB, .332 OBP, .405 SLG

Zimmerman has the clear edge in just about all of the offensive categories. Wright has taken on a lead off hitter's approach this season, with an elevated on-base percentage and stolen bases total. But for a hitter meant to be a run producer (who typically bats third, fourth, or fifth), the numbers are comparable to Feliz's (who typically bats seventh). And of course, offensive production doesn't tell the whole story. Defense at the hot corner is especially important for a third baseman. Here are the defensive statistics for the same three:

Zimmerman: 936.2 IN, 334 CH, 13 E, 20 DP, .961 FP

Wright: 971.2 IN, 291 CH, 13 E, 15 DP, .955 FP

Feliz: 904.2 IN, 311 CH, 10 E, 28 DP, .968 FP

The number that will really jump out at you are the double-plays that Feliz has been involved in. Both he and Zimmerman have much better fielding percentages than Wright. I have always considered Wright to be overrated on defense, and the numbers back it up. In substantially more innings than the other two, Wright had far fewer chances. This suggests either limited range or extremely poor positioning. So while you might see Wright diving around a lot on SportsCenter, his defensive liabilities can lead to more diving stops and potential errors than the others.

The final aspect of these third basemen that we will analyze are clutch statistics. Baseball tracks a number of stats that show a player's performance in clutch situations of a ballgame. The first one we will look at are the stats in the classic situation: two outs and runners in scoring position:

Zimmerman: 47 PA, .179 BA, 3 HR, 14 RBI, .319 OBP, .410 SLG
Wright: 62 PA, .226 BA, 1 HR, 13 RBI, .339 OBP, .358 SLG
Feliz: 52 PA, .255 BA, 2 HR, 19 RBI, .327 OBP, .447 SLG

The second set of stats will be what's called 'late and close' which indicates a plate appearance in the seventh inning or later, with the batting team tied, ahead by one, or the tying run at least on deck:

Zimmerman: 85 PA, .233 BA, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .329 OBP, .384 SLG

Wright: 74 PA, .241 BA, 0 HR, 7 RBI, .405 OBP, .345 SLG

Feliz: 57 PA, .302 BA, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .321 OBP, .415 SLG

Ultimately, any team would be well ahead of the average roster to have one of these three players. But in comparing the three, offensively, defensively, and their clutchness, I'd take Feliz over the more-recognized Wright. Zimmerman is certainly having a great season, but who knows what type of production Feliz would have if he batted third in a lineup in front of Adam Dunn. Feliz plays the best defense of the group and his offensive production is almost comparable to Wright's. As he often goes over-looked, Pedro Feliz deserves a lot more credit than he gets among third basemen and Phillies.