On my blog, I'm holding up the Jays' McDonald, and the Expos Angel Salazar as possibly the best fielders around who couldn't hit MLB pitching. When discussing McDonald, I said:
It must be a virtual certainty that he’s a great fielder, since he’s never had 300 PA, has come into the league at almost age 25, is now 32, has 1146 career PA, his career OPS+ is 56, with a career high of 75. His career high in salary is 500,000$. He’s also had SIX different managers on three teams.
And, here is the criteria:
1 - has been in the league for at least 5 seasons
2 - has played in at least 300 games
3 - has averaged less than 4 PA per game (preferably under 3)
4 - has a career OPS+ of under 60
5 - is a 2B,SS,3B,CF (i.e., not a catcher, and I’d be shocked if you could find anyone at another position)
6 - better than league average fielding percentage
Peter Bergeron of the Expos is another that qualifies. So, are we in the midst of seeing McDonald be the best at this?
