Melky Cabrera Appreciation Thread
by Travis G on Aug 3, 2009 6:04 PM EDT
in Miscellaneous
17 comments
After becoming just the 14th Yankee in history (and the last since 1995) to hit for the cycle, today seems apropos for appreciating the Melk-man.
When Brett Gardner went onto the DL with a broken finger, the full weight of centerfield fell onto Melky's shoulders, and he has carried the burden better than anyone could have expected. In the eight games since Gardner's injury, Melky has hit .357/.438/.750, improving his OPS+ to a career best 114, which is third best among AL centerfielders (ahead of guys like Grady Sizemore, B.J. Upton and Jacoby Ellsbury).
What looked to be one of the biggest weaknesses heading into the season actually turned into a strength.
It seems like Melky's been around forever, but he's still only 24!
It's not a fair comparison to make, but I'll do it anyway.
Bernie Williams through age 24: .262/.339/.388, 26 SB, 20 CS
Melky through age 24: .272/.334/.389, 39 SB, 14 CS
Very similar. Bernie was better at taking walks, Melky's better at stealing bases. I would call their defense pretty comparable, with Melky getting a slight edge due to his arm (he already has 38 assists - Bernie had 65 in 16 years).
It was in Bernie's fourth full season (age 25) that he took off (119 OPS+). Melky is currently in his fourth full season. Are we witnessing the 'break out' season of the Melk-man?
And even if Melky never hits as much as Bernie, his defense will make up some of the deficit; though Bernie was phenomenal in his prime years (.326/.411/.538, 146 OPS+) of 1997 to 2002. So here comes the poll:
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Remembering that at his best Bernie was just average defensively (good range minus poor arm and bad jumps), Melky would only have to have a couple full seasons at his rate to be equal or better.
But I think Melky would be over exposed by 600 ABs.
"Have faith in the Yankees, my son. Think of the great DiMaggio."
by jscape2000 on Aug 3, 2009 6:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Its actually kinda scary
that when you look at Bernie’s first few seasons and Melky’s, they are strikingly similar.
People look back at Bernie’s career and look at Melky right now at it seems nuts, but Melky’s still got a ton of potential.
by FreeBradshaw on Aug 3, 2009 6:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Idk if anyone has NESN but the Scranton Yankees are Playing the Pawtucket Red Sox…
by Yankz09 on Aug 3, 2009 6:59 PM EDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs
thanks for the heads up … watching it now
by potroast on Aug 3, 2009 7:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I mean.....
its Bernie…. I know they have similar numbers at this age, but it would take a good bit for Melky to be up to Bernie standards.
by jmappelbaum on Aug 3, 2009 7:10 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Bernie
was never great defensively. I loved the guy (who doesn’t?!) but he made a lot of routine plays look difficult due to his bad reads of the ball. I can only see Melky getting better on the field with more playing time. If Melky can learn to take a few more walks, he could approach Bernie-esque numbers with less HR power.
by BigSlim on Aug 3, 2009 8:11 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
That's a good take on Melky
and Bernie. Bernie was a track guy but never a great base stealer.
by Peter Lacock on Aug 4, 2009 3:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Melky
is great. I could see him getting as good as Bernie. I could already see Cabrera winning a gold glove out in center field. And I could see him leading the league in assists numerous times as well if he plays everyday. I love him (and Gardner too) out in the outfield. They are our 2 best defensive outfielders. I’m not sure Melky will ever get the power Bernie had. Bernie hit 20 and drove in 100 a few times. I don’t see Cabrera ever doing that. But, I never knew how similar Melky and Bernie were at this point in their careers.
by nyyrocks29 on Aug 3, 2009 9:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
That's a good take on Melky too,
better arm, less power, neither with great instincts. The thing with Melky that impresses me this season is his improved approach. He is more patient and swings at less bad pitches. Even when he slumps, it’s not as bad as he has better AB’s, making the P work more to get him out. He looks better, his LH & RH splits are better. he has obviously improved. I don’t know what his pitches per PA are, but it has to be up. Continuing to improve and being more consistent is next.
Now if only Melky’s buddy Cano could get some of that approach and improve his feel for the strike zone. I will say that Cano has been less of a hacker the last 3 or 4 weeks. If he can keep it up, he has the talent to be really good. In a way, I like his RISP. To me it just means he’s due. He’s too good for it to be continue forever.
by Peter Lacock on Aug 4, 2009 4:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
you may be on to something
Melky’s P/PA is at a career high (3.90). the previous three years it was the same every year (3.65).
by Travis G on Aug 4, 2009 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Good Comparison.
Let me say it now. Melky will make us all forget about Bernie. As far as the power goes, look, the kid is 24 batting in the bottom of our order, getting less at bats and splitting time with Gardner/Johnny. He is batting .292 w/ 10 HR and 40 RBI’s. You really don’t think his power numbers will every go up when he is a fulltime outfielder, and moved up in the order and given more at bats? The most homers Bernie ever hit in a season was 30. Melky has 10 right now just over halfway through the season, not playing every day. This kid’s power numbers will go up, when he gets older and stronger. Bernie at age 24 in 1993/94 had 12 HR’s with roughly the same amount of at bats. Mark my words, this kid will be better than Bernie.
by bravo116 on Aug 4, 2009 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Whoa there....
Melky is developing along the same path as Bernie, but forget about Bernie?? I doubt anyone who saw Bernie play and doesn’t have Alzheimers is forgetting about Bernie no matter how good Melky is.
He’ll be compared to him like we are doing now simply cuz the similarities are plenty.
But Bernie was one of the best CF in the game, he was right behind Griffey most of his career.
Melky should continue to develop into a solid CF and maybe he gets a stranglehold on the position with his clutch hitting and increasing power numbers this season.
thing is about Melky is that his future probably isn’t in CF. With Gardner being a better option as a 4th OF/backup CF, Melky should be the future LF or even RF. AJAX is the future at CF
by FreeBradshaw on Aug 4, 2009 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
woah
was Melky 20 when he was first called up?
by Brian5517209 on Aug 3, 2009 10:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
This should be a lesson to those primitive minds out there
to learn to restrain themselves from jumping to the conclusion that someone sucks. 99% of 20-somethings need a few years to figure things out. It’s no different than any new job. The first day you don’t even know where the bathroom is. After a while, most stuff becomes second nature and one can concentrate on the suttle things that, if mastered, make one really good at what they do. I expect Melky, Joba, Hughes, et al, to have many more failures before they reach their peaks.
by Peter Lacock on Aug 4, 2009 4:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
body types
My only concern is that Bernie was a tall thin ballplayer early in his career and then filled out during his prime adding more muscle and weight. Melky is much shorter and appears to look stocky. I really dont see Melky’s body changing much, in fact I think if he added more weight it would hurt his speed and bat speed. Its just so hard to compare two totally different ballplayers.
by miracle96 on Aug 4, 2009 12:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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