One of my favorite players, Matt Holliday, is enjoying sweet success in St. Louis since being traded from Oakland. In 346 at-bats with Oakland, Holliday had 11 homers, 54 RBI’s and a .286 average. However, in 178 at-bats with St. Louis, Holliday has hit 12 homers, 48 RBI’s, and a .371 batting average. That’s an increase of about 52% in production. If you think about, it makes perfect sense. When your a good player on a bad team you don’t really have any motivation to try your hardest, or stay in shape. When your out their everyday busting your gut playing baseball with no result it can get you down.
Think about all the players who have gone from a bad team to a playoff contending team, how many of those have seen an increase in production? Holliday is one, but there’s also A-rod who really exploded onto the scene when he first came to New York. Justin Verlander has seen a huge spike in production this year that the Tigers are a contending team. Jason Bay saw an increase in production after coming over to Boston from Pittsburgh.
There are guys who will produce no matter what. Guys like Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, Chase Utley, and Johan Santana. That reminds me, think about David Wright this year. The last few years the Mets have had a chance for a playoff spot (they let everyone down of course). Now, the Mets are sitting at the bottom of that division, hanging on to a strand of dignity, being in New York, by woeful Washington. Wright hasn’t been nearly as productive this year than in years past. This could do, however, to the lacking presence of guys like Santana, Jose Reyes, and Carlos Delgado. Lance Berkman is another guy who comes to mind.
My point is that, if your a superstar in the MLB, you shouldn’t go to a crappy team.
