Email a copy of 'Matt Hague Signs With Hanshin Tigers' to a friend
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By Steve Adams | at
Email a copy of 'Matt Hague Signs With Hanshin Tigers' to a friend
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Monkey’s Uncle
I recall numerous Pirate fans who were so upset that the Pirates wouldn’t give Hague more of a chance to become their first baseman. Well, the AAA numbers are nice, but he just doesn’t hit for enough power or play defense well enough to justify getting too much of a chance (as I recall, his 1B defense is merely OK, his 3B defense not too good). If he had ever been that much of a prospect, I have to think that the Bucs would have given him a shot over the Ike Davis’s and Gaby Sanchez’s of the world. He’s a “AAAA” talent, and that’s not a bad thing, especially if you can make some dough playing overseas. Good luck to him, and I hope that maybe he eventually proves me wrong.
Ted
There were Jays fans doing the same, talking about him replacing Bautista or EE in the lineup with little dropoff in production. It’s tempting for casual fans to say “hey, he hit .338/.416/.468 in AAA, so even if he hits just .308/.386/.438 in the bigs that’s still great!”
In reality there is always a 30 year old guy crushing AAA, and there’s a reason teams don’t bring them up. They’re just really, really good at hitting AAA pitching and often have some deep flaws in their swing. There are plenty of scouts and plenty of good coaches working the AAA levels. If they thought a guy like this could hit they would give him a chance. They’re not just overlooking him.
jaysfan77
There were not any Jays fans saying that Matt Hague was going to take over for Bautista or EE, what site did you get this “information” from, I’m curious?
Ted
It wasn’t “information” from a news story or anything. Just what a couple fans were talking about on random message boards I frequent and Twitter. I didn’t mean to imply it was a common thought, just that I had tired of hearing his name by seasons end.
johnsilver
Maybe they continued to use him in honor of his clothes lining Nyjer Morgan of the Nationals back in 2010. One of the greatest takedowns in baseball history by someone who stopped a fight by a guy who nailed the instigator.
impactrookies
Well now I have to move to Japan, lovely.