Am I the only one who thinks that?

[RICHARDMILTER]

With all due respect, Chase Utley is NOT a good defensive second baseman. He is too tall, his range is extremely suspect, and he makes lots of errors. I like Utley as a player, but these are the facts! He will never be considered a good glove by any serious baseball mind. And that is why Hal and the scouts that give MLB players their ratings rate him as a 3.And by the way SOM uses real MLB scouts to come up with their range ratings, this is a fact not up for debate. Anyone who doubts this just needs to read, "Strat-O-Matic Fanatics" by Glen Guzzo.

[thisisray]

he is athletic and his height has nothing to do with how he plays defensively.

[RICHARDMILTER]

this is ray said:[quote:7fc9b4b50f]he is athletic and his height has nothing to do with how he plays defensively[/quote:7fc9b4b50f]




His height has a great deal to do with fielding ground balls. The taller the player, the farther he has to go down for a ground ball. Dustin Pedroia's height gives him a great advantage fielding ground balls. His center of gravity is lower, and he is closer to the ball. Scouts and coaches make these kind of assessments all the time.
This does not mean he is not a great hitter, and an athlete. And his height does help him on line drives.

[thisisray]

derek jeter - 6'3
hanley ramirez - 6'3
a-rod- 6'3
jj hardy- 6'2
tulowitzki- 6'3
brandon phillips- 6'0
orlando hudson- 6'0
bret boone-6'1
robby alomar- 6'0

looks like there is plenty of middle infielders who are good fielders that are still somewhat tall. i don't think utley's height has that large of an impact on his play. yea i know that his center of gravity is higher but this didn't seem to affect these players. im not saying he is a great fielder and in no way should be put on a list with these players, im just saying i dont think height is that large of a factor if any.

[keyzick]

...and don't forget Cal Ripken: 6'4"

[doug_tucker10]

for what its worth..dont know if it was already cited but i think Pedroia was 4th in total bases in the AL so he's no slug offensively.

[the splinter]

Boone at 6'1...I don't think so...maybe when he was on the juice his head swelled 2-3 sizes giving him an extra 2-3 inches in height but as soon as the juice was gone and his head shrunk he would be lucky to hit 5'11

[thisisray]

my mistake i read it incorrectly. it says 5'10 on espn.