Buster Posey making another case for NL MVP
by Randy Holt
At this point in the season, it’s going to be very difficult for anyone to
overtake Bryce Harper in the race for the National League Most Valuable Player
award. He’s not only having a breakout season for the Washington Nationals,
but a historic one as well. If there’s anyone that can do it, though, it’s
perennial MVP candidate Buster Posey.
今年的Bryce Harper,不只是为国民打出一个破茧而出的球季,他甚至打出一个历史级的球
季.如果说有谁能够取代Bryce Harper成为今年国联MVP的领先者,那就是一直以来的MVP候
选人-Buster Posey.
The San Francisco Giants slipped up recently in their pursuit of a wild card
spot, and possibly the division, out of the NL West, having dropped four in a
row to the Chicago Cubs, but they still find themselves in a solid position as
we prepare to head into the home stretch. Right in the middle of it all is
Buster Posey, who has three times finished in the top 11 in MVP voting (and
another year in which he finished 20th) including winning the award back in
2012.
旧金山巨人最近面对芝加哥小熊苦吞四连败,使他们的战绩有点下滑.不过考量到接下来的
主场赛程(也就是上一个对太空人的系列赛以及现在对上国民的系列赛),他们仍然是竞争国
联西区龙头与外卡的有利人选.(截至8/15,巨人在分区仅落后洛杉矶道奇2.5场).在这之中
多亏了Buster Posey,这位曾经三次在MVP票选中名列前11(另有一年第20),其中在2012抱回
年度MVP的殊荣的强打捕手.
For a Giants team that has come as close to an MLB dynasty as anything in
recent memory, Posey continues to shoulder the bulk of the load. While the
offensive burden has been lightened with the breakout years from guys like
Brandon Crawford or Matt Duffy, any road to success for the Giants runs through
Posey and what he can accomplish.
近年来,Buster Posey一直在建立偶数年王朝的旧金山巨人队肩负著攻守两端的重任.虽然
今年多亏了破茧而出的Brandon Crawford, Matt Duffy和其他人,进攻端的负担已经稍微减
轻,但是一直以来,巨人队的成功与Buster Posey都是密不可分的.
And he’s continued to do exactly what we’ve come to expect from him.
然后他今年也一如预期的缴出预期中MVP级表现.
Posey currently ranks third in the National League in WAR, trailing only Harper
and Paul Goldschmidt, the latter of which he ranks behind by only 0.1. He’s
slashed .332/.391/.505/.896 for the season, lacking the outlandish BABIP that a
guy like Goldschmidt (.395) features, at .328. He’s gone for a wRC+ of 154, a
figure which is tied for the fifth highest in baseball. His ISO, at .174, falls
right in line with his career average, which comes in at .178.
Posey的WAR在国联排名第三,只落后给Harper和Paul Goldschmidt(两人的差距仅有0.1).
Posey的打击三围长这样: .332/.391/.505/.896,而他并没有像Paul Goldschmidt一样夸张
的BAbip(.395 vs .328).他的wRC+是154,并列全联盟第五.他的ISO是跟生涯平均.178相距
不远的.174.
Although he hasn’t quite demonstrated the ability to draw the walk that his
counterparts at the top of the NL leaderboard have, at a 9.4% clip that ranks
sixth among the top ten players in wRC+, he doesn’t strike out like his
counterparts either. He has a K% of just 8.2% for the season, which is the
third lowest mark currently in the National League.
虽然他不像对手Goldschmidt, Harper那么会领保送,但Posey 9.4%的保送率在wRC+前十的
选手中排名第六.此外,他也不像对手一样拥有高三振率.Posey的三振率只有8.2%,排名国联
第三低.
As the temperature has heated up in these summer months, so has Buster Posey.
Since the beginning of July, he’s hitting .409 and reaching base at a .436
clip. His wRC+ averaged between the two months is at 182. Even better for the
Giants, Posey is hitting .342 in high leverage situations and a very solid .281
in counts that feature two strikes against him. If clutch was a thing that
existed, we could certainly classify him as such. Nonetheless, he does sport
some pretty favorable splits on the year.
随着夏季气温升高,Buster Posey也越来越火烫.从七月起算,他的打击率和上垒率跃升到
.409和.436.两个月的平均wRC+是182.更好的是,Posey在高张力的情况有着.342的高打击率
;而在球数绝对落后时有着还不错, .281的打击率.尽管他有一些有利的splits,但如果说
"关键"是一种东西,Posey就是.
Any way you shake it, Buster Posey is always a threat at the plate. He has a
35.0% hard hit rate, and hits to all fields, going opposite field 26.8% of the
time. He’s maintained a very good 88.4% overall contact rate for the year,
including a 92.6% figure on pitches inside of the zone, with a swinging strike
rate of just 5.5%.
不管你横看、侧看,Buster Posey都是进攻的威胁.他有35.0%的强打率,而且击出的球平均
散布在球场(他有26.8%球会到反方向).他有非常好的88.4%打到球率,其中好球区内提高到
92.6%,同时挥空率只有5.5%.
Overall, you’re talking about a player that ranks third in batting average,
sixth in on-base percentage, seventh in wOBA, and sixth in wRC+. And that’s
not even mentioning his defense. His 9.0 Def rating on FanGraphs has him ninth
overall in the National League and tops among catchers. Baseball Prospectus has
him second, behind Yasmani Grandal, in extra strikes and framing runs added by
call. If there’s an underrated element of Buster Posey’s game, his ability to
handle himself defensively behind the plate is it.
整体来讲,他是一个在打击率排行第三,上垒率排第六,wOBA排第七,还有wRC+排第六的打者.
我们甚至还没讲到他的防守.Posey 9.0的防守评价排在国联第九,范围缩小到捕手的话会是
第一.Baseball Prospectus将Posey偷好球的能力排在第二,只落后给Yasmani Grandal.(最
会framing的不是A.J. Pierzynski吗XD).Posey的防守能力被低估了.
Not that any of this should come as any sort of surprise. Posey has been as
steady an offensive presence as they come in the National League throughout his
career, while bringing that steadiness behind the plate from a defensive
perspective as well. Again, it’ll be very difficult for him to overcome the
likes of Bryce Harper, or perhaps even Paul Goldschmidt even with his club
landing far short of a playoff berth. But we’ll see Buster Posey in the mix,
for sure, as he continues to add to what could already be potentially
considered a Hall of Fame resume.
其实上面所说的,都不会让人感到太惊讶,因为Posey一直都是那个能提供的进攻火力同时也
能稳稳守住本垒板后方的MVP级捕手.也许很难超越Bryce Harper,甚至超越不了进不了季后
赛的响尾蛇一垒手Goldschmidt,但我们还是会看到Posey出现在今年的MVP候选人讨论中,与
此同时,我们也会在往后的球季中,继续看到这位全能捕手迈向可能的名人堂之路.