Make no mistake, when John Mozeliak reached out this off-season and signed Jhonny Peralta to a multi-year contract to play shortstop (for now) for the Cardinals, it was about improving the offense at the position. While Peralta has been very good on defense this season (2nd in defensive runs saved with 14, according to Baseball Info Solutions – Zack Cozart is 1st with 15), it was always the bat.
Many have criticized the move because of Peralta’s perceived lack of performance at the plate – after all, that .239 batting average isn’t even Brendan Ryan-esque, right?
But man, is he slugging. To wit:
| Rk | Player | HR | From | To | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jhonny Peralta | 13 | 2014 | 2014 | 87 | 344 | 306 | 32 | 73 | 23 | 0 | 39 | 32 | 1 | 64 | .239 | .317 | .441 | .758 |
| 2 | David Eckstein | 13 | 2005 | 2007 | 398 | 1749 | 1564 | 216 | 465 | 67 | 8 | 115 | 113 | 0 | 107 | .297 | .357 | .375 | .732 |
| 3 | Rafael Furcal | 12 | 2011 | 2012 | 171 | 748 | 673 | 98 | 176 | 29 | 3 | 65 | 61 | 1 | 75 | .262 | .323 | .367 | .690 |
| 4 | Brendan Ryan | 9 | 2007 | 2010 | 415 | 1332 | 1206 | 165 | 312 | 56 | 10 | 95 | 88 | 8 | 166 | .259 | .314 | .344 | .658 |
| 5 | Pete Kozma | 3 | 2011 | 2014 | 189 | 555 | 502 | 57 | 117 | 26 | 3 | 50 | 45 | 9 | 114 | .233 | .293 | .315 | .608 |
| 6 | Ryan Theriot | 1 | 2011 | 2011 | 132 | 483 | 442 | 46 | 120 | 26 | 1 | 47 | 29 | 0 | 41 | .271 | .321 | .342 | .662 |
| 7 | Cesar Izturis | 1 | 2008 | 2008 | 135 | 454 | 414 | 50 | 109 | 10 | 3 | 24 | 29 | 1 | 26 | .263 | .319 | .309 | .628 |
What you’re reading there is that Peralta, in half of a season, has the most home runs IN TOTAL of any Cardinal shortstop since Edgar Renteria left after the 2004 season.
Peralta’s Cardinal “career” ranks as the highest slugging percentage of any Cardinal shortstop’s career. I’ll give you small sample size on that one, given that his “career” is only 344 plate appearances, but Peralta’s 2014 as a season would rank 11th best in Cardinal history as well. Heady company in either case.
I’ll certainly be beaten over the head with “yeah, but PEDs” and “he’s not good at defense” (yes, that actually happens) just as I have been on Twitter when pointing out *GASP* facts about Peralta’s performance and value relative to his contract. I’ve addressed the PED thing before. If you still believe he’s not been good this season defensively, I can’t help you.
Peralta’s season is good for 2.8 fWAR as I type this. Converting to dollars, he’s been “worth” $15.5 million SO FAR this season. How much is he making this year, again?
Home runs, starting (i.e. played the most games) shortstops, St. Louis Cardinals, per year:
2013: Pete Kozma, 1
2012: Rafael Furcal, 5
2011: Ryan Theriot, 1 (sure, Furcal hit 7 after the deal, but Theriot still played more there)
2010: Brendan Ryan, 2
2009: Brendan Ryan, 3
2008: Cesar Izturis, 1
Total: 13
2014: Jhonny Peralta, 13.
Amazing to actually get production out of the shortstop position!