The 100 Greatest Angels: #27 David Eckstein

by Rev Halofan on Jan 31, 2006 2:00 AM PST in Top 100 Angels (2005)

#27 - David Eckstein, SS

We got him when he was put on waivers by the Red Sox in the Summer of 2000. He played his way onto the team and as a leadoff hitter became known as The Sparkplug.

At 5'6" he was regularly underestimated and was an excellent pitch-hacker, making sure foulball after foulball wore out the arms of the opponents on his watch. In 2001 and 2002, he led the American League in both HBP and Sacrifice Hits, no the most stellar categories, but emblematic of a baseball acumen that favors team results over personal glory. Eckstein spent every second in the batter's box beating the opponent.

In the 2002 season he put together a great year as leadoff hitter with a .363 OBP and 236 Total Bases in 152 games. He symbolized the underdog Anaheim squad in the postseason and was a fan favorite.

Eck's offense was never a question, but his defense - especially a league-low double plays turned based on # of chances - made him expendable with the rise of Chone Figgins.

That David has done well with the Cardinals - he was selected an All-Star in 2005 - is great, but the controversial decision to ditch him is defensible, not just because at the time, after an arbitration victory the season prior, he was on the verge of a big contract, but also because Eckstein's offensive contributions are replicated in the lineup as long as Figgy produces.

Angel Lifer Brent Carter, who selected Eckstein as #25 All-Time, concurs:

In his short career with the Angels "Eck" left a lasting impression. Like Kennedy he is an excellent bat handler, is expert at executing the hit and run, is a good baserunner, and was voted by Baseball America two years ago as the best sacrifice bunter in the AL. He does all the little things.

I love the fact that he led the league in being hit by pitches in 2002. This showed me that he would do anything to get on base and anything to help his team win. Indeed, he had a great OBP. How many superstars would jump out of the box to avoid the pain of being plunked, even if it would help their team in the situation?

If I'm a General Manager, David Eckstein is someone I definitely want on my team.

David's highest placement on the Top 40 Ballot was #13 All-Time, by Halosheaven Panther yeswecan.

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Eck

Eckstein is probably the most cerebral player I've seen; he has to be considering his position and size. I could understand the Angels moving him if they were going to install a stopgap at short, but the Cabrera deal was for too many years and too many dollars, especially for a guy who just didn't represent that much of an upgrade offensively.

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

by scareduck on Jan 31, 2006 7:09 AM PST reply actions

hard to argue

The more I think about the Cabrera deal the more I think it was a knee jerk reaction after missing out on Clement and feeling that they needed to make a splash in free agency. Maybe that is why this year they were careful not to sign someone just to sign them. I could understand the Cabrera deal more if they don't have anyone in the farm system there, but we're rediculously deep at SS. Would you take Izturis as a stop gap at his money over Cabrera at 8 million a year? Me too. Think of the SS carousel from last year:

Renteria for 10 million/year
Cabrera for 8 million/year
Eck for 3 million/year

Which one provides the most value? Probably not even debatable at this point. All this being said, Cabrera made some very big plays last year and I'm assuming helped out the pitching staff (sabr guys, here's your chance to prove me right/wrong) with his defense. Plus, he hit well down the stretch run. (..and nothing else matters)

The part that really doesn't make sense to me though is that the Angels gave up their leadoff hitter without having a real leadoff on their roster to step in. Maybe it's because Eckstein struggled quite a bit in '04 and was moved down in the lineup alot, and when he went into those slumps where everything was a shallow popup to the OF, those slumps took years off my life and maybe off Stoneman's too!? So, hind site is 20/20, and more importantly, I have no concrete point.

by thewebb on Jan 31, 2006 8:07 AM PST reply actions

Eckstein was injured

... in 2004, which was a big part of the problem. Actually, IIRC he was injured in 2003 as well.

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

by scareduck on Jan 31, 2006 5:41 PM PST up reply actions

The X-Factor

was a truly entertaining player to watch, not only because of his incredible hops over runners sliding into 2nd as he turned a double play, but because he seemed to symbolize everything a baseball player should be with his tireless hustle and team mentality. When did you ever see Eck NOT run full bore to first even on a definite out? Ever see him wear pads to protect himself (a la Barry Bonds) from being hit by a pitch even though he twice led the league in HBP? Never.

I also have many lighter-moment memories of Eckstein like when the LA Times refered to him the "team hearthrob" or when they played interviews with various Angel players a couple of years on the Jumbotron asking the question "If you could be any other guy on the team for a day who would you be?" With wide grins, everyone answered "Eck."

#22 is truly deserving of #27

by Higz on Jan 31, 2006 9:46 AM PST reply actions

or when...

...Eck was asked what he planned to do in the offseason after the World Series and he replied that he was going to move back into his parents' house because his mom had been bugging him to take out the garbage.

by Higz on Jan 31, 2006 9:54 AM PST up reply actions

Favorite Eck moment...

Some film crew followed Eck around during spring training one year, and they followed him into the local library in Tempe. One guy on a computer next to him asked him, "Are you a baseball player or something?" Eck replied, "Yes." Later, Eck reveals that the guy who asked the question was a sports reporter for a local paper.

"Driven in to right-center field... Erstad says he has it..."

by mheumann on Jan 31, 2006 11:14 AM PST reply actions

Does anybody know...

Where his stats rank against other Angel shortstops? I'm a huge Eckstein fan, but it just doesn't seem like he belongs so high on this list.

Nolan Ryan for president!

by Dodger Hater on Jan 31, 2006 7:45 PM PST reply actions

Great Question

Consider they made the playoffs twice when Eck was with them, one of which was a World Series Championship.

Even though it was only four seasons, are the quality accomplishments in that short period of time the equal of the counting year-in, year-out service of, say, Gary DiSarcina? Dee-Sar played a thousand games for the Angels at short but did so as mediocre as possible and never reached the postseason.

by Rev Halofan on Jan 31, 2006 8:51 PM PST up reply actions

I don't have my numbaz in front of me

But I'm pretty sure of the 10 best all-time seasons by an Angel shortstop, you basically have:

8 by Jim Fregosi
1 by Rick Burleson ('81, adjusted to 162 games)
Eckstein's 2002
Nothing anywhere close by Schofield or DiSar

The only three seasons worth a crap in 16 years of the Dick&Gary show were '86, '95 & '98; then again, Eckstein pretty much had only one really good year himself.

As for the O-Cab wars, I think the team needed to upgrade its defense at shortstop, and successfully did so. I'll call it a bad move the moment a better player is blocked.

by mattwelch on Jan 31, 2006 9:05 PM PST up reply actions

Total Win Shares

| name | tot_ws | +-----------------+--------+ | Jim Fregosi | 222.8 | | Dick Schofield | 90.8 | | Gary DiSarcina | 65.1 | | David Eckstein | 39.8 | | Dave Chalk | 26.2 | | Rick Burleson | 21.0 | | Joe Koppe | 16.5 | | Rance Mulliniks | 11.4 | | Leo Cardenas | 10.6 | | Tim Foli | 9.9 |

Eck ranks surprisingly high.

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

by scareduck on Feb 1, 2006 9:59 AM PST up reply actions

Rev...

DiScar's win shares are looking pretty good there. I am doing all i can to keep the "DiScar Youth" off your ass, much less "The Tricky Dick".

c
now listening: the verve/come on

Halo Country

by cupie on Feb 2, 2006 12:45 AM PST up reply actions

DiSar: 1,086 Games

you have almost that many win shares for buying Wayne beer at Angel stadium as DiSarcina piecemealed together. 30% of the # of Gary Di-Di games played renders 80% of the Gary Di-Di Win Shares for Eckstein.

by Rev Halofan on Feb 2, 2006 1:07 AM PST up reply actions