Sam Fuld's Amazing Defense

Sam Fuld's amazing defense

His bat might not be anything special, but his glove is



Christian Karayannides
Baseball Info Solutions
ESPN Insider



Samuel Babson (yes, Babson) Fuld has done an admirable job serving as the replacement for the departed Carl Crawford in left field for the Tampa Bay Rays this year. A throw-in as part of the Matt Garza trade, Fuld has wowed fans with his spectacular diving plays and unrelenting hustle. The Legend of Sam Fuld has generated a rabid fan following, but after hitting .396 through his first 14 games, he has gone back to hitting like, well, Sam Fuld.


His average is now down to .252, and his OPS of .683 is right around his career mark. However, that does not mean we should write him off as an every-day player. Because as bad as a hitter as Fuld might be, he's that good a fielder.
<OFFER>According to Baseball Info Solutions' estimates, he has already saved nine runs with his defense in left, including one with his arm. To put that number in perspective, Fuld is first among left fielders and tied for first among all outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved. The statistic evaluates eight components of defense, including range, outfield throwing arm and home run robberies, to measure the impact of each player's defensive performance. In 348 career innings in left field (roughly a quarter of a full season), Fuld has 12 Runs Saved.


By comparison, Crawford, a three-time Fielding Bible Award winner, averaged 17 Runs Saved over his final three seasons in Tampa. Fuld is on pace to surpass that mark and then some.


Before Rays fans get too excited, remember it is still May, and defensive numbers can fluctuate as much as offensive numbers. Fuld has had a great start in left field, but will he keep it up?


From a classic scouting perspective, Fuld has shown the ability to continue his outstanding fielding production. The 29-year-old covers a great deal of ground with top-tier speed that compensates for his short legs. He is listed at 5-foot-10, but has excellent leaping ability and good body control while airborne. While he comfortably tops the Web Gem scoreboard, Baseball Info Solutions data shows that Fuld also leads all outfielders with 17 Good Fielding Plays, which are Web Gem-level plays in which he recorded an out or prevented a baserunner advancement. The next-best outfielder has just 11 so far.
Of course, on offense, he leaves a lot to be desired. Fuld's bat does not pack a punch, but he plays a position that is traditionally associated with power hitters. Among left fielders, Fuld currently ranks 12th in slugging percentage (.374), right in the same vicinity of the career numbers of middle infielders such as Jack Wilson and Miguel Cairo.


In order for Fuld to hold his left-field job, he will need to at least match the offensive production of the worst offensive left fielders in baseball over the past few years, such as Juan Pierre, Randy Winn, and Scott Podsednik. These players compensated for their low slugging percentage by stealing bases and posting passable on-base numbers. Fuld's speed (11 stolen bases) and keen batting eye (17:12 K/BB) suggest he has the tools to also meet these criteria. If Pierre (.647 OPS the last two years) can play every day while possessing one of the worst arms in baseball, then Fuld should be able to hold down a job as well.


Considering Fuld's defensive potential, his career batting line suggests he's capable of holding down a left field job at the major league level. Tampa Bay has shown patience and confidence in Fuld, keeping him at the leadoff spot and giving him consistent at-bats while he works through his hitting slump. However, stud prospect Desmond Jennings likely has more offensive potential than the Fuld and will probably displace him at some point this season.
If so, then the Rays will have one heck of a defensive replacement. Because as easy as it is to dismiss Fuld for his lack of pop, his elite defense makes him a useful major league player.


Fuld has shown us that he has the ability to be a tremendous defensive player. His future in the league, however, is dependent on his ability to make adjustments to major league pitching. We all know how the Legend of Sam Fuld began, but it is up to him to decide how the story ends.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_18543212

Legend of Sam Fuld catches on with Tampa Bay Rays

By Daniel Brown dbrown@mercurynews.com
Posted:*07/24/2011 10:00:24 PM PDT
Updated:*07/25/2011 06:40:59 AM PDT

There's a quip about how Sam Fuld caught a cold but set it free. And another about how Sam Fuld can slam a revolving door. And another about how the Red Sox check under their bed at night for Sam Fuld.
The best line?
"I like: 'The highest possible Scrabble score is for Sam Fuld,' " Sam Fuld said.
Fuld -- the man, the myth, the outfielder -- is back in the Bay Area on Monday when the Tampa Bay Rays open a four-game series against the A's.
The former Stanford star returns as an unlikely folk hero, a previously forgettable outfielder whose defense and early season hitting binge transformed him into a sensation at age 29. Those one-liners above are from the #LegendofSamFuld, a Twitter hash tag dedicated to baseball's most beloved .244 hitter.
He has also inspired Super Sam Fuld Superhero Cape Day at the ballpark, a Sam Fuld look-a-like contest at a Florida bar (won by an 8-year-old girl) and a lengthy profile in New Yorker magazine.
It's a shocking story, except to those who have seen it before.
"He was the same way at Stanford," Cardinal coach Mark Marquess said. "Those catches you see him make now? That's Sam. He was one of the best center fielders we've ever had."
Fuld played for the Cardinal from 2001-04. He remains the school's all-time leader in at-bats and runs.
Fuld also ranks among the Cardinal's all-time leaders in grass-stained uniforms and slammed-into walls. In pursuit of a flyball, then as now, Fuld is a crash-test dummy in cleats.
"I pretty much go brain-dead," said the man with the Stanford degree in economics. "If I did ever think about it, I might see the risk. But I'm pretty narrow-minded: There's the ball, go get it."
Fuld's glove helped launch his legend in April, when he made the most of an unexpected chance. Manny Ramirez retired rather than accept a 100-game suspension for a second violation of Major League Baseball's drug policy, so the Rays shifted Johnny Damon to designated hitter and gave Fuld a shot in the outfield.
Fuld immediately began popping up on the highlight shows, most memorably after an April 9 doozy in Chicago, when he snagged Juan Pierre's sinking line drive to right field with two out and the bases loaded. The New Yorker later described the play this way: "Fuld sailed two or three body lengths before making a backhanded catch, while airborne, that is surely the equal of any athletic feat in recent memory."
Two days later, the New Hampshire native made his Fenway Park debut by smacking four hits -- a homer, a triple and two doubles -- in a game televised by ESPN.
Soon, the #LegendofSamFuld was all a-Twitter.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pounder hung with the big boys for most of April, ranking among the league's batting leaders. But Fuld hit only .157 with a .176 on-base percentage in May.
He has pulled himself out of the free fall, hitting .288 (23 for 80) since the start of June, and is tied for 12th in the American League with 18 stolen bases.
And Fuld's glove never slumped. His place in Tampa lore is secure.
Take the time Rays utility man Ben Zobrist hit two homers and drove in 10 runs over the course of a doubleheader.
"This must be what it's like to feel like Sam Fuld," Zobrist told reporters.
Or the time a Rays game was washed out by rain.
"This is me washing my planet," Fuld explained.
Or the Manny Ramirez Bobblehead Day that was reborn as Fuld Superhero Cape Day. (Damon wore one as he shagged balls during warm-ups.)
Fuld's unusual back story helps fuel the legend. His father, Kenneth, is dean of the University of New Hampshire's College of Liberal Arts. His mother, Amanda Merrill, is a New Hampshire state senator.
Sam was a Little Leaguer when he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which requires constant regulation. (He checks his blood sugar between innings.) These days, Fuld makes time to talk to kids about juggling baseball and diabetes -- because that's what former major league pitcher Bill Gullickson did for him when Sam was a tyke.
"It was maybe a five-minute conversation, but it did mean a lot to me," Fuld said of talking to Gullickson. "It was seeing with my own eyes a guy who could make it."
The Chicago Cubs drafted Fuld in the 10th round in 2004, but his big-league career sputtered from the start in 2007. It took him 102 at-bats to collect his first RBI. Last January, Chicago traded him to the Rays as part of a deal for pitcher Matt Garza.
With Tampa Bay, Fuld found a home -- and the ideal manager in Joe Maddon.
"This team puts a lot of emphasis on defense, and that's one of my strong suits," Fuld said. "And Maddon is a joy to play for. He's easy. He wants you to enjoy yourself, as long as you play hard. He understands physical mistakes. He gets how hard baseball is. He's just a really relatable guy."
Maddon, like the rest of the Rays, gets a kick out of Fuld's unexpected fame. But he said fans love Fuld not because he's Superman -- but because he plays like Clark Kent.
"There are a lot of average Americans who can identify with this fellow," Maddon told USA Today. "He's hard not to like. He's Everyman."
Contact Daniel Brown at dbrown@mercurynews.com.

Might want to take a look at the play he made Friday night vs. the Royals. Mis-played a fly ball in the first inning that cost the Rays two runs. With Desmond Jennings called up he may be seeing less playing time unless the Rays trade Upton.

The catch he made in the right field corner against Juan Pierre in the bottom of the 5th with 2 outs and the bases loaded, was just about the best catch I've ever seen. Of course I had over first 5 innings. If it falls in, I win.