Robbie Grossman tells Gladden he only needs 10 Spring Training at bats

[VirginSturgeon]

This could be the most over hyped thread I have ever read on this site.  I was expecting something major, not a comment how he can be ready in 10 AB's.  Meaningful baseball can't get here soon enough.

 

FWIW it only takes me 10 swings to get ready for slow pitch softball! 

[ThejacKmp]

 

I don't like the comment.  Do you WANT TO play baseball or what?

 

I don't care if it is misplaced confidence, him being straight up, whatever.  This is not the kind of lackadaisical kind of stuff I need to hear from a player whose sole mission is to walk.  Yay Robbie!  He is a horrendous fielder (almost a danger to others out there), he can't run, he isn't all that great a hitter.....  HIs career WAR is 2.3 after over 1,600 plate appearances.  

 

The next thing I want to hear about him is simply....

"Grossman cut."

 

No elaboration required.

 

And I agree with you.  I think a mantra a lot of Twins players need to stop repeating is, "not trying to do too much".  What is wrong with doing something extra?  The way some of the players on this team toss that phrase around is starting to get irritating.  As if it is a horrible thing expending a little extra energy.  Heaven forbid you might be seen "trying to do too much!!"

What could be more horrible than that??

 Wow, look at the hot take.

 

All the guy said is that with ten at-bats he feels ready for Opening Day. Not that he refuses to take more than ten at-bats or that he thinks he's too good for spring training - just that after ten at-bats he feels back in the swing of things.

 

And he said this on a radio show. I don't think he was unburdening his soul.

 

There's a lot of Robbie Grossman hate on TD of late. I don't get it. He's a very solid 4th OF who fills a lot of holes for the Twins. in this day and age of a three or four man bench, his ability to play an okay OF and be a switch hitter off the bench has more value than Granite, another left handed hitter who only makes sense if you love pinch running or have an OF who needs to be replaced in games (the Twins don't).

[Oldgoat_MN]

I knew guys who had a few at bats and seemed ready for the season. I don't believe I ever hit >.200 pre-season. And almost never <.333 once the season started. I hated those fast starters. They annoyed me.

Robbie will be fine, is my guess.

[twinsnorth49]

I just realized - with Walks being a big part of Grossman's offensive game - maybe he means he wants 75 PA and plans on only 10 of them being AB.

No way he gets that many AB's in so few PA's.

 

Pfft.

[ewen21]

 

 Wow, look at the hot take.

 

All the guy said is that with ten at-bats he feels ready for Opening Day. Not that he refuses to take more than ten at-bats or that he thinks he's too good for spring training - just that after ten at-bats he feels back in the swing of things.

 

And he said this on a radio show. I don't think he was unburdening his soul.

 

There's a lot of Robbie Grossman hate on TD of late. I don't get it. He's a very solid 4th OF who fills a lot of holes for the Twins. in this day and age of a three or four man bench, his ability to play an okay OF and be a switch hitter off the bench has more value than Granite, another left handed hitter who only makes sense if you love pinch running or have an OF who needs to be replaced in games (the Twins don't).

 

Not really.  I just think people blow up his value because people overstate the virtuosity of walks.  A lot of the time he stands there like a statue and lets hittable pitches go by with runners on base.  YAY he walks!  He literally does nothing else well.  He has a 2.3 WAR in over 1,600 at bats and yet people get upset when someone says we should part ways with the guy.  Maybe go in a different direction.  I don't get that

 

The guy is barely replacement level.  I am stunned that he has a defense team asserting his value.  He was a waiver wire pickup, waived TWICE by the way.  We can get another Robbie Grossman oft the waiver wire in the snap of a finger

[ThejacKmp]

 

Not really.  I just think people blow up his value because people overstate the virtuosity of walks.  A lot of the time he stands there like a statue and lets hittable pitches go by with runners on base.  YAY he walks!  He literally does nothing else well.  He has a 2.3 WAR in over 1,600 at bats and yet people get upset when someone says we should part ways with the guy.  Maybe go in a different direction.  I don't get that

 

The guy is barely replacement level.  I am stunned that he has a defense team asserting his value.  He was a waiver wire pickup, waived TWICE by the way.  We can get another Robbie Grossman oft the waiver wire in the snap of a finger

 

Robbie Grossman had a 101 OPS+ in 2017 and a 124 OPS+ in 2016. A 101 is replacement level, a 124 is a great 4th OF. So which one is right?

 

Robbie had similar slugging and OBP numbers, the difference was a 40 point drop in BA. Last year his BABIP was .287 and the year before it was .364 HIs three years in Houston it was .348. I think it's way more likely that he's a .350-.360 BABIP guy than a .287 guy since that's a one year blip. If it is, he's more the 120 OPS+ and is a great guy.

 

A guy going through waivers means nothing. Jose Bautista went through waivers several times. Thames went all the way to Japan because no one wanted him.

 

Robbie Grossman does OBP very well and he does a lot of other things pretty well. Some pop, okay fielder, okay baserunner. That's what you want in a bench guy. Not every player can be a starter, some guys are valuable in other ways.

[ewen21]

OK fielder?  No, i don;t think so.  Grossman is a bad outfielder.  The only indicators that make him look good are ones that include walks.  He stares at strikes and hopes to heck he can get on base.  That strategy works a little bit.  So what?

 

I am not a fan of his game.  I can see with my own two eyes that he isn't a very good player.  He doesn't have speed, he doesn't have power, he doesn't really hit for average, he is a below average fielder.  He led the league in errors made by a left fielder during his wonderful 124 OPS+ season in 2016.  YOu want to tell me errors don't matter?  His range is horrible.  He has had a couple of collisions and some near misses out there.  Keep him OFF the outfield grass.  Please!

 

Look, I am not trying to start and argument, but these numbers (and comments) that get thrown out in an attempt to make Grossman seem like a keeper get kind of silly after a while.  I would much rather have a guy with some speed and defense in his game in the OF.  

[KirbyDome89]

 

There is no way these guys are working out against MLB level pitching. 

A lot of the pitching in ST isn't MLB level either. 

[Celebrity Weddings!]

I heard the same exchange and this interpretation is ... incredibly hostile. Grossman was asked how many at bats he thinks he needs to feel prepared and back into an in-season rhythm. In his answer he:

 

a)acknowledged that his view was pretty eccentric among players

b)didn't, to my hearing, say anything about not wanting more at bats or being unwilling to work through more at bats

c)indicate in any way that this answer could be applied to the numerous other things that players work in in spring training, like general conditioning, game-situation preparation, or defense

 

It was entirely clear that he was offering his view on how long it took his eyes and hands to feel ready to go at the plate. And he answered honestly. Rolling this into some insight on his work ethic requires stripping the conversation from its original context *and* adopting the saltiest possible interpretation.

[ewen21]

 

I heard the same exchange and this interpretation is ... incredibly hostile. Grossman was asked how many at bats he thinks he needs to feel prepared and back into an in-season rhythm. In his answer he:

 

a)acknowledged that his view was pretty eccentric among players

b)didn't, to my hearing, say anything about not wanting more at bats or being unwilling to work through more at bats

c)indicate in any way that this answer could be applied to the numerous other things that players work in in spring training, like general conditioning, game-situation preparation, or defense

 

It was entirely clear that he was offering his view on how long it took his eyes and hands to feel ready to go at the plate. And he answered honestly. Rolling this into some insight on his work ethic requires stripping the conversation from its original context *and* adopting the saltiest possible interpretation.

He's a .251 lifetime hitter.

 

Maybe he needs more time and he just never figured it out

[Celebrity Weddings!]

 

He's a .251 lifetime hitter.

 

Maybe he needs more time and he just never figured it out

 

Right. So you must be thinking about the part of the conversation where Robbie Grossman said, "Blessedly, I've been such a valuable player throughout my career - never in the position of scrapping for a roster spot - that managers have uncritically agreed with my view of spring readiness and just stopped putting me in the lineup after ten at bats." 

 

Because that's the only way I can imagine you're still comfortable making this uncharitable connection between an in-game interview and his work ethic. But the good news is that the conversation you seem to have heard never happened, and since 2012, Grossman has logged 18, 22, 50, 53, 39, 42, and now 14 (that's four more than ten, if you're scoring at home) at bats in Spring Training games. 

 

The silly thing about all this is that I don't carry any water for Grossman the player. He's an okay bench piece, but doesn't do enough good things well to ever have the liberty of going into spring without working his ass off to win a roster spot. But I think pretending we know the slightest thing about his work ethic from this interview is contemptible. Like, it's for villains. Just don't do it.

[Doomtints]

People with career .727 OPSes probably shouldn't say this.

But then someone with a career .880 OPS would never say it, so.......

[Brock Beauchamp]

I couldn't care less if Grossman said he didn't need Spring Training at all to get into a rhythm. Athletes say stupid crap all the time, it's part of their ego and desire to win.

 

This is a really pointless thing to get riled up about.

[ewen21]

 

The silly thing about all this is that I don't carry any water for Grossman the player. He's an okay bench piece, but doesn't do enough good things well to ever have the liberty of going into spring without working his ass off to win a roster spot. But I think pretending we know the slightest thing about his work ethic from this interview is contemptible. Like, it's for villains. Just don't do it.

 

​Our discussion is not about the underlined part.  It is about his value.  I agree with the original poster's assessment of the comments in a way.  I don't care to defend what I feel.  I am interested in the facts.  I think bench players needn't have job security.  To me, Grossman isn't a "good fit" and we can find another guy to be the 4th outfielder who makes more sense.  Like someone who can actually play outfield.

 

 

 

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Grossman is a great fit for this team.

 

The Twins use Grossman to platoon in RF versus lefties, and then is substituted with Kepler later on, if necessary. If Grossman can get his platoon splits looking more like they were in 2016, he'll be a key bench piece.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Also, sort of ironic that since Grossman made those comments, he has mysteriously been getting a lot of at bats. Word travels fast, eh?

[twinssporto]

Can you imagine if Sano would have said the same thing Grossman did?  That would be funny!