2020 AL MVP Candidate: Roger Bossard

Now that the stadium has netting from foul pole to foul pole, the minds behind White Sox operations likely realized where their largest law suit threat resided. The slow moving drunkards of Section 108 are easily the best candidates to get hit by a baseball. And while they want the Sox to continue hit HRs, they needed to cut down opposition homers to reduce their risk. It’s just smart business.

So they went out and got Dallas Keuchel and Gio Gonzalez to keep the ball in the park. Two stats that support this ability through their careers are their HR/FB rate and GB%.

While Keuchel’s HR/FB isn’t great, his GB% is unbelievable. Gio is pretty much the opposite. But take into account that they will be replacing what these guys did in 2019:

So what does this mean? A lot more balls in play and a lot more ground balls. That may not bode well for one Tim Anderson. We have definitely seen quite a few errors from him over the past 4 years. However, his overall UZR has fluctuated. Ultimate Zone Rating attempts to measure how many runs a fielder saves by not just incorporating errors, but also their range and how often they turn double plays. Surprisingly, Tim’s UZR has been positive twice in the last 4 years. Meaning despite his errors, he saved run(s) for the Sox those years.

In each of his positive seasons, the stand out for him was his range. And this is where Roger Bossard comes in. Slowing down the infield could artificially improve his range. With his strong arm, as well as Yoan‘s, a slow infield should improve their defense more than it would detract from it.

If Tom Brady can get deflated footballs, then Timmy should be able to get a slow-ass infield. So I am asking Roger Bossard to be the MVP and grow a thick, lush infield. Think ’70s adult film star.

Hold on to those Sodfather bobbleheads. That value is going up, up, up!

-Chorizy-E