Baltimore Orioles Jack of All Trades Ryan Flaherty
The Baltimore Orioles are going into a fifth season of having a jack of all trades in utilityman Ryan Flaherty.
In the very earliest of returns in spring training 2016, Flaherty has put forward the best result of all Birds players, including a home run in the first Grapefruit League game — a 4-4 tie in 10 innings versus the Braves.
But is Flaredog (as he is often called either affectionately or derisively by fans) more of an asset or liability?
Arguing for the asset side is that he can play every position on the field, maybe even catcher — not that it will likely ever happen. And center field is not terribly likely, but the other six positions and DH are all possibilities. Over his career he has played 146 games at second base, 50 at third base, 46 at shortstop, 15 at both first base and in right field, and seven in left field. Flaherty’s defensive metrics are especially good at second and third bases, but not so much at shortstop — even while admitting he is a serviceable backup.
On the liability side are his offensive numbers, with a career average of only .215 — ranging from a low of .202 last season to a high of .224 in 2013. With 355 games played, what is there to encourage an O’s fan that this is likely to change? He has multiple times gone into severe, extended hitless slumps. The occasional home run is an asset for the soon-to-be 30-year-old.
Ryan Flaherty’s biggest asset? It is that Buck Showalter really likes him, saying just yesterday …
"“He’s a guy you can trust. He knows how to play and you know what you’re going to get from him. Those guys are hard to find. One of those things that analytics doesn’t show up is the trust factor, where their fingers don’t shake when it’s on the trigger, and Ryan’s one of those guys.”"
Exactly. You know what you’re going to get, which is a .215 career hitter; and it would be great if his competitive fingers shook a bit more on the trigger and some emotion was shown when striking out yet again (at a 24% rate).
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The rest of the figure of speech “jack of all trades” continues with “but master of none.” It is interesting that almost every language has a similar idiom to describe a person who dabbles in a lot of things without ever excelling in anything. They range from the concise Portuguese saying, “He who is good at everything, is good at nothing” to the hilarious Hungarian phrase, “You can’t ride two horses at the same time, since you only have one ass.”
All of the other writers here on The Baltimore Wire over the three years of this blog tease me at times about the harsh tone that has been taken on Flaherty. It is just difficult to watch a spot in the lineup that is such a production vacuum.
However, having said that, how can the Orioles not keep him year after year? Who else is going to provide this sort of backup at six different positions, along with being a left-handed bat (such as it is with a 6-for-27 career pinch-hitting number) off the bench? Many teams have to have two guys on the bench to be prepared for what Flaherty brings in one player. And at the end of the day, that is his great value.
Next: Can the O's rotation be good enough to win?
But if Flaredog wants to put it all together in a Steve Pearce of 2014 sort of way, I would be delighted to come on here week after week and repent for all that was previously said. I’m more of an Orioles fan that a critic, wanting to see him and all the Birds players excel, which is an illusive goal.