If you happened to catch a Yankee game in the past 5 or so years, whether it was in the Bronx or on your couch,
you were probably mesmerized by the number 24 in pinstripes. Over the past couple of years, I have come across
many sayings and slogans, but nothing better than, “Robbie Cano, dontcha know!” Not only does he have one of the
best smiles in baseball, but he also possesses one of the sweetest swings I have ever seen. There’s no doubt he
is one of a kind. But is he the million dollar man? How about 240 of them?
The city of Seattle was given a present in the offseason, but it came at quite the cost. Cano inked a 10 year,
$240 million deal with the Mariners this past offseason, launching himself into 4th all time of baseball’s most
lucrative contracts, tied with Albert Pujols and trailing only Miguel Cabrera and Alex Rodriguez (Baseball Prospectus).
Cano, without bonuses, is slated to make $15M this year, and then jump to $24M next year. Cano alone accounts for
over 20% of Seattle’s 2014 opening day payroll, and when put with Felix Hernandez, those two together are worth over
48% of it (per ESPN.com). Keep in mind, Seattle decided to sign an experienced Cano at the ripe age of 31. That
means the Mariners will be throwing more than a quarter of their payroll to a 40 year old man come 2023. The biggest
question is not directed to Cano, but rather Seattle’s front office, and only they can answer the question: Will he
be worth every penny?
Cano tends to spray the ball around the field, so balls that stay in play will not be much of a change for him.
It’s mostly the pitches that he took out in Yankee Stadium that could be subject to change in his new ballpark.
Safeco offers a shorter distance in right center (381 ft, compared to Yankee Stadium’s 385), but it does stand 12
feet farther down the right field line than in the Bronx, measuring at 326 ft. This change in distance will not
cause a severe drop in his power numbers for the next decade, but can be the difference between a shot into the
seats or a fly out at the warning track.
Cano’s contract year surely backed up what he has to bring to the table for any ball club. However, Cano showed slight
weaknesses that could be exposed by some of the pitchers out west. He epitomizes the high ball hitter, putting up video
game numbers on the upper third of the plate last year, as he hit .392 when the ball stayed up in the zone. As the
season progressed, pitchers became more aware of this tendency and kept the ball on the lower third, where he only
hit .269. Another point of minor flaw in his approach is the fact that he could not handle being jammed, going 0-9
when thrown outside the strike zone on the inside part of the plate. Based on his hits per part of the strike zone,
only about 20% of his total hits came on the inside, which is a huge bright spot to look at, as the key to being a
great hitter is the ability to wait back and drive pitches on the outside part of the plate.
NOTE: All statistics accurate as of 5/22/14
By Jack McMullen
AriBall.com
