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Marlins Release Mike Cameron

Earlier today, the Florida Marlins released Mike Cameron after managing a .238/.320/.420 line with the team (though not far off from his .249/.338/.444 career line. What were they expecting from a 38 year old?). If Cameron is willing to take a minor league contract next season and prove himself in spring training, I’m sure there will be a job waiting for him, especially considering that even in his advanced age he manged to post a positive UZR in the outfield. However, if Cameron decides that 17 years and eight teams were enough and he’d rather drink beer on a boat in Mexico for the rest of his life, he’ll exit the league having never been truly respected for his output on the field. 

Besides being an amazing defender when judged with both eyes and numbers, Cameron supplied power (8 seasons with 20+ home runs), and speed (8 seasons with 20+ steals) in equal accord. But because of the high strikeout totals and low batting average, Cameron was never seen as the asset he was, being named to only one All Star game and contributing to his frequent change of address.

As Dave Cameron pointed out in his Fangraphs piece, that shouldn’t have been the case: 

“For comparison, he has a better career wRC+ than Johnny Damon (108) or Torii Hunter (107), and he’s not that far off the marks put up by Andruw Jones (112), Kenny Lofton (114), or Robin Yount (115). This is pretty good company, and we’re only discussing the offensive performance of a guy whose bat was his second best asset.

From 1997 to 2009, Cameron ranked 18th in baseball in Wins Above Replacement. Not among outfielders, but among all players. During the 12 years he was basically an everyday player, he created essentially the same amount of value as the likes of Lance Berkman, Jeff Kent, and Jim Thome. He didn’t have any crazy great peak seasons that put him on the map, and his career wasn’t long enough to justify Hall of Fame enshrinement, but when Mike Cameron was on the field, he was consistently one of the best players in baseball.”

Also unfortunate is how close Cameron came to a number of statistical milestones, finishing 300 hits shy of 2,000; 22 home runs and 3 steals short of 300; and 32 RBI away from 1,000. Maybe someone in a tiny ballpark will give him a chance as their fourth outfielder next year and at least let him close the gap some. 

  1. oldtimefamilybaseball posted this
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