All-Star Game continually proves pitching & defense win

Baseball is a combination of two playing styles that are polar opposites of each other. Either a team can choose to flash the leather and turn the baseball diamond into a place where batted balls go to die, or it can break out the bats and beat the snot out of the ball. Regardless of which direction a team chooses, if you do either of these well enough, you’ll be on a fast track to success.

This year’s All-Star Game was held at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. With so many sluggers packed into each scorecard, it is hard to believe that only four total runs were scored. One of those runs, however, scored after an awful throw by Hong-Chih Kuo which sailed over the head of Adrian Gonzalez.

So that’s three earned runs, all of which scored thanks to a Brian McCann double. It was a great piece of hitting, but he pretty much needed to run into that 98 mph mistake fastball from Matt Thornton. After all, facing Matt Thornton is no walk in the park. Thornton has been an elite relief pitcher since 2008. Looking at some sabermetrics, he trails just Mariano Rivera and Jonathon Broxton in fielding-independent pitching (FIP) and wins above replacement (WAR) since then.

Three earned runs crossing the plate between 40 of the best hitters in all of baseball. Obviously, with such stacked rosters, you’d think that the All-Star Game would be an annual slugfest.

What gives?

Obviously, pitching prevails. If you can suppress the offense — even if it’s a lineup highlighted by the likes of Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, and Josh Hamilton — you’ll win ballgames. And that’s just what the National League squad did, holding the AL squad to just one measly, unearned run.

Look at the past All-Star Games. Only five times in All-Star Game history has a team scored double digit runs. Five. Out of 162 possible teams, only five have scored 10 or more runs.

What does this say about pitching and defense? When it’s good, it wins. You don’t need to light up the scoreboard to win ballgames. You just need to pitch well, play solid defense, and hope that one of your hitters runs into a mistake.

The AL squad showcased arguably the best defensive outfield combination in the majors with Josh Hamilton, Carl Crawford, and Ichiro. They each posted Ultimate Zone Ratings (UZR) of 2.6, 15.8, and 8.2, respectively. The AL infield was made up by notoriously soft-handed third baseman Evan Longoria, who’s 1.6 UZR is a huge dip from the 17.7 he posted last year and Robinson Cano, who sports a healthy 5.6 UZR. The AL reserve infielders also play solid defense. A couple of Ranger middle infielders, Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus both have positive ratings this year (2.8 and 2.7, respectively).

The NL lineup also had a few plus defenders. David Wright has a 3.3 UZR and Martin Prado has a 1.1 UZR so far this year. The NL bench was also slick with the leather. Outfielders Chris Young and Marlon Byrd posted UZRs of 3.1 and 8.6, respectively. Meanwhile, Reds infielders Scott Rolen and Brandon Phillips were rated at 1.8 and 4.8, respectively.

As teams like the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays and (to a certain extent) the 2009 Seattle Mariners experience success, it’s crystal clear that bulging muscles and steroids aren’t entirely necessary to win ballgames. All you really need is a baseball mitt and a little athleticism.

Going forward, I hope that teams realize that good pitching and defense overcome good hitting. After all, when the best of the best face off, runs are hard to come by.