The Milledge Effect

Well I have been very inactive on posting lately, and this is as good as time as any to jump back into it.

First of all, I'm not going to focus on the incredible number of runs the Pirates have scored (50) in their 6 games since the all-star break, because you all know the story of that. We all know that Pedro Alvarez is hitting .417 with 4 HR and 9 RBI in these 6 games, and we all know that Neil Walker has 4 doubles and is hitting .518 in those same games, and we are all incredibly excited about it. Here's the offensive summary for the last 6 games, in spreadsheet form:



Now we can sit here and talk about the box scores all night long, which would probably be incredibly fun to do, but I'm going to talk about one thing that I think has had a much bigger impact on the Pirates recent success than anybody really realizes, and that is Lastings Milledge.

Since June 1st, Milledge is hitting .336 with an OBP just shy of .400 and 15 runs batted in. He has raised his batting average from .248 the whole way to .285 in that time. He's been the team's best hitter and has been hitting the ball to all fields. However, those numbers aren't the only positive effect he's had on this team. One picture can help to show my point:



That of course is a snapshot from the moment right after Milledge made a diving catch on the warning track to wrap up the win against the Giants on a Skyblast night in front of a packed house. It was one of the best moments from this 2010 season so far, and seeing it happen gave me chills. That smile says so much.

Trading for Lastings Milledge was a huge risk for the Pirates. The guy was tagged as an untameable bad guy who was as far from a team player as could be. However, in the first few months in the organization, Milledge made great strides and worked extremely hard to start getting people to second guess their automatic opinions on him. He put in extra work on to improve his game and please his coaches. He worked through the minor leagues quickly and peformed well on the field while carrying himself spectacularly off the field. The fans began to excited about him, because we all knew the kind of upside the guy had. The 2009 season came to a stop and Milledge had played pretty well (.291/.333/.395), leaving fans with big expectation from him in the 2010 season.

He had a pretty rough couple of months to open up this season, and a great couple of months following the bad ones, but one thing has remained constant: the energy and life he brings to the team. From his fidgity and altogether eccentric batting routine to his bright yellow shoes (with the occasional bright neon laces) to his pre-game handshakes and dugout dances with McCutchen, Lastings Milledge gives this team a certain fun-first mentality. Milledge was hitting as low as .233 in May and still had a big smile on his face everyday taking the field. He would be constantly joking around in the dugout and making the game more fun for his teammates around him.

While none of the things I mentioned in the last paragraph translate directly to baseball wins, the impact that kind of player can have on a team is surely underrated. You can't win baseball games with only one guy, scoring runs is a team thing. When one or two guys are going good, you aren't going to score many runs, but when 5 or 6 guys are hitting, you're going to win some ball games like the Pirates have been winning recently. Milledge is the guy on the team that is going to make these hot streaks last longer and come more frequently, because he is always there to lighten the mood. There is so much young talent on this team, and when some of those guys let go of trying so hard and putting so much pressure on themselves to perform and let their natural talent take over, they are going to have a ton of success. That's a lot easier said than done, but Lastings Milledge seems to have done a lot of good in the clubhouse helping guys not take things too seriously and showing guys how to have fun. Sure, winning a lot of games is going to help the players have more fun, but who says having fun can't help a team win more games?

Whether Milledge is playing well (like he is now) or not, he will always be a positive influence on the team because of his attitude, and I bet nobody ever thought somebody would be saying that about him.