Did the McEffect Have a Positive Effect in 2012?

by: Patrick Reddick

Nate McLouth was named the Player of the Game for the fourth game of the Yankees, Orioles ALDS last night after a solid defensive performance and hitting a solo home run in the fifth inning. Yep, that same McLouth whose namesake was on the McEffect shirt I wore as I watched the game. But was there really a “McEffect”? And did it have a good or bad effect on baseball and the Pirates this year?

The Pirates had seven Mc’s; more than any other team in the Major Leagues and likely more than any other team has had at any point. McCutchen, McGehee, McKenry, McLouth, McDonald, McPhearson, and McCutchen.

Andrew McCutchen was easily the Pirates’ star in 2012. He missed just five games, was in the top three in the NL in batting average, on-base percentage, and total bases. He led the NL in hits with 154. Cutch was an All-Star and had a WAR of 7, just .2 behind NL leader Buster Posey (he was fifth in all of MLB, even ahead of Cabrera who will win the MVP just because of that lame Triple Crown thing).

Casey McGehee played 92 games for the Bucs as the team’s main first baseman. McGehee had a .297 OBP and a .377 slugging average that were an improvement over last season, but nowhere near his 2009 performance with the Brewers that the Pirates were hoping he would recapture. McGehee played in 22 games after he was traded to the Yankees, but performed poorly and is not part of their post-season team.

Mikey “The Fort” McKenry caught every pitch of a 19-inning game for the second consecutive summer, but only appeared in 87 other games because of something weird going on in Clint Hurdle’s brain. McKenry had a .320 OBP, nearly 40 points higher than Rod Barajas’s, and set multiple new career marks including his 12 home runs. McKenry threw out just 18% of base stealers (13-for-61) although that was triple the rate Barajas performed at. The Fort should be the main catcher for the Pirates next season or there’s something wrong.

James McDonald is the youngest member of the Pirates starting rotation and he started the second-most games of anyone on the staff. In his second full year as a starter McDonald matched exactly the number of innings he threw last year (171) as well as earned runs he gave up (80) also meaning his ERA stayed the same (4.21). That being said, he walked fewer batters, allowed less hits, and struck more hitters out. His WHIP decreased 0.2 to 1.263 and he had the lowest H/9 among Pirate starters (7.7).

Daniel “White Cutch” McCutchen did not do much in the Majors in 2012, although most fans might have liked it if he had done even less. His only appearance came in the bottom of the 10th inning on August 21, when he promptly walked a guy and gave up a walk-off homer to the next. He did have a 2.98 ERA and 1.07 WHIP in AAA where he spent most of the summer, so we might see him again next year.

Kyle McPhearson made ten appearances for the Pirates in late September and August, starting three games. He finished with a 2.73 ERA in 26.1 innings with seven walks and 21 strikeouts. He is only 24 years old, so it seems likely that we’ll see him again next season.

Which brings us back to our old buddy Nate McLouth who appeared in 34 games for the Pirates in April and May. He was bad (.140/.210/.175) and the Pirates released him as they should have. Five days later he signed with Baltimore where he played in 55 games and went crazy compared to his time with the Pirates (.268/.342/.435). He even stole 12 bases (12 more than he had with the Pirates) and has been a nightly leadoff man for the Orioles in the post-season.

Overall the Mcs had a combined WAR of 8.9 in their 2012 work in Pittsburgh, and while the Pirates will probably have a decreased number of Mcs on the roster next summer it seems overall, the McEffect is a positive one.