Fun with comps: Evan Gattis is … Harmon Killebrew?

By Craig CalcaterraSep 9, 2013, 11:03 AM EST
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This was at the end of Ken Rosenthal’s notes column. And it was obviously there for fun so let’s not pretend it’s some serious deal. But still:

And finally, a scout offers this comp for Evan Gattis:

Harmon Killebrew.

I suppose there is something to be said about Gattis’ raw power compared to that of immortal power hitters. The guy can hit the ball a friggin’ mile.  But at the moment, that’s about all he can do, so let’s not go crazy with the comps.

Gattis just turned 27. He has a mere 300 plate appearances under his belt and a .303 on-base percentage. By the end of his age-26 season Killebrew had over 2,700 plate appearances and a line of .257/.367/.532 with 178 homers. And then he got better. Starting in his age-27 season in 1963, Killebrew did not post an OBP below .349 until his age-38 season, coming when he was clearly done as an elite hitter, in 1974. Over those seasons he posted a line of .261/.387/.515. And need I remind you that the bulk of that line came during an era that was the friendliest to pitchers since the Dead Ball Era ended?

Sure, Harmon Killebrew > than Evan Gattis is not exactly a controversial proposition. But then neither is saying that Killebrew is a Gattis comp. That before you realize that the scout who told this to Rosenthal, like everyone else, hasn’t seen the late Killebrew hit for 38 years and hasn’t seen a truly productive Killebrew for 41 years. Thus rendering his expertise as a scout on the matter kinda superfluous.

Comps are fun. But comparing a one-tool backup catcher to one of the greatest sluggers the game has ever seen is the sort of thing that makes fans angry when that one-tool backup catcher doesn’t become better than he is. And it’s not fair to the one-tool backup catcher.

Report: Orioles to name Brandon Hyde new manager

Jason Miller/Getty Images
By Bill BaerDec 11, 2018, 8:08 PM EST
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Update (8:23 PM ET): MASN’s Roch Kubatko talked to new GM Mike Elias, who said there has been no offer made to Hyde for the position. Elias called the report “premature.”

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The Orioles are expected to name Cubs bench coach Brandon Hyde as the new manager, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports. Nothing is official yet.

Hyde, 45, spent four seasons in the minors with the White Sox from 1997-2000, then played in the independent Western League in 2001 before calling it quits. He was a coach with the Marlins from 2010-12 and has been with the Cubs since 2013.

Other candidates for the Orioles’ open managerial position have included Pedro Grifol, Chip Hale, Mike Redmond, Mike Bell, and Manny Acta.

Hyde is taking over for Buck Showalter, who was at the helm of the Orioles from 2010-18. Last season, however, the Orioles finished 47-115, the worst record in team history. Hyde will be taking over a team that is rebuilding, so the expectations will be relatively low in his first couple of seasons.