Sept. 06--Mike Trout raced 110 feet into the left-center-field gap to catch Rougned Odor's drive to the wall in the sixth inning against the Rangers on Saturday night, the most ground he's covered to catch a fly ball this season, according to Statcast.
It was one of many catches -- some lunging, some diving -- that Trout has made after long runs this season, plays that, combined with the spectacular home-run-robbing grabs he's made over the years, have fueled the Angels star's reputation as one of the game's best defensive center fielders.
But some advanced defensive metrics rate Trout as an average or somewhat-below-average defender, in part because he doesn't always get the best jumps or run the most efficient routes, an assertion that baffles and bothers Angels Manager Mike Scioscia.
"We have overhead [cameras] that read jumps, and he's off incredibly quick," Scioscia said. "From a scouting perspective, there's no question this guy is one of the best center fielders, not only in our game but who's been out there. The ground he covers is unbelievable."
But according to Fangraphs, Trout entered Sunday with 3.0 defensive runs saved, 10th among 22 qualifying major league center fielders. His ultimate zone rating of -1.2 and overall defensive rating of 0.7 ranked 13th.
UZR quantifies how many runs a player saved or gave up through his fielding prowess, or lack thereof. The overall rating measures a player's defensive value relative to league average.
"The whole notion of using technology to quantify what we see is really good ... but I want to know what the technology is, and if it's accurate, what's going on?" said Scioscia, who has always been skeptical of newer defensive statistics.
"I'm telling you right now, I can show you our overhead of that catch [Saturday] night, the ball is just coming out of his swing, and you're seeing Mike crossing over [for his first step]. You can't tell me he gets bad jumps. ... I don't know what they're using to grade guys out, but this guy is as good as there is."
