Tag Archives: Jason Giambi

February 17, 2015

What is the Difference?

The New York Daily News, one of the biggest critics of Alex Rodriguez, falls over themselves to praise PED user Jason Giambi in his retirement:

Giambi is one of only 14 players since 1901 to have at least 400 homers, 1,400 RBI, 400 doubles and an on-base percentage of .399 or higher.

He also endured his share of tough times, most notably his involvement in the BALCO performance-enhancing drug scandal more than a decade ago. Unlike many players involved in PED scandals, Giambi emerged on the other side with his reputation restored, even becoming a finalist for Colorado’s managerial job in 2012.

“Some of us have to walk through the darkness to find the light,” Giambi said. “I did that. The human being you see today is the result of everything that I went through. It turned me, hopefully, into this mentor that helped the kids in Colorado and Cleveland, and hopefully the most incredible father for my kids.”

So his stats are okay to compare to other ballplayers? Why? I suspect that Giambi was good to the reporters covering him, with quotes and attitude. In C, I’d write the line of code as:

coverage = GoodGuy ? PassOnPEDs : RipForPEDS;

Like most players, retirement was not Giambi’s choice. When no one will sign you, it’s time to go on. The ability to mentor does not trump the inability to hit a pitch.

September 24, 2013

Old Man and the Swing

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Chris Perez of the Indians gives up two home runs in the top of the ninth inning to the White Sox inning to blow a 3-2 lead, but Jason Giambi hits a two-run shot in the bottom of the inning with two outs to give the Indians a 5-4 victory. It was the team’s 11th walk-off win of the season. Jason is now 3 for 14 as a pinch hitter this season, all three hits home runs.

August 14, 2013

Still Playing Moneyball

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Jason Giambi went two for three with a walk and a home run in the Indians 9-8, 12 inning victory over the Twins Wednesday afternoon. Giambi is not hitting; even after today he’s hitting just .190. But his OBP is .292, so he’s drawing a ton of walks, and his isolated power is .205, meaning he’s smacking the ball when he hits it. He’s no longer a great player, but he still does two things well that have value.

March 25, 2013

Talking Hitting

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Dave Laurila sits down with Jason Giambi to talk hitting. I was really impressed by this exchange:

DL: Old-school power hitters like Tony Perez and Jim Rice didn’t like to draw walks.

JG: I think that’s selfish. Walking is such an integral part of the game. It makes the guy in front of you better and the guy behind you better. When you take your walks, that pitcher knows, “Hey, if I don’t get this guy in front of him, he’s got a chance to get a hit or take a walk, and all of a sudden the bases are loaded.” You become the ultimate team guy by taking your walks, because it puts more pressure on the pitcher. Now he can’t throw his breaking ball in the dirt any more. It changes the whole dynamic of the game.

To me, taking a walk is as important as getting a base hit. I’ll take a guy, any day, who has a .400 on-base percentage, compared to a guy who hits .300 and has a .320 on-base percentage.

Indeed.

April 3, 2012

The Giambi Changes

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Jason Giambi discusses how his life changed as he got older:

Giambi admits it wasn’t easy morphing from star slugger to elder statesman.

“It beat my ego up, trust me,” he said. “Because then I started to go: ‘Am I done? Is it over?’ ”

He took a hard look at his skills, decided he still had something to give and kept on playing, albeit with a more honest approach.

“I came to realize that I should have spoken up and said I needed more time off. I didn’t do that with the A’s the second time around,” he said. “I’ve learned that you have to take responsibility for yourself in this game and lead yourself through it.”

Gone now are the double cheeseburgers and late-night adventures on the town.

“My diet was terrible when I came in as a young kid,” he said. “Like everybody else, I could eat McDonald’s three or four times a day, and it didn’t matter. And now I sleep. Before, I’d stay out all night.”

The players on the Rockies seem to love having him around, and it makes me wonder if Jason has a career ahead of him as a hitting coach.

August 16, 2011

Going Out on Top

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I don’t know how much longer Jason Giambi plans to play baseball, but the 40-year-old put a cap on a great season with a walk-off, three-run homer Monday night as the Rockies defeated the Marlins 7-4. With two out in the ninth, Leo Nunez gave up two doubles and a walk. Then Randy Choate entered, and his 1-2 pitched sailed over the fence for Giambi’s 11th home run of the season in just 101 at bats. The Rockies used him very effectively this year. If Jason wants to go out on top, this season offers him the opportunity.

September 12, 2010

The Giambino

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A Diamondbacks error in the top of the ninth allows Jason Giambi to come to the plate with two out and a man on first in a 2-2 game. He reaches down for a pitch low on the outside corner and drives it over the fence in centerfield. The Rockies walk off to their tenth win in a row, 4-2. Giambi has four hits this month, three of them homers.

Ian Kennedy pitched another strong start for the Diamondbacks, allowing just two hits over six innings. That lowers his post-break ERA to 3.46.

Carlos Gonzalez went two for three after his day off to raise his batting average to .337. He did not drive in a run, however, so he continues to block Pujols and Votto from the triple crown.

July 28, 2010

Evil Player

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The Evil Player program selected Jason Giambi as Wednesday’s evil player. Giambi was once pure evil, as he filled his body with the demon’s juice to help himself to an MVP award and a huge contract from the Yankees. Of course, he didn’t expect the Spanish Inquistion:

Giambi also demonstrates the redemptive power of confession. He said he’s sorry, and everything is okay now!

July 26, 2010

Giambi Can Still Hit

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Jason Giambi singled and drove in a run today for the Rockies as he continues to hit well since Todd Helton went down with an injury. He’s not supplying much power, but with his one for one so far this afternoon he’s 15/33, .455 with five walks and two doubles since Helton last played. If nothing else, he’s doing a good job of expanding the Rockies offensive context. In following what seems to be a career trend, Jason hits much better when he plays the field than when he pinch hits or serves as the DH.

The Phillies and Rockies are tied at two in the bottom of the second inning.

Update: Catcher Brian Schneider hit his first triple since 2007 to drive in two runs for the Phillies. They now lead 3-2 in the top of the third.

June 23, 2010

Old Enemy Beats Boston

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Jason Giambi was just 1 for 13 as a pinch hitter this season when he stepped to the plate against Jonathan Papelbon in the bottom of the ninth inning in Denver Wednesday night. Ian Stewart had already homered in the inning to tag the Boston closer with a blown save. With Clint Barmes at second, Giambi launched a home run to give the Rockies an 8-6 walk off win.

Giambi is just 14 for 68 on the season, but half his hits have gone for extra bases. He’s still dangerous, just not as often as he used to be.

March 23, 2010

Players A to Z, Jason Giambi

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Jason Giambi serves as a pinch hitter and backup first baseman for the Colorado Rockies. As a 38-year-old in 2009, Giambi turned in the second worst OBP of his career, .343. (He saw his worst in 2004, the year he, for all intents and purposes, admitted steroid use and contracted a parasite.) He also posted his second worst slugging percentage, .382. Since he first came up in 1995, Jason is one of 15 players to post an OBP over of .400 or better with over 4000 PA over the 15 year period. While his .527 slugging percentage did not rank that high, Jason produced plenty of power.

Those days of playing every day seem to be gone, however. He didn’t work out well as a DH for the Athletics in 2009, but his OBP and power came back in his limited time with the Rockies. His role there is one you don’t see much anymore, a veteran pinch hitter who can actually hit. Jason would be perfect in situations with a man on first base, where teams may not be able to pitch around him. His selectivity will cause him to draw some walks to advance runners, while his ability to hit line drives into the gaps would often score runners from first in the big park. He’s in the perfect park in the perfect role to continue his career.