My current Strat-o-Matic project -- don't fear, this is just a starting point -- involves the Negro League set of cards, and the other day I was contemplating the card of one Jimmie Crutchfield: left-handed hitting outfielder, fast, good defense, weak throwing arm, no power.
He's the Negro League Denard Span, I thought. And then: Where is Denard Span these days, anyway?
Apparently involuntarily retired appears to be the answer. The three-year guarantee on the free agent pact he signed with the Giants ran out last year, and the Mariners -- the third team he played for while on that contract and the fifth of his 11-year career -- bought out his option year.
There was, and is, no interest in Span's services despite a solid 2018 at the plate. That's not terribly surprising. He turned 35 in February and he pretty much convinced everybody while in San Francisco that he is no longer a quality defensive center fielder. So he's now an aging slap-hitting corner outfielder in an era in which power is preferred. The Twins have no roster spot for Jake Cave, and I'd rather have Cave than the 2019 version of Span.
Span started with an unseen role in the book Moneyball, cited by author Michael Lewis in the chapter on the 2002 draft as exactly the kind of athlete Athletics general manager and protagonist Billy Beane wanted to avoid -- a raw high school athlete with bonus expectations. The Twins took him with the 20th overall pick, one year after taking Joe Mauer with the first overall pick, and he didn't get to the majors until after Mauer had become a star.
The decision in spring training 2008 to go with Carlos Gomez as the regular center fielder that year and send Span back to the minors was one of two major decisions that cost the Twins the divisional title that year. Span outplayed Go-Go during camp, but Gomez was the big get in the Johan Santana trade, and he got the benefit of the doubt. (The other costly decision was Ron Gardenhire's decison to keep Craig Breslow in a secondary relief role as the rest of the bullpen frequently imploded, but let's not get sidetracked on that again, Eddie.) By midseason Span was in the lineup and hitting leadoff, but the gap probably cost the Twins a game or two in a season in which they ended in a Game 163.
Stardom wasn't in the cards for Span, although he did lead his league in triples twice and hits once. He never made an All-Star team, never won a Gold Glove, had a career high of 12 homers. He was a good regular outfielder and leadoff hitter, but short of greatness.
Jimmie Crutchfield's Baseball Reference page says his career ended at age 35 too.
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