Chase Headley Is Very Good At Baseball

As a semi-superstitious person (generally only when it comes to sports), this is going to be hard to write. A piece like this could put Chase Headley in the hospital. If nothing else, he’ll likely go 0-17 over the next week. He’ll still walk 10 times though. You can’t jinx that.

Anyway, it’s time for everyone to admit that Chase Headley is good. Has been for quite some time. Well before you think. Not only is he good, but if he is the Padres’ lone representative at the All-Star Game this year in Kansas City (wait, KC is getting one and San Diego still hasn’t had one since Petco opened?),  he will deserve to be there. Yes, Hanley Ramirez has more power. Yes, David Freese has better name recognition. Yes, Chipper Jones is still putting up positive numbers in his final season. But the only NL 3^rd baseman whose combination of offense and defense actually eclipses Headley’s is David Wright. The only AL 3^rd baseman who is having a better season than Chase is Mike Moustakas. You heard that right: Chase Headley is one of the top 3 third basemen in the league so far this year. He should be an All-Star. You should appreciate that.

Like I said, this isn’t new. Chase has been good for some time. He was good in 2010. He was average on offense, but he was a gold glove-caliber defender. In 2011, the defense took a step back but he figured out how to hit right-handed and became a plus hitter. This year, he’s putting the whole package together. He’s even hitting for some power, on pace for close to 20 home runs, currently leading the team in that category (Carlos Quentin might have something to say about that soon). If he stays healthy (and gets a few days off every now and then), he could be a 6 WAR player this year.

I know that he can be frustrating at times. Almost every player is for some reason. The Diamondbacks have benched Justin Upton this week. Justin Upton is an All-Star with superstar potential. He’s struggling right now and it’s frustrating to his fans and his coaches. He’s going to be fine. Adrian Gonzalez was frustrating at times too. Remember that? The Red Sox are dealing with that right now, and they’re paying him tons of money. The Padres were paying him less than 25% of what he’s making now. Those two are great players. Chase Headley is very good. Of course he’s going to ground out with RISP sometimes, or take a walk when the team really needs a hit. He’s also going to consistently get on base, hit a bunch of doubles, knock one out from time to time, and play excellent defense.

So admit it. He’s good. He’s not a bust. Sorry. The team sucks. The ownership situation sucks. There’s not a lot of good going on out there. Carlos Quentin’s been good for a week and it’s been exciting, but Chase Headley has been good all year. Let’s appreciate that, and hope our lame-duck GM doesn’t trade him to the Cubs for a reliever (starter? Future patient of Dr. Andrews?) this summer.