THE IMPORTANCE OF MARIO SCUTARO.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MARIO SCUTARO. The Toronto Blue Jays had a great pitching staff last year, but their defense made them a lot better. Defensive statistics in Baseball Prospectus show that the Blue Jays Earned Run Average was .44 runs less than if the Jays had had an average defense (roughly, the opponents scored almost half a run per game less than they would have against an average defense). I have singled out Mario Scutaro because it took him a long time to win a regular job in the major leagues. In fact, last year, when he turned 33 was the first year that he had over 500 at bats in the major leagues. He has never been much of a hitter. His batting average last year of .267 was close to his career batting average (career “slash stats”–BA/OBA/SA–are .261/.325/.327). And yet, he played a lot of games at short stop and second base, key defensive positions, for a defense which saved almost half a run a game.