SEASON SUMMARY

The Orioles were so pleased with Brook Fordyce's partial 2000 season with them that they signed him to a three-year extension after the season was over.  in 53 games with the Orioles, Fordyce put up .322/.361/.537 numbers, impressed everyone with his attitude and commitment, pitchers reportedly loved throwing to him...hey, why wouldn't they sign him to an extension?  

Well...let me count the ways.

First, Fordyce had never hit like he did with the Orioles.  Granted, he had hit fairly well in 145 games with the Chicago White Sox over parts of two seasons, but not at the level he did with the Birds.

Second, when acquired, Fordyce had already turned 30.  Pity the man who signs a player having a career year on the "wrong" side of 30 years of age to a multi-year contract.

Third, pitchers may like throwing to him, but Fordyce has never been a good defensive catcher in any demonstrable sense.  He commits at least his share of errors and passed balls and is positively awful at throwing out would-be basestealers.

So, how did things go for Fordyce in 2001?  Let's start with the defense.  Fordyce had the lowest fielding percentage (.983) of any big league catcher with at least 50 appearances.  He also threw out only 18% of the runners who tried to steal against him.

Offensively, the situation was even worse.  Fordyce began the season as the Orioles unquestioned number one catcher, but flirted with the Mendoza Line all season long and by late June, his status as the top receiver was in serious question.  Fordyce appeared in 56 games through June 30, but only 39 from July 1 (though his 17-game stint in August represented his best monthly performance of the season).  He finished the season with a .257 offensive winning percentage, the third worst mark in the American League for players with at least 320 plate appearances, and the worst mark on the 2001 Orioles, a team studded with underachievers.

Fordyce will almost certainly be part of the Orioles' catching mix heading into the 2002 season, partly because of the sense that he can't really be as bad as he played in 2001 and partly because of the money he's still due.  Arguably it's not Fordyce's fault that the Orioles mistook him for an everyday catcher a year ago, but another season anything like that of 2001 might bring a release of a veteran with a guaranteed contract (see Anderson, Brady).  In any event Fordyce can't expect to head into 2002 with the knowledge that he's the certain starting catcher.  In fact, it will be difficult for him to play his way into that role; Genonimo Gil and Fernando Lunar can be expected to be given the bulk of the meaningful time behind the plate in spring training.

TO CONTRIBUTE SIGNIFICANTLY NEXT YEAR, HE MUST:

1) improve in every phase of the game; Fordyce's performance was one of the worst of players who spent the entire season in the big leagues in 2001

2) get a chance to contribute significantly; if either Geronimo Gil or Fernando Lunar steps forward next season, Fordyce will be nothing more than a backup

NOTES

As bad as he was, Fordyce's 2001 season wasn't the worst OWP for a catcher in 2001 (Darrin Fletcher was worse), or one of the 50 worst OWP seasons by catchers all-time (minimum 320 PAs); it was, however, the worst ever OWP for an Orioles catcher and the 11th worst season in Orioles history (min. 320 PAs)...had some truly pathetic 2001 splits:  vs. RHP (.186/.252/.281 in 221 ABs); at home (.180/.248/.216 in 139 ABs); with runners on base (.165/.239/.273 in 121 ABs); with runners in scoring position (.088/.160/.116 in 68 ABs and, no, those are not typos); after falling behind in the count 0-1 (.169/.194/.238 in 160 ABs); during day games (.167/.198/.218 in 78 ABs).