[LansdowneSt]

From the Boston Herald, February 2020:

Brock Holt’s exit will hurt Red Sox far beyond the box score: The veteran utility man, who agreed to a deal with Milwaukee, was invaluable in the clubhouse and as a Jimmy Fund captain.

If only there was a stat that incorporates lives changed for the better, Brock Holt might still be a member of the Boston Red Sox. Holt, who will not be returning to Boston after agreeing to a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers earlier this week, was worth 1.3 WAR in 2019. He was worth 6.5 WAR over his six full seasons, according to FanGraphs. This matters, of course, because these numbers (and others) are largely how teams make decisions in the modern era. The teams will never say it, but they make it clear over and over with their roster decisions: the players’ on-field contributions are all that matter.

Their off-the-field behavior, good or bad, hardly ever moves the needle but for the most extreme cases. Holt was exemplary off the field, posing for endless selfies before games, saying hi to children in the stands, a glue-guy in the locker room, friends with everybody, serving as the Jimmy Fund captain – but these things don’t add bonus points on their FanGraphs page. Maybe that should change. We could add the number of times a player has been nominated for the Roberto Clemente Award, “which recognizes a player who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field,” to their Baseball-Reference pages. For Holt, that answer is four. He’s been the Sox’ nominee in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019.

“It’s just who he was,” said teammate Matt Barnes. “It’s the personality he has and the kind of person he is. Wanted to be friends with everybody, be a great teammate, be a great player. And he did those well.” Alas, the Red Sox did not bring him back. For the first time since 2014, the Red Sox will approach the utility position differently. They’ll take a chance on a Rule 5 pick with no experience. They’ll use a new free-agent signing with an almost identical skill set.

They’ll say goodbye to Brock Holt to do what they think will make them ever-so-slightly more efficient.

Redid the facegen.