J.D. Drew doesn't always get credit for it, but he has been an above-average offensive player since arriving in Boston four years ago (120 OPS+). Despite his productivity at the plate, Drew told Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald that he'll consider retirement after the season, when his five-year contract with Boston expires.
“I don’t really know what I’m going to do, I’m leaning both ways. I guess, I don’t really know,” Drew said. “It depends on how the year goes. I don’t know what I’ll do. There’s benefits to both sides, but I have to think it out, pray about it, talk with my family, see how my body holds up over the year, and go from there.”
Drew, who hinted at retirement last fall, stayed on the field for 139 games last year, though his hamstring bothered him at times. The 35-year-old former first rounder hit 22 homers last year, posting a .255/.341/.452 line in 546 plate appearances.
Drew has been a GREAT player for the Red Sox. Look beyond the AVG and think about his clutch hits and great defense. He’s been very under-rated in a Red Sox uniform. And with this Red Sox 2011 lineup, it’s possible Drew will post 90+ RBI and flirt with 100 if he stays on the field.
I think it would be difficult for Drew to get those numbers if Mike Cameron is taking a lot of the at bats away when there is an opposing lh pitcher. I will agree that Drew has been better than what most perceive him to be, and he has had some very clutch hits.
I agree with this statement. So many Boston fans are quick to call him “Nancy Drew” due to his injuries and time on the disabled list but I for one see the value he has consistently delivered for the Red Sox when he is on the field. Great fielder, good speed, sure he has declined against lefties but overall I’d say he has earned this contract.
Let’s not get crazy. I wouldn’t call him a GREAT player. His defense is solid for sure, but outside of a couple memorable post-season homers, I wouldn’t call his hitting great OR clutch. I’m never happy to see him coming to the plate in a big situation, the same way I’m unhappy seeing Papi up there the past few years. He’s been decent though, and probably over-criticized.
with wOBAs of .400 and .389 in 2008 and 2009, drew was great in the field and great at the plate. in 2007 and 2010, he was solid in the field and decent at the plate. whether he’s decent or great in 2011, he will have been been a very valuable player for boston over the course of his contract, earning every dollar
but don’t expect most people in boston to acknowledge it
Sadly, most people in StL didn’t acknowledge it either. He probably is one of the most under-appreciated players of the past decade.
i don’t understand why he doesn’t get more love from braves fans, though. dude was bangarang for that one season in atlanta
Because he doesn’t have heart.
+1 for the Hook reference.
I’m one of the few Braves fans that defends that trade. Sure, I would love to have Wainwright as a Brave (current injury notwithstanding, of course). The team had a glut of pitching talent (with the benefit of hindsight, some real and some perceived) and Drew was awesome for them.
.305/.436/.569 – wOBA .435 and 16.3 UZR, sports fans
good for 8.5 WAR in 145 games
yea, the prospects panned out for STL. but it’ll be hard to find a trade that brought back so much value in one player for one season
Drew has the 8th highest UZR/150 among all outfielders over the last three years with a 10.2 UZR/150, which is almost identical to Ichiro’s 10.8. I don’t know, but I’d say that is better than “solid”. And as notsureifsrs said, his offense has been better than advertised as well.
Dear Nancy, please retire and give someone a shot who actually likes and wants to play the game . Sincerely the world
As someone who’s part of the world I didn’t sign that. So take my name off.
dont worry purple dinosaurs werent included
Gee, I had yet to hear that joke. End sarcasm.
you get called purple dinosaur alot maybe you should stop wearing purple
I kind of admire the way he approaches the game. I don’t think that because he doesn’t show any emotion he doesn’t like to play or doesn’t want to play. It’s just his personality and approach, he’s Mr. Even-Keel.
to be honest im just still bitter(we dont forget that kinda stuff in philly) :/ he has always been a good player although he does find a way to get 15 day holidays every year
Indeed, I could do without the vacations as well.
if you philly fans want him then have your GM call Theo. I’m sure they could work something out.
I’m not sure he is allowed in the state of pennsylvania , nor do i think he would accept trade or show up if the phillies , decided to trade a bag of donuts for the guy, you got your good out of him , now he will show why he’s been a career underachiever
The guy’s personality actually seems pretty lighthearted. Now, good luck cornering him and getting a word out of him, but every time I’ve seen the guy on camera, he’s had some goofy “southern boy” dopey thing to say. And I’m not talking Papelbon’s moronic antics when I say southern boy, I’m talking dopey sounding but endearing remarks like:
When interviewed by Peter Abraham recently, Drew mentioned an occasion where, while fishing with his son, their boat was approached by a gator. He was considering jumping in after it to get it away from the boat, when Abraham questioned the sanity of this potential course of action, Drew’s response was an apparently non-plussed “well, I HAD a knife.”
Additionally, the Globe’s site has been running a series of photo day bloopers and the guy gets some real gems in there.
Oh wow a Phillies fan being an irrepressible jerk, never saw that one coming.
rimshot
He’s been a good player. I think the issue is that he took the Red Sox for a ride with his contract. He isn’t worth the 14MIL that he makes. If he was making 7MIL he would be playing equal to his value. I guess the issue for Sox fans is that you never know when he’s going to go to Tito and say (even an hour before the game), my hammy hurts and I can’t play.
Wasn’t it Drew who was at the plate when Jacoby took off for home from 2nd base? The fans and rest of the team were electric and Drew was standing there as if he was waiting for the bus. I know his numbers hold up but would it really hurt him to show a hint of enthusiasm for $14MM?
does a yawn count as emotions ?
I’m pretty sure that money is getting paid to him to play baseball well, not to cheerlead. I dunno, I haven’t read the contract.
Obviously, but it wouldn’t hurt the guy to, oh I don’t know, show an ounce of enthusiasm for his team mates. Im fine with his game in other aspects but for christ sakes, at least crack a smile when a rookie on your team absolutely mocks your opponent on the base paths.
I will never forget in mlb 2k8 I was playing as the red sox and I got an email from the owner saying “Get rid of JD drew, he is overpaid and underperfoming” and was able to get ichiro for him. Found it funny how the game said he wasnt good but I was sitll able to get ichiro for him!
Anyways hes a good solid player with good def and above average hitting. I do wish he showed emotion, but everyone plays differently.
I love making ridiculous trades in video game land, you can trade garbage for King Felix for crying out loud.
As a cards fan I never hated Drew, but I don’t think there ever a more talented player who just didn’t care about baseball. Trading Drew for Marquis, Ray King, and Wainwright was Jockety’s ultimate coup.
I agree.
“I don’t think there ever a more talented player who just didn’t care about baseball.”
i remember keith foulke talking about how he never watched baseball games because he didn’t really like baseball and wanted to “leave work at work”. hard to imagine
as a Cards fan is there anybody you hate , i went to one of your games and you guys cheered for the other team as well as your own , you guys put Minnesota nice to shame but yes one heck of a trade. I heard wainwright didnt want to go him being from Ga and all that but like real players they go were they are sent (picked) and play ball , good luck to you this year Cards and a speedy recovery to Wainwright
Cards fans have had some enemies over the years, nothing like the phillies but still some. There’s not a person in the midwest who has forgiven Don Dinkenger, Tino Martinez received a lot of abuse from cardinals fans, and of course any and all cubs. We hate Tommy John, at least for the elbow injury. We will hate Dan Lozano and Bill Dewitt if Pujols doesn’t sign with the cards, and if Pujols signs with the cubs we’ll hate him.
Yeah, the Cardinals and Cubs dont hate each other at all, nope.
oh dinkenger , i wont even capitalize his name , Tino really , i guess he was kind of a let down huh, if Pujols sign with the cubs i think everybody outside of Chicago should hate him
Andy B – “There’s not a person in the midwest who has forgiven Don Dinkenger”
Yeah, all Cardinal fans…(LOL).
is there any other team worth rooting for in the midwest?
Royals, in a couple years. They’re going to be exciting.
-C
Yah Royals are going to be really good,thats why if I were them I’d make a big splash in trying to get pujols.
Andy – I grew up a Royals fan (George Brett & Company)…so I was definately happy they won in 85…and to the Cards fans that are still pizzed about it…well, I say…s$#@t happens.
I don’t think there is a player in baseball today that better illustrates the gap between traditional baseball views vs sabermetric views.
Traditionally people think of him as arrogant, not a team player, fragile, decent BA but lacks power that you would like to see in a corner outfielder.
Sabermetric people could care less about attitude. They love his OBP skills and can’t say enough about his defense. His injuries are an issue but not nearly as big of an issue as the traditional groups sees them.
Me personally, I find him somewhere in the middle. He was worth the contract he signed but not much more. I like the defense and walks but would use more power.
too true about the great divide, but really only 2007 fits with your comment on his power. an iso of .240 during 08-09 (.218 career) is about as good as anyone could ask. just under .200 in 2010
in fact from 2008 to 2010, his ISO ranks fourth among all RFers
Agreed, he had a very good career. He’s not a HOFer but he was very good. He never played enough games but earned every contract he got. He didnt deserve to have batteries thrown at him. Phillies fans are complete jerks.
All that celebratory jumping around should be done away with anyway. Ball players act like idiots when they hit walk off’s and stuff. I understand the excitement, but your grown men. You don’t need enthusiasm- you just need to be productive.
They play baseball for a living for cryin out loud. These guys are children in men’s bodies. Who cares if they have some fun (as long as it’s not going overboard), they should enjoy playing this game.
Do dead mice go bad if you dont eat them after a month in the fridge? I could of sworn the wizard from babatoopa advised me of such. then again, he’d eat anything. damn wizard…
what , thats hilarious even if im clueless to what your on about
Oh sure. Blame the wizards.
Man, I never get anything good. I think the best I’ve gotten was Ellsbury breaking the Sox steals record and watching a dude jump onto the field from Pesky’s pole and make it halfway up the third base aisle before security nabbed him (This dude should be on the Pats).
You saw a ring ceremony, you dolt.
The fact that I forgot about that is a sobering testament to my advanced age.
Drew has been nothing but a pro since he signed with Boston. He obviously has a long list of injuries, but when he’s on the field he’s been good. Do I think he is worth his contract, no, but still a solid player.
I found out that JD Drew is part Vulcan and that is the reason behind his emotionless stare and his over all lack of enthusiasm.
rumor has it he even has that ridiculous bowl cut under his hat.
I hope he stretches before leaning both ways…
-C
I named one of my chickens after him.
Why would he announce whether he’s retiring or not now? He’d probably say he’s doing one thing, then 3/5th’s of the way through the season, opt-out of that decision.
Funny to see people defending what Drew did over his career, and almost nobody talking about what he could have been if he gave half a crap about it. The guy could have been a Hall of Famer if he had given a damn.
Amused at all the praise for a RF’er who starts 121 games a year in RF (his 4 year average, his games played is higher since he pinch hits some games on days he does not start), recorded his first assist in RF in September, inflated rate stats due to a platoon advantage since he sits against tough LHP’ers, and has never hit more than 68 RBI’s with the Red Sox or scored more than 84 runs (vast majority his HR last year were solos).
I bet if he does not retire, he does not make more than 8 million next year, and does not get an offer for more than 1 year. How little he is willing to play for will play a big role in if he retires.
JD has not been a bad RF’er, but to call him one of the Red Sox best RF’ers ever as one commenter did shows an ignorance of Red Sox history. He has been the most expensive RF’er.
His greatest clutch moment was a 1st inning grand slam in game 6 of the ALCS against the Indians. Maybe if hit after the 7th I would call it clutch. His big clutch hit last year was a late inning grand slam against the lowly Orioles that went 315 ft around the pesky pole (some might call that luck). With men on 2nd and 3rd and a 3-1 count, and the 8th hitter (not a good hitter) due up, in a close game, I saw JD argue a called 2nd strike hoping to take a walk rather than get another chance to drive in 2 runs and put the team ahead. He walked, leaving it up to the number 8 hitter (the fact that he got an unlikely hit and drove in 2 runs is beside the point).