Smooth Criminal
Andrés Giménez is one of the best defenders in baseball. The stats back this up. He's also underrated. I'll explain just one reason why.
Tyler Heineman threw out a lot of runners yesterday in a tight, 2-1 baseball game. It was cool, and a great day for a vet who’s had a tough season. But, in the midst of all those base stealers getting gunned down, I was fixated on one particular aspect of one particular play:
Andrés Giménez’ tag, and his movement to set it up, was a beautiful sight to see. The way he effortlessly navigated to the front of the bag, calmly received the baseball and tagged the runner out in one fluid motion… picture perfect:
And this image afterwards was perfect:
Because, as Hoffman (and viewers and everyone in the building) focused on the catcher’s contribution to the game, Gimenez was celebrating like the coolest fucking dude in the stadium behind him, while mostly no one paid attention:
What a smooth criminal.
After the Jays acquired Giménez in December 2024, I wrote a long thread about the trade. If you are a long-time reader of my twitter account, you would know all the usual notes. It dove into defence, baserunning, and why Giménez was probably a better, more valuable player than most people realized
But I’ll admit, even for someone who prides themselves on being able to quickly notice all the little things a baseball player might do, I was still surprised by what Giménez could do defensively. And the first time I went, “ohhhhhh, that’s something new” was on a play in Boston:
(This play was overturned)
Giménez’ tag, right away, made me go, “ok, this guy is a savant.”
First, it was the peek at Bregman (with the throw from Alan Roden in the air):
Then, it was how he positioned his lower body for the throw, knowing exactly where it was going to go, and positoning his lower body in such a way that he’d be ready to instantaneously receive the ball, spin, and tag all in one fluid motion:
Then it was all the little details, like how his right shoulder/arm stays open/pointing back to CF to allow him to create some torque for that spin/tag:
And lastly, it was his willingness to be such a smooth fielder, but be willing to get his nose right into the play in order to get the out:
Honestly, as much as I’m a numbers guy, I’m also a huge sucker for just beautiful baseball plays that show high-IQ, competitiveness, athleticism, etc… I think any big, strong oaf can bash a ball over the fence, but I’ll always have a soft spot for guys who just seem to ooze baseball out of their pores, like Giménez. But, seriously, that play was a symphony of baseball acuity:
So, for as much as I knew about Giménez when he came to the Jays (and I would say I knew more about his baseball skills than 99% of the population), this was proof that there’s stuff that still doesn’t pop up on a FanGraphs page or a Statcast page. Percentile rankings don’t account for something like this, nor do Defensive Runs Saved or Fielding Run Value or Outs Above Average.
So, let’s dive in on this one micro aspect of Giménez’ game, something I came to realize over the course of last season: How he is the best TAGGER in Major League Baseball: