Hitting The Cutoff Man

This is what I wrote back in February about the Royals' signing of catcher Jason Kendall this offseason:

"The Royals have made a litany of baffling moves recently, but this signing stands out. How does a team that figures to be nowhere near a playoff race justify not only signing the aging Kendall, but to a two-year deal? Of course, the easy answer is some mythical combination of "veteran leadership" and "grit," but the fact is that Kendall hasn't managed an OBP above .331 or a slugging percentage above .324 the past three seasons. In other words, he's an offensive liability, even for a catcher. The Royals could have signed someone younger and cheaper to do just as poorly, but if they did that, they wouldn't be the Royals."

And Kendall is sporting a .269/.331/.316 batting line this season. (John Buck, whom the Royals let walk this offseason, is hitting .285/.315/.518 for the Blue Jays). This is not a surprise, obviously. What is shocking, however, is how the Royals insist on playing him every single day.

This was brought to my attention through Joe Posnanski's latest "Diary of a Losing Team" post, in which he notes that Kendall amazingly is on pace to average 155 starts at catcher this season. That would make Kendall the first catcher to start that many games in more than 40 years. (Backup Brayan Pena actually started Wednesday's game against Toronto and went 3-for-4 with a double).

Posnanski also points out that Kendall hasn't hit a home run or a triple this year, putting him on pace to snap the major league record for plate appearances in a season without one or the other.

This inspired me to do a little digging, with the thought of exploring Kendall's complete lack of power. Of course, Kendall isn't the only everyday player without any power, but he isn't the usual type (a speed guy, like Juan Pierre).

The last time Kendall slugged .400 or better was 2003. Since 2004, Kendall has played 950 games, and in 781 of them (768 as a catcher), failed to collect an extra-base hit. That's by far the most such games for a catcher in that span, with A.J. Pierzynski second with 617.

It's not the most for any player, though. Here's that list:
1. Pierre, 823
2. Ichiro, 811
3. Kendall, 781
4. Orlando Cabrera, 748
5. Chone Figgins, 742
6. Derek Jeter, 716
7. Luis Castillo, 707
8. Brandon Inge, 702
9. Bobby Abreu, 699
10. Pedro Feliz, 697

Besides Kendall, who lost his early-career speed a long time ago, the top seven guys on that list are all pretty fast, making the lack of extra-base power less jarring. So what happens if speed is removed from the equation? Here's a new version of the list, but this time in terms of games not only with no extra-base hits, but also with no stolen bases:
1. Kendall, 746
2. Feliz, 688
3. Inge, 679
4. Miguel Tejada, 673
5. Cabrera, 670

So there you have it. Over the past six and a half seasons, Jason Kendall has played 58 more games without an extra-base hit or steal than anyone else in the major leagues. He's like the opposite of a young A-Rod: a mesmerizing blend of no power and no speed.

Sure is "gritty," though.

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