Why New York Yankees Should Make Chris Stewart Starting Catcher
August 9, 2012 · Michael Moraitis · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Russell Martin’s nightmare season continues after a 1-for-5 Wednesday night against the Detroit Tigers that was, as usual, unproductive.
Martin has had a slightly better August thus far for the New York Yankees, but any time you get excited about a guy hitting .261 during any given month, there is something wrong. In all, Martin is still on the interstate with a batting average of .194.
Chris Stewart has been much of the opposite from Martin this season. After a tumultuous beginning—thanks to a negative fan reaction to the demotion of Francisco Cervelli to make room—Stewart has settled in nicely.
In limited action, Stewart is hitting .260 for the Bombers with one homer and 12 RBI in almost one-fourth of the games played at catcher for the Yanks.
Martin, on the other hand, does have 12 homers, but only 31 RBI and the abysmal .194 average.
Stewart’s most recent reminder of his offensive abilities was during the Yanks series finale win against the Seattle Mariners that saw the Bombers’ backup go 2-for-3 with three runs scored and even a stolen base.
At this point, it isn’t even as if Martin is greatly outperforming his backup at the plate, the numbers are pretty comparable. So it’s defense that must be saving Martin’s job.
Not exactly.
Stewart has played his position admirably and while he is by no means better than Martin defensively, Stewart’s bat is beginning to outweigh the slightly inferior portion of his game. That is a result of missing Alex Rodriguez and the struggles of Curtis Granderson and Raul Ibanez, amongst others.
It would be a pretty drastic move should the Yankees decide to switch their everyday catcher. More than likely it will never happen this season thanks to former catcher turned manager, Joe Girardi, who will no doubt stay loyal to his own back stop.
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