Pete Alonso has traits Mets don’t ‘value’: Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino
NY Post
Intangibles are great, sure, but what’s his WAR?
Wins Above Replacement has become a deciding factor among baseball executives mulling over who to keep, who to shop and what price is right.
It’s also keeping Polar Bear Pete from getting paid.
So alleges Vinnie Pasquantino, the Kansas City Royal’s first baseman.
During an appearance on the “The Chris Rose Rotation” podcast Monday, the Richmond native purported that Billy Beane’s prized stat undervalues his breed — first basemen — and that the Mets front office should look past Pete Alonso’s career 3.8 average and consider everything else he brings to the table.
“If you play first base, you essentially have to put up an .850 OPS to get paid nowadays,” Pasquantino began. “[That’s] fine, you need to perform. But teams use WAR…
In a different time, in a season to come, we may be inclined to wax poetic about the way this one played out. In a different time, in a season to come, the Nets will be seeking to stack wins and not losses, will be fighting for playoff seeding and not for a few extra ping-pong balls in the draft lottery this spring.
The NBA has an All-Star Game problem. Despite Adam Silver’s efforts to inject juice into the February showcase — including a format alteration to the 2025 game that is too confusing to attempt to understand before it’s inevitably changed again — there’s little interest in watching teams eschew defense for a series of layup line highlights. That also means the most entertaining part of the NBA All-Star Game is just like the Pro Bowl — debating over who should get a spot.