BaseballEvolution.com - Richard

Pedro Feliz – Prodigious Out Making Machine
(Part 2)
by Richard Van Zandt, BaseballEvolution.com
February 25, 2007

Part1 | Part2 | Part3

The Road Warrior?

Career	PA	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K
Home	1219	1135	302	65	8	37	176	65	184
Road	1218	1148	273	55	9	52	170	55	246

Career	AVE	OBP	SLG	OPS	AB/HR	PA/K	PA/BB	PA/ABB
Home	0.266	0.303	0.435	0.738	30.68	6.63	18.75	20.32
Road	0.238	0.273	0.437	0.710	22.08	4.95	22.15	23.88

Throughout his career, Pedro Feliz has been an extraordinarily bad hitter on the road. While you would generally expect a player to be better at home, his road numbers are simply downright detrimental. In particular, take note of how often he strikes out on the road and how rarely he reaches base.

And while his HR ratio at Willie Mays Field is affected by the way the ballpark clearly suppresses home runs, his much improved road ratio can be explained away by thrice yearly trips to hitter friendly Coors Field, where he has belted a whopping 15.7% of his career round trippers (in 169 PA – more than he has at any other visiting park). In fact, Feliz has hit nearly 60% of his 89 career HR in just two of the 33 different ballparks he’s played in.

% of Career HR – PA/HR

Ballpark	HR	PA	%	PA/HR
Willie Mays Field	37	1219	0.416	32.95
Coors Field	14	169	0.157	12.07
Combined	51	1388	0.573	27.22
Road HR minus Coors	38	1049	0.427	27.61
Bank One Ballpark	8	141	0.090	17.63
Minute Maid Park	5	39	0.056	7.80
Network Associates	5	56	0.056	11.20
PETCO	4	95	0.045	23.75
Dodger Stadium	3	136	0.034	45.33
Miller Park	3	58	0.034	19.33
Wrigley Field	2	47	0.022	23.50
Great American BP	2	42	0.022	21.00
Pro Player	2	52	0.022	26.00
Shea Stadium	2	45	0.022	22.50
US Cellular	1	9	0.011	9.00
Busch Stadium II	1	8	0.011	8.00

Feliz has played in 33 different Major League ballparks

One of the toughest things for a team to do in baseball is to win on the road. Pedro Feliz, far from the clutch performer he is made out to be, continually hurts the Giants in that regard by consistently failing to produce away from the friendly confines of Willie Mays Field.

The Streaky Mr. Feliz

In talking with supporters of Feliz, you’ll often hear him described as streaky, as if that’s somehow a good thing. Another word though for streaky is inconsistent, and Pedro Feliz is quite possibly the most inconsistent hitter in all of baseball. Feliz runs hot and cold like an old house with ancient plumbing.

Feliz - 2004	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVE	OBP	SLG	OPS
4/5 - 4/28	61	5	19	2	0	2	10	1	13	0.311	0.323	0.443	0.765
4/29 - 5/6	21	3	5	1	0	1	5	0	4	0.238	0.227	0.429	0.656
5/7 - 5/12	17	4	7	0	0	4	6	0	5	0.412	0.412	1.118	1.529
5/13 - 5/16	13	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	5	0.154	0.154	0.154	0.308
5/18 - 5/21	17	2	6	1	0	1	3	0	3	0.353	0.353	0.588	0.941
5/22 - 6/3	43	3	9	3	0	1	4	4	8	0.209	0.277	0.349	0.625
6/4 - 6/7	22	7	7	3	0	2	4	0	4	0.318	0.318	0.727	1.045
6/8 - 6/12 (1)	16	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	0.063	0.167	0.063	0.229
6/12 (2) - 6/17	22	4	9	2	2	1	7	3	2	0.409	0.480	0.818	1.298
6/18 - 7/15	66	5	11	3	0	1	11	3	13	0.167	0.203	0.258	0.460
7/16 - 7/25	28	1	10	3	0	1	5	0	2	0.357	0.357	0.571	0.929
7/26 - 7/30	11	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0.091	0.091	0.091	0.182
7/31 - 8/20	59	15	20	8	0	3	7	1	6	0.339	0.339	0.627	0.966
8/21 - 8/24	11	1	1	1	0	0	0	3	3	0.091	0.286	0.182	0.468
8/25 - 9/8	41	7	14	1	1	1	6	2	3	0.341	0.364	0.488	0.851
9/10 - 9/18	21	5	4	0	0	2	2	1	3	0.190	0.227	0.476	0.703
9/19 - 9/25	21	6	10	4	0	1	9	2	4	0.476	0.522	0.810	1.331
9/26 - 10/3	13	2	3	1	0	1	4	1	2	0.231	0.267	0.538	0.805
Total	503	72	139	33	3	22	84	23	85	0.276	0.305	0.485	0.790
Lg Ave										0.263	0.333	0.423	0.756
Feliz - 2005	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVE	OBP	SLG	OPS
4/5 - 4/25	77	17	23	4	1	3	16	6	11	0.299	0.341	0.494	0.835
4/26 - 5/2	18	1	4	1	0	1	6	2	3	0.222	0.300	0.444	0.744
5/3 - 5/10	28	3	13	2	0	1	4	1	2	0.464	0.483	0.643	1.126
5/11 - 6/15	104	8	20	3	0	3	11	4	25	0.192	0.222	0.308	0.530
6/16 - 6/24	34	5	15	3	0	2	11	4	8	0.441	0.487	0.706	1.193
6/25 - 7/3	32	3	4	1	0	0	2	1	2	0.125	0.152	0.156	0.308
7/4 - 7/10	22	6	8	2	0	1	1	1	3	0.364	0.391	0.591	0.982
7/14 - 7/17	16	1	2	0	0	1	1	1	1	0.125	0.176	0.313	0.489
7/18 - 7/26	33	6	11	2	0	4	8	0	5	0.333	0.333	0.758	1.091
7/27 - 8/15	61	6	10	2	0	2	10	12	11	0.164	0.303	0.295	0.598
8/16 - 8/21	25	6	11	4	1	0	1	1	4	0.440	0.462	0.680	1.142
8/22 - 9/5	32	2	4	0	0	1	2	3	7	0.125	0.200	0.219	0.419
9/6 - 9/15	30	4	9	3	0	1	7	1	6	0.300	0.313	0.500	0.813
9/16 - 10/2	57	1	8	3	2	0	1	1	14	0.140	0.155	0.263	0.418
Total	569	69	142	30	4	20	81	38	102	0.250	0.295	0.422	0.717
Lg Ave										0.262	0.330	0.414	0.744
Feliz - 2006	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVE	OBP	SLG	OPS
4/3 - 4/25	77	7	13	4	0	2	13	4	17	0.169	0.205	0.299	0.504
4/26 - 5/18	86	18	33	5	0	7	19	2	17	0.384	0.398	0.686	1.084
5/19 - 5/30	42	4	7	1	1	0	3	4	5	0.167	0.239	0.238	0.477
5/31 - 6/6	25	4	11	2	1	0	2	1	6	0.440	0.462	0.600	1.062
6/7 - 6/27	67	6	15	6	1	1	11	2	11	0.224	0.257	0.388	0.645
6/28 - 7/15	60	12	20	4	2	5	15	5	9	0.333	0.385	0.717	1.101
7/16 - 8/5	68	8	11	2	0	2	6	5	7	0.162	0.216	0.279	0.496
8/6 - 8/9	13	2	6	0	0	2	5	2	1	0.462	0.500	0.923	1.423
8/11 - 8/22	36	1	3	0	0	1	4	2	11	0.083	0.132	0.167	0.298
8/23-8/27	20	3	8	4	0	1	6	1	3	0.400	0.429	0.750	1.179
8/29-9/6	27	0	2	1	0	0	3	1	7	0.074	0.103	0.111	0.215
9/8-9/19	41	7	14	3	0	1	5	3	8	0.341	0.386	0.488	0.874
9/20-10/1	41	3	4	3	0	0	6	1	10	0.098	0.116	0.171	0.287
Total	603	75	147	35	5	22	98	33	112	0.244	0.281	0.428	0.709
Lg Ave										0.265	0.334	0.427	0.761

Note – among other things – how each season ends on a cold streak. That, unfortunately, is one area in which Feliz has been unfailingly consistent. Throughout his career Feliz has been better early in the year while fading come the dog days of August. In 2006 Feliz batted .274 with 15 HR and 62 RBI before the break, only to finish at .202 with just 7 HR and 36 RBI after the All-Star game.

Career	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	AVE	OBP	SLG	OPS
1st Half	1288	165	335	62	8	52	210	62	251	0.260	0.293	0.442	0.735
2nd Half	995	120	240	58	9	37	136	58	179	0.241	0.282	0.429	0.711
Mar/April	333	37	86	12	1	8	55	17	59	0.258	0.291	0.372	0.663
May	381	52	104	20	2	22	61	17	88	0.273	0.304	0.509	0.813
June	436	59	113	23	4	16	70	20	76	0.259	0.292	0.440	0.732
July	392	44	95	17	3	20	62	23	64	0.242	0.285	0.454	0.739
Aug	389	50	96	26	1	12	44	25	66	0.247	0.288	0.411	0.699
Sept/Oct	352	43	81	22	6	11	54	18	77	0.230	0.267	0.420	0.687

The Giants have consistently remained in the chase for the playoffs deep into the season. Feliz’ struggles in the second half – in particular down the stretch – have plainly contributed to the team’s ultimate demise, and that is another clear indication that Feliz is anything but a clutch performer.

Pedro Feliz - Prodigious Out Making Machine

Offensively, the idea in baseball is to get on base as often as possible and score runs. Pedro Feliz, a two-time winner of the BaseballEvolution.com Dave Kingman Award (presented annually to the player who “does the least with the most”), is a prodigious out making machine.

Feliz made his debut in September of 2000, going 2-for-7 for a respectable – if even with so few AB – .286 batting average (on the other hand, aside from going 2-for-2 in a 13-0 rout of the Padres, he went 0-for-5 without a walk, HBP or anything else other than an out that fall). Why do I mention this? Because in those 7 measly plate appearances, Feliz created 5 outs; a rate of 71%. That folks, believe it or not, has been the lowest percentage of outs created per PA in Pedro’s less-than-glorious career.

To gain some perspective and to see where Feliz ranks among his peers, we can look at career percentages both of some of Feliz’ own recent teammates as well as those from some of baseball’s more productive players.

% of Outs/Plate Appearance

Feliz	PA	Outs	%	Career	PA	Outs	%	Career	PA	Outs	%
2000	7	5	0.71	Bonds	12129	7052	0.58	Helton	6073	3609	0.59
2001	238	182	0.76	Alou	7499	4959	0.66	Thomas	9161	5500	0.60
2002	153	112	0.73	Durham	7469	5058	0.68	Giambi	6908	4195	0.61
2003	249	189	0.76	Winn	4728	3267	0.69	Berkman	4459	2708	0.61
2004	531	389	0.73	Finley	10358	7206	0.70	Pujols	4062	2493	0.61
2005	615	456	0.74	Vizquel	10207	7112	0.70	Abreu	6367	3922	0.62
2006	644	482	0.75	Hillenbrand	3538	2512	0.71	Suzuki	4444	2863	0.64
Total	2437	1815	0.74	Matheny	4287	3163	0.74	Ensberg	2176	1435	0.66

In reality, Feliz has never recorded a mark better than 73% in any season of his entire career. Three times in six seasons, he’s created 75% or more outs/PA. Morgan Ensberg, comparatively - if he keeps up his current pace - would create over 200 fewer outs through the same number of PA. That’s over 60 fewer outs a year that the seemingly obtainable Ensberg could reasonably have been expected to make given the same number of PA that Feliz had last season.

Certainly it’s unrealistic to expect Pedro to resemble such noted on-base machines like Helton, Thomas, Giambi or Abreu, but Feliz compares far more closely to recently retired catcher and former teammate Mike Matheny then any of those players, although even the four-time Gold Glove Award winning Matheny’s career OBP of .293 was actually 5 points higher than Feliz’ pathetic .288 mark.

That then begs the question: just how bad is Feliz’ on-base percentage? The short answer is awful. With 2,437 plate appearances, his .288 career OBP ranks as the second lowest among all active major league players with at least 2,000 PA while his % of O/PA is the third lowest.

Top 25 Lowest OBP – Active Players – Min 2,000 PA

(With corresponding % of O/PA)

Rk	Pos	Player	Tot	PA	Outs	%
1	6	J. Castro	0.272	2298	1753	0.76
2	5	Feliz	0.288	2437	1815	0.74
3	6	R. Ordonez	0.289	3407	2558	0.75
4	2	Blanco	0.290	2196	1632	0.74
5	6	To. Perez	0.291	2064	1526	0.74
6	6	A. Gonzalez	0.292	3917	2878	0.73
7	6	D. Cruz	0.293	4375	3255	0.74
8	6	C. Izturis	0.295	2615	1931	0.74
9	2	Widger	0.296	1998	1451	0.73
10	8	Patterson	0.297	2833	2058	0.73
11	6	Uribe	0.297	2832	2079	0.73
12	6	N. Perez	0.298	5439	3982	0.73
13	5	T. Batista	0.298	4841	3533	0.73
14	6	Guzman	0.298	4030	2963	0.74
15	2	T. Hall	0.301	2258	1667	0.74
16	6	Everett	0.301	2138	1548	0.72
17	6	A. S. Gonzalez	0.302	5528	4058	0.73
18	5	Inge	0.302	2672	1945	0.73
19	2	E. Diaz	0.302	2257	1664	0.74
20	2/7	Marrero	0.303	2126	1538	0.72
21	6	Berroa	0.305	2483	1815	0.73
22	6	J. Wilson	0.306	3552	2571	0.72
23	6	Reese	0.307	3138	2250	0.72
24	4	Rivas	0.307	2056	1515	0.74
25	6	R. Sanchez	0.308	5246	3828	0.73

Rk	Pos	Player	Tot	PA	Outs	%
1	6	J. Castro	0.272	2298	1753	0.7628
2	6	R. Ordonez	0.289	3407	2558	0.7508
3	5	Feliz	0.288	2437	1815	0.7448
4	6	D. Cruz	0.293	4375	3255	0.7440
5	2	Blanco	0.290	2196	1632	0.7432
6	6	To. Perez	0.291	2064	1526	0.7393
7	6	C. Izturis	0.295	2615	1931	0.7384
8	2	T. Hall	0.301	2258	1667	0.7383
9	2	E. Diaz	0.302	2257	1664	0.7373
10	4	Rivas	0.307	2056	1515	0.7369
11	6	Guzman	0.298	4030	2963	0.7352
12	6	A. Gonzalez	0.292	3917	2878	0.7347
13	6	Uribe	0.297	2832	2079	0.7341
14	6	A. S. Gonzalez	0.302	5528	4058	0.7341
15	6	N. Perez	0.298	5439	3982	0.7321
16	6	Berroa	0.305	2483	1815	0.7310
17	5	T. Batista	0.298	4841	3533	0.7298
18	6	R. Sanchez	0.308	5246	3828	0.7297
19	5	Inge	0.302	2672	1945	0.7279
20	8	Patterson	0.297	2833	2058	0.7264
21	2	Widger	0.296	1998	1451	0.7262
22	6	Everett	0.301	2138	1548	0.7240
23	6	J. Wilson	0.306	3552	2571	0.7238
24	2/7	Marrero	0.303	2126	1538	0.7234
25	6	Reese	0.307	3138	2250	0.7170

You can see that the list is primarily populated by shortstops and catchers – players valued more for their defense - while a total of only three third baseman populate the top, er…uh…bottom 25. And of those three, Batista began his career as a middle infielder while Inge began his career as a catcher, making Feliz the only true third baseman on this list of truly inept batters. And things really don’t get much better when you expand the field to 1,000 PA either.

Top 50 Lowest OBP – Active Players – Minimum 1,000 PA (with corresponding % of O/PA)

	Pos	Player	Tot	PA	Outs	%
1	6	J. Castro	0.272	2298	1753	0.76
2	2	Olivo	0.279	1429	1073	0.75
3	6	McDonald	0.279	1146	866	0.76
4	2	Barajas	0.282	1761	1299	0.74
5	6	M. Alexander	0.282	1387	1028	0.74
6	2	T. Greene	0.286	1657	1227	0.74
7	2/5	Eric Munson	0.286	1035	754	0.73
8	2	DiFelice	0.287	1645	1230	0.75
9	5	Feliz	0.288	2437	1815	0.74
10	6	R. Ordonez	0.289	3407	2558	0.75
11	2	Moeller	0.289	1263	949	0.75
12	2	Blanco	0.290	2196	1632	0.74
13	4	B. Phillips	0.290	1049	789	0.75
14	6	To. Perez	0.291	2064	1526	0.74
15	2	Y. Molina	0.291	1033	773	0.75
16	6	A. Gonzalez	0.292	3917	2878	0.73
17	2	Buck	0.292	1097	807	0.74
18	6	D. Cruz	0.293	4375	3255	0.74
19	6	C. Izturis	0.295	2615	1931	0.74
20	2	A. Castillo	0.295	1137	835	0.73
21	6	Barmes	0.295	1017	741	0.73
22	2	Widger	0.296	1998	1451	0.73
23	2	Fasano	0.296	1142	835	0.73
24	8	Patterson	0.297	2833	2058	0.73
25	6	Uribe	0.297	2832	2079	0.73
	Pos	Player	Tot	PA	Outs	%
26	6	Infante	0.297	1554	1127	0.73
27	6	N. Perez	0.298	5439	3982	0.73
28	5	T. Batista	0.298	4841	3533	0.73
29	6	Guzman	0.298	4030	2963	0.74
30	Utl	Macias	0.298	1789	1314	0.73
31	4	J. Lopez	0.300	1076	785	0.73
32	2	T. Hall	0.301	2258	1667	0.74
33	6	Everett	0.301	2138	1548	0.72
34	9	Ti. Perez	0.301	1729	1269	0.73
35	4	J. Castillo	0.301	1374	1016	0.74
36	6	A. S. Gonzalez	0.302	5528	4058	0.73
37	5	Inge	0.302	2672	1945	0.73
38	2	E. Diaz	0.302	2257	1664	0.74
39	Utl	McEwing	0.302	1963	1421	0.72
40	2	V. Wilson	0.302	1054	772	0.73
41	2/7	Marrero	0.303	2126	1538	0.72
42	Utl	Mordecai	0.303	1512	1094	0.72
43	8	Bergeron	0.303	1256	916	0.73
44	2	J. Valentin	0.304	1254	904	0.72
45	6	Berroa	0.305	2483	1815	0.73
46	2	Bennett	0.305	1683	1224	0.73
47	Utl	J. Cabrera	0.305	1405	1027	0.73
48	6	J. Wilson	0.306	3552	2571	0.72
49	2	Davis	0.306	1698	1228	0.72
50	4/7	W. Harris	0.306	1014	733	0.72

Other Notables		OBP	PA	Outs	%
5	Truby	0.269	884	666	0.75
2	Laker	0.276	716	546	0.76
8	L. Nix	0.277	905	667	0.74
2	Gil	0.279	871	663	0.76
2	J. Molina	0.280	933	704	0.75
2	Matheny (ret)	0.293	4287	3163	0.74
9	Francoeur	0.305	960	695	0.72
2	R. Castro	0.307	915	652	0.71
2	Bako	0.308	1829	1303	0.71
2	Alomar	0.310	4843	3513	0.73
2	B. Molina	0.310	3137	2286	0.73
2	Torrealba	0.310	1041	763	0.73
2	W. Gonzalez	0.310	932	673	0.72
6	Clayton	0.313	7948	5804	0.73
5	Ensberg	0.372	2176	1435	0.66

For crying out loud, he ranks lower than two out of three Molina brothers (including his new teammate Bengie). Now that’s saying something, and it isn’t really something good. In fact, Feliz aspired to a new low in 2006 with his historically awful .281 single season OBP.

With 644 PA last year, Feliz’ OBP tied him for the 15th lowest single season mark in major league history among all batters with at least 640 PA (since 1900). The only other 3B on the list is Tony Batista (twice no less), although Buck Weaver did play 85 games at third in addition to 66 at SS in 1916.

Lowest Single Season OBP Since 1900

Min 640 PA	Pos	Rk	Yr	OBP	PA	Outs	%
Cookie Rojas	2B	1	1968	0.251	650	511	0.79
Ozzie Smith	SS	2	1979	0.260	649	504	0.78
Tom Jones	1B	3	1904	0.270	662	487	0.74
Tony Batista	3B	4	2004	0.272	650	494	0.76
Tony Batista	3B	5	2003	0.273	670	512	0.76
Hy Myers	OF	6	1915	0.275	645	494	0.77
Glenn Beckert*	2B	7t	1965	0.276	653	497	0.76
Roy Schalk**	2B	7t	1944	0.276	654	500	0.76
Tommy Corcoran	SS	9t	1905	0.277	647	473	0.73
Freddy Parent	SS	9t	1906	0.277	653	477	0.73
Ivy Olson	SS	11	1920	0.278	665	489	0.74
Rennie Stennett	2B	12t	1976	0.279	682	515	0.76
Bert Campaneris	SS	12t	1972	0.279	681	520	0.76
Buck Weaver	3B/SS	14	1916	0.280	669	507	0.76
Bobby Richardson	2B	15t	1966	0.281	648	492	0.76
Pedro Feliz	3B	15t	2006	0.281	644	482	0.75

*Rookie in 1965

**Played 3 games in 1932 as a 23-year-old, and then never played again until he was a wartime replacement player in 1944-45.

Of course, the crux of Pedro’s on-base percentage woes lie in his near steadfast refusal to take a walk or to refrain from chasing pitches out of the strike zone. Somehow, you would think that while playing alongside Barry Bonds you just might pick up a clue or two about patience at the plate. But that obviously has not rubbed off on Feliz. Pedro’s penchant for swinging at nearly anything in the general area of home plate can be rivaled among his teammates only by backup catcher Eliezer Alfonzo, who last year as a rookie drew just two unintentional walks in 309 PA (his 7 IBB were the by-product of hitting 8^th) and posted a .302 OBP.

Alfonzo	PA	BB	IBB	ABB	PA/BB	PA/ABB
2006	309	9	7	2	34.33	154.50

Feliz BB Ratio	AB	BB	IBB	ABB	AB/BB	AB/ABB
Career	2283	120	9	111	19.03	20.57
2001	220	10	2	8	22.00	27.50
2002	146	6	1	5	24.33	29.20
2003	235	10	0	10	23.50	23.50
2004	503	23	1	22	21.87	22.86
2005	569	38	1	37	14.97	15.38
2006	603	33	4	29	18.27	20.79
Minor League	2433	109	4	105	22.32	23.17
Combined	4716	229	13	216	20.59	21.83

Pedro, you’ll note, did show improved patience at the dish after his first two seasons, but then stagnated for two more years before improving significantly (relatively speaking) in ’05. However he slid almost all the way back last year and his current age (32 on April 27) and career track record give no indications that 2005 was anything other than a fluke or that we should ever expect to see much improvement. No, it’s not out of the question, certainly; it’s just highly unlikely given the fact that he’s drawn just 216 unintentional BB in over 4,700 professional AB.

Career	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	IBB	HBP	SF	TB
Major League Tot	2283	285	575	120	17	89	346	120	430	9	5	23	996
Minor League Tot	2433	293	652	121	17	78	346	109	454	4	17	22	1041
Combined Total	4716	578	1227	241	34	167	692	229	884	13	22	45	2037

Career	AVE	OBP	SLG	OPS	AB/HR	AB/K	AB/BB	AB/ABB
Major League Tot	0.252	0.288	0.436	0.724	25.65	5.31	19.03	20.57
Minor League Tot	0.268	0.301	0.428	0.729	31.19	5.36	22.32	23.17
Combined Total	0.260	0.295	0.432	0.727	28.24	5.33	20.59	21.83

There just has simply been nothing at all in Feliz’ past performance to suggest that he’ll ever figure it out. His career minor league totals nearly even mirror his major league totals in a professional career that dates back to 1994, when Feliz was signed as an amateur free agent during the Quinn regime.

Continue to Part3, The Aging of Pedro Feliz

Disagree with something? Got something to add? Wanna bring up something totally new? Richard resides in San Francisco, California and can be reached at richard@baseballevolution.com.