Kansas City Royals: All-Time Worst Defenders
By Scott Dillon
Center Field: Tom Goodwin
Total TZ: -11 over 2,227.1 innings
TZ per 1,500 innings: -7.4
Again, if fielding percentage were being used, Jarrod Dyson would be the player at the top of this list instead of Tom Goodwin. Carlos Beltran would be the second worst, and Lorenzo Cain would be the third worst center fielder the Royals ever had.
Tom Goodwin played with the Royals during the mid to late 90’s and was known for one thing: speed. He actually put up a decent slash line with the Royals by posting a .281/.332/.344 slash over the four years that he was with the team.
He was a light hitting center fielder, but he was a weapon on the base paths. He stole 150 bases in his four seasons with the Royals though he was caught 50 times. If you’re wondering how many steals Jarrod Dyson has in his six seasons with the Royals, it’s 146.
He was basically a little bit better version of Jarrod Dyson in the hitting category. He didn’t have a lot of power but when he’s on base, he’s going to turn a single into a double in short order.
If Dyson get’s a chance to start regularly, he could make a run at Goodwin’s best single season mark of 66. He’ll likely never even sniff Willie Wilson‘s club record of 83 though.
More recently, Tom Goodwin is the first base coach for the New York Mets. He got a front row seat to watch a his old team take home the trophy for the first time in 30 years. While UZR is a newer stat, Lorenzo Cain is currently the best center fielder in that category. It would be awfully hard to say he’s among the worst.
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