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There is a lot to like about Brian Dozier.
An undersized middle infielder (listed at 5”11” and 185 his senior year by his Southern Miss bio) drafted in the eighth round, Dozier could have succumbed to what had been standard practice in the Twins’ organization – converting their middle men into slap-hitting bat controllers. Instead, Dozier set his sights on the outfield wall and beyond. He transformed himself into a legitimate slugger, punctuated by his 42 home run season in 2016. While many voices begged him to go the other way more, Dozier doubled down and continued to yank pitches into the left field corner at a high rate. That’s the shortest distance out, he’d say.
You could say he’s stubborn and his career has benefited from that trait. That strength, however, might also be one of his weaknesses, coming at the expense of his performance in 2018.
After being informed that he would be traded to Dodgers, Dozier told his new GM that he would be ready to go right away. “I don’t like days off,” Dozier told reporters. “No days off.”
With the Twins, Dozier was extremely reluctant to sit on the bench. Between 2013 and 2017, he would average 153 games a year, missing 43 total in 5 years. It’s commendable to want to play and contribute to your team’s effort but it can be a burden if a player is not one hundred percent. Last season in August Dozier hinted that he was not operating at full capacity but declined to elaborate on what that ailment might be. Whatever the issue was, he posted a .308/.402/.606 line with 8 home runs in September, helping lift the team to the first postseason in seven years.
Dozier’s talk about not being one hundred percent continued into 2018, when in June he once again told reporters something was not quite right. And, once again, he declined to discuss the details.
Unlike a year ago, Dozier’s numbers have been more consistent with someone playing through an injury.
According to his StatCast Sprint Speed, the 31-year-old Dozier has posted his lowest speed since the metric’s inception four years ago, dropping from 27.8 ft/sec in 2016 (190th among MLBers) to 26.6 ft/sec (317th).
His hard-hit percentage, which was 36% and 35% in 2016 and 2017, has dropped to 27% in 2018.
Like almost every hitter, he faced more shifts in 2018 than ever before but while he performed well against the adjusted defenses (.365 wOBA) he struggled when faced with the conventional alignment (.271 wOBA).
He also pulled the ball at the same rate, the balls he did pull were not hugging the left field foul pole as closely as they had done in previous season, having more fly balls die out short of the fence.
He swung less often in 2018 and swung at fewer pitches in the zone, seemingly losing that attack mentality that had made him such a desired commodity the previous two seasons.
It is hard to ignore all that.
Heading into the trade deadline, the Boston Red Sox opted for veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler over Dozier. Kinsler, like Dozier, harnessed the use of pull power to drive pitches out of the park. This season, after being nearly a foot-per-second quicker than Kinsler in 2016-2017, Dozier had the same sprint speed as Kinsler (26.6 ft/sec) and very comparable lines:
It is like Dozier rapidly aged five years.
Whatever is not quite right with Dozier it is hard to ignore how that might have hindered his production in 2018. Would more days off have helped? Was playing through injuries and ailments part of Dozier’s heart and hustle mentality? Was it a team-first mindset? Or was it to try to ensure a healthy payday heading into a contract year? Both? Neither?
People ask why a player would play through injuries even as it obviously affecting their bottom line. Ego is part of it. There is also an element of believing you are one game away from a breakout, one day away from feeling better. Not playing is the greatest enemy of a baseball player.
Regardless of the motivation, Brian Dozier has meant so much for the Minnesota Twins and the Twins community. From a baseball perspective, it was completely necessary to move Dozier at the deadline. From a fan’s perspective, it will be weird as hell to see in him a Dodgers uniform for the duration of the season. With that in mind, here’s a montage of Brian Dozier moments in a Twins uniform for comfort.
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