I want to praise showing up for work.
That should be par in the majors. Not something worthy of acknowledgement. But in an age of load management and more liberal use of the injured list, I find those who punch the clock daily admirable.
I have long felt that modern metrics do not penalize players enough for missing games nor add enough points for the player who keeps an inferior backup out of games.
Take the Mets, for example. Of all the things Buck Showalter has had to think about this season, one thing he hasn’t been forced to contemplate is the identity of his backup shortstop. Only Anthony Volpe has played more innings at short this year than Francisco Lindor.
