Washington Nationals: 2017 NLDS Tale of the Tape
By Ricky Keeler
Second Base: Daniel Murphy vs. Javier Baez
Heading into the postseason, it is hard not to trust Daniel Murphy giving his October track record. Over the last two postseasons, he has 17 RBI’s in 19 games and had seven home runs in the 2015 playoffs with the Mets (four of them in the NLCS against the Cubs).
This season, Murphy was close to his numbers from a year ago. In 144 games, he had a slash line of .322/.384/.543 with 23 home runs and 93 RBI’s. Plus, he had 17 more walks (52) compared to last season (35).
The defense is mediocre, but Murphy’s value to the Washington Nationals is with his offense. In 25 at-bats against the Cubs, he had nine hits, three home runs, and drove in four runs. Two of those three home runs came at Wrigley Field.
On the other side, Baez is one of the better defenders in the National League and makes the difficult play look easy. He has played all around the field, but second base is the position he has played the most games at (80), so he’s included in this position battle.
Baez never met a pitch he didn’t like to swing at, but when he makes contact, the ball goes a long way. His 23 home runs this year was a career-high and the 24-year-old has been a .291 hitter since the break (ten home runs since August 1).
Advantage: For this battle, the victory goes to Murphy and the Nationals. Baez has the clear edge defensively, but Murphy gets the check mark due to his postseason track record and for his consistency at the plate. The Cubs will try to throw as many left-handers as they can against him, but its tough to strike him out. In time, this position battle will be a lot closer in the future.