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“The Common Man” Dan Cole, from KFAN 100.3 in the Twin Cities, does a segment regularly on his talk-show where he discusses whether certain performances, fads or developments are more of a trend or more of a mirage. As a long-time listener of the show, I’ve always enjoyed listening to his takes on various topics in the sports world and whether or not they will become a trend or will fade off into the distance. Keeping the Common Man’s segment in mind, I thought about applying the thought of “trend or mirage” to the current Minnesota Twins team and, more specifically, the recent strong play of second baseman Brian Dozier.
Since his promotion last year, Dozier’s production has been in constant flux. There have been times when Dozier has shown he can hit for power, times when he has shown he can hit for average in the leadoff spot and times when he has shown he is an above average defensive infielder at the big-league level; but there have also been times that Dozier has looked inept at the plate and cannot handle his own or even get a bunt down. However, over the past few weeks, Dozier is starting to look like he is figuring some things out at the majors and is quietly becoming one of the Twins’ most reliable players.
Currently, Dozier is hitting .243 with 10 HR, 44 RBI, a .315 OBP, .414 SLG and a .729 OPS on the season and sports a WAR of 2.7; however, this month, Dozier is hitting .317 with one homerun, seven RBI and 13 hits over 10 games. While those stats are certainly signs of progress, they don’t represent the consistently superb defense that Dozier has given the Twins all season long. On the year, Dozier sports an impressive .994 fielding percentage and a defensive WAR of 1.3. For a player that was teetering on losing his job at the majors, and as a starter, for the better part of a year and for a player who is in his first full season of playing second base, that demonstrates significant improvement.
So what is the motivation or reasoning behind Dozier’s recent surge? Last week I included Dozier in my “walkup song redux” series and I kind of ripped him a little bit and did not give him the type of credit he deserves for how he has performed this season. While I’m not saying that Dozier reads my blogs, knows who I am or even cares what I have to say, there is a chance that he got wind of my article and thus has used the bulletin board material as motivation for his torrid August. Outside of that fairytale idea, a more likely scenario would say that Dozier is feeling more comfortable at the plate and is benefitting from working with Twins’ hitting coach Tom Brunansky all season long; but who wants to believe reality anyway?
To return and answer the main question of my article, which is whether or not Dozier’s recent performance is more of a trend or more of a mirage, Dozier’s recent surge—I believe—is more of a trend and less of a mirage. I won’t go as far as saying that you can expect Dozier to hit .317 for an entire season, but Dozier certainly could hit in the .290 range and continue to play stellar defense for the remainder of his tenure with the Twins. If the Twins could get that kind of continual production out of Dozier, there is little doubt that the team would be thrilled. Hopefully for a team that has been in constant search for a reliable second baseman for the better part of a decade, the search is over and Dozier is the guy.
Brian Wille is a Minnesota Twins writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @BeeWill15 or “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google
