Just a couple of weeks ago, I watched a video on YouTube. In the video, a host and an analyst indicated a player’s performance in the postseason. Meanwhile, they mentioned another player who had a similar performance a few years ago.
They were talking about two super utility players. One is Tommy Edman, who won the 2024 NLCS MVP award. The other is Ben Zobrist, who was the 2016 World Series MVP. Without doubt, they are 2 great utility players. They are able to play multiple positions. And they can hit. Interestingly, they were traded in the regular season.
After watching the video, I began to think about their performance in the postseason. In particular, in the season that they were traded, did they hit well?
In January 2015, Ben Zobrist was traded from the Rays to the A’s. So, Ben Zobrist began the 2015 season with the Oakland A’s. He played 67 games for the A’s, hitting .268/.354/.447 with 6 home runs and 33 RBI. Zobrist’s OPS was over .800 in the A’s uniform. In July, he was traded to the Royals.
In the 2024 season, Tommy Edman didn’t play any games for the Cardinals. In July 2024, Edman was traded to the Dodgers.
After being traded to the Royals, Zobrist slashed .284/.364/.453 with 7 home runs and 23 RBI over 59 games. His OPS was over .800 in the Royals uniform.
After being traded to the Dodgers, Tommy Edman played 37 games during the regular season, hitting .237/.294/.417 with 6 home runs and 20 RBI. His OPS was .711.
Now, let’s take a look at their performance in the postseason. Zobrist played 5 games in the 2015 ALDS. He collected 6 hits and 2 RBI. His OPS was .770 in the ALDS. In the 2024 NLDS, Tommy Edman played 5 games, collecting 4 hits and 1 RBI. Nonetheless, his OPS was only .470. Edman’s performance in the 2024 NLDS wasn’t really impressive.
In addition, in the 2015 ALCS, Ben Zobrist did hit well. He slashed .320/.370/.680 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. He had 8 hits in 6 games and owned an OPS over 1.000. In 2024, Tommy Edman was fantastic in the NLDS. Edman slashed .407/.393/.630 with 1 home run and 11 RBI in 6 games. He had an OPS over 1.000 and was named the 2024 NLCS MVP.
Finally, let’s take a look at their performance in the World Series. In 2015, Zobrist played 5 games in the Fall Classic, hitting .261/.346/.435. He had 6 hits but he didn’t collect any RBI. Last season, Tommy Edman slashed .294/.400/.588 with 1 home run and 1 RBI in the World Series. He had 5 hits in the Fall Classic and his OPS was .988.
It’s quite interesting to see that Zobrist and Edman were compared in the show. Interestingly, they were both traded before the trade deadline. After the trade, they each played a significant role in the team. Zobrist was quite consistent in 2015. His OPS was over .800 during the regular season. In the postseason, his OPS was over .800 as well. In particular, he owned an OPS over 1.000 in the 2015 ALCS. Edman only played 37 games in the 2024 regular season. In the 2024 NLDS, he didn’t hit very well. Nevertheless, he gradually heated up in the NLCS and in the Fall Classic. And the timing was just great and he was able to help the Dodgers win the World Series. Utility players have been important in today’s baseball games and they provide flexibility in the team. While seeing 2 successful stories of Zobrist and Edman, it’s certainly important for a postseason contender to know how to acquire utility players in the mid-season and utilize their skills to win in October. Well, Zobrist not only helped the Royals win the Fall Classic in 2015 but also contributed to the Cubs to end the drought. Tommy Edman signed a 5-year contract extension with the Dodgers, let’s see whether he will continue performing well in the Dodgers uniform.
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