My favourite byline of 2017: Ben Nicholson-Smith

Even though Chris Carter led the NL with 41 home runs in 2016, the Brewers non-tendered him. The Yankees signed him for just $3.5 million, an apparent bargain until he posted a .284 on-base percentage and got released midway through the season. (Frank Franklin II/AP)

Over the holidays we’ll be re-visiting Sportsnet staff writers’ favourite pieces from 2017. Today: Ben Nicholson-Smith explains why a piece about the changing value of power in baseball tops his list.

In the course of a year I write often enough that some stories will land and others will be forgettable. Sometimes my favourite pieces aren’t the ones I initially expect, either.

On occasion, a story I put together in an afternoon will bring me unexpected satisfaction — springtime stories on Jake Elmore’s versatility and Chris Smith’s non-refundable cruise fell into that category this year.

Other stories I might chip away on for days or weeks. If I’m lucky they become more rewarding the more time I spend on them. This year, that applied to this piece on Chris Sale, this look at where to find baseball’s next super-utility player and this story on the organized chaos of MLB batting practice. That last piece was especially fun since I got to think more visually than usual while working with John Kealey, who took the photos and video for the piece, and Drew Lesiuczok, who designed the final product.

Personally I really enjoyed writing all of those pieces and I was pleased with how they turned out. As much as I enjoyed them, though, it’s most satisfying to write something that resonates with our Sportsnet.ca audience. In that respect two pieces stand out. One went up recently: a look at the push-or-pull dilemma facing teams on the edge of the playoff race like the Blue Jays. The other was published almost a full year ago, and it might have slipped my mind if not for this exercise.

The piece, co-written by Shi Davidi and edited by Evan Rosser, looked at the changing value of power in today’s game. At the time the idea that power hitters would be frozen out seemed somewhat novel. Nearly a year later, the trend has continued: teams prefer complete players to one-dimensional sluggers and they’re building their rosters accordingly.

Excerpt: Do MLB Execs still dig the long ball?

The longer Trumbo, last season’s American League home-run leader (with 47), and Carter, the National League’s co-leader, sit around without contracts, the more some in the industry wonder why.

Could there be something larger at play this off-season? Could the comparative value of baseball skills be evolving? And as a result of that evolution, have MLB executives stopped digging the long ball?

“Is it home runs [changing in value], or is it defence, too—run prevention—and different ways to score runs?” asks Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins. “Probably it has a lot do with the industry getting better at understanding defence and understanding a total player. Home runs are obviously very attractive for good reason. And maybe they were overvalued for a while. Maybe.”

An influential player agent, who asked not to be named, dismisses that notion entirely.

“We elected a rodeo clown for president yet owners think fans will care about the nuance of WAR?” counters the agent. “Fans want homers, fist pumps, walk-offs, closers throwing 100, neon arm sleeves, and their team to play in games that count. Nobody buys jerseys that say ‘[Andrew] Friedman,’ ‘[Theo] Epstein’ or ‘[Mark] Shapiro’ on the back. They want heroes and role models. Good guys and bad guys. Fans don’t pay $750 a pop for dugout club seats hoping to see five walks that night. They want to see their favourite hitter go deep and whether or not he pimps it.”

That all may be true, but at the very least, there are a new set of complicating factors for sluggers seeking big paydays.

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