Fantasy MLB: What if Stairs played daily?

Matt Stairs will go down in the history books as one of the greatest pinch hitters in Major League Baseball.

The stocky left-handed slugger always looked like he’d more likely be someone to go bowling with than someone you would pay money to watch on the baseball diamond, but Stairs has enjoyed a 19-year career of exceeding expectations.

While it is always positive to be an overachiever, sabermetricians are often infatuated with Stairs career because of the fact that he arguably did not garner enough respect from his managers.

The big question is whether Stairs’ statistics would have been even better had he enjoyed an opportunity to play regularly throughout his career.

In an era in which getting on base and hitting with power is rewarded, Stairs somehow failed to earn everyday gigs despite a healthy .356 on base percentage and .479 slugging percentage. In comparison, Yankees legendary shortstop Derek Jeter, who will be enshrined in the Hall of Fame, posted a .383 OBP and a .450 slugging.

Of course, these are two very different players with different skill-sets and positions, but the point is, while Jeter made well over $200 million in his career with the Bronx Bombers, Stairs never made an All-Star team and never earned more than $3.2 million in a season.

Although Stairs never played in an All-Star game that is not to say that he did not play at an All-Star level in his career. In 1997, Stairs belted 27 home runs with a .298 average despite playing in the pitcher-friendly Oakland Coliseum. The next season he blasted 26 home runs with 106 RBI, and a .297 average.

In 1999, Stairs enjoyed a banner season, even earning some MVP consideration with 38 home runs and 102 RBI. Unfortunately, Stairs would never again get 500 at bats in a Major League season.

Though his average declined to .227 in 2000, he still belted 21 home runs with 81 RBI and his 78 walks resulted in a decent .333 OBP. Nonetheless, the damage was done, and the next two seasons despite blasting 33 home runs in 610 at bats, Stairs was relegated to a bench role.

The most frustrating season for Stairs supporters had to be 2003, when he offered the Pirates 20 home runs with a .292 average despite just 305 at bats.

The main argument to make someone into a part-time player is that they struggle against a certain type of pitcher. Looking at the numbers, it’s true that Stairs hit for a lower average and with less power against southpaws. However, most Big League players in baseball struggle against southpaws, and Stairs has inflicted his fair share of damage with 38 home runs in 898 career at bats.

Now that Stairs is the oldest player in the Major Leagues at 43 years old, we can look back and try to predict what could have been had he played more often.

In order to do this, let’s look at what would have been his average season had he played 162 games:

Using this season as an archetype, let’s now compare his current career numbers compared to what they would have been had he played everyday throughout his Major League career:

The longevity and the untapped potential due to his limited playing time makes Matt Stairs a very intriguing case-study. He was a slugger who reached base often, and yet he only twice had the opportunity to rack up 500 at bats in a season.

When his playing days come to an end, Stairs will be remembered as a clutch performer who played for 13 franchises, all starting with the Montreal Expos in 1992. Unfortunately, we will never know whether the Canadian slugger could have been something more.