Jose Iglesias vs JJ Hardy

[Aristotelian]

Was anyone else super impressed with Jose Igelsias's interview coming out of the game today? Told the story of trading a baseball for an O's cap as a kid when the O's visited Cuba. Said he liked the bird and had to have it. Overall, seemed very smart and professional with a deep knowledge of the game. Something about how he carried himself reminded me of JJ. 

JJ came to use at age 28 with the O's coming off a 66 win team in 2010. Jose comes to us at age 30 coming off 54 wins in 2019. 2011 was another rebuild year but we all know what happened in 2012. JJ was one of the keys in transitioning from rebuild to contender, anchoring the defense while mentoring younger players. Iglesias is a different kind of hitter but similar defensive anchor with professional attitude. Hopefully we don't make the mistake of signing Iglesias to a 3 year extension at age 32, but I have a feeling we will be picking up that option and perhaps more if things are going well.  

[HowAboutThat]

Hardy also hit really well for a SS

[El Gordo]

JJ was the best defensive SS in the game from 2008 to 2016 according to fangraphs.

[TommyPickles]

Well let's hope Iglesias' year 30 season looks like Hardy's...  

 

When Hardy was 30 he hit 25 home runs.  He was an All Star, a Gold Glove winner, and a Silver Slugger.  

[DrungoHazewood]

I thought he had more in common with Cesar Izturis.  But it's spring training, so why not?  JJ it is.

[tntoriole]

Hardy much, much better at the plate than Iglesias will ever be.  Iglesias is a better defender in range, arm and creativity although JJ was the master at never missing the routine play. 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, tntoriole said:

Hardy much, much better at the plate than Iglesias will ever be.  Iglesias is a better defender in range, arm and creativity although JJ was the master at never missing the routine play. 

I count myself as a huge JJ Hardy fan, but his offense was up and down.    Yes, Hardy at his best was a better hitter than Iglesias, especially on the power front, but let’s not forget he was a low OBP guy and that two of his final three years for us were far worse than what I’d expect from Iglesias.  Overall Hardy had an 87 OPS+ as an Oriole; Iglesias is at 84 OPS+ for his career.

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

I thought he had more in common with Cesar Izturis.  But it's spring training, so why not?  JJ it is.

I think it’s a disservice to Iglesias (84 OPS+ in his career) to put him in the same category as Izturis (64 OPS+ career, 56 OPS+ as an Oriole).     I did like Izzy’s glove though.    

I expect Iglesias to be significantly better than Izturis and significantly better than Hardy was in 2015 and 2017.     I don’t expect him to be as good as Hardy was in 2011-14, but he might come close to the 2016 version if we’re lucky.    Defensively he won’t be as good as Hardy in his prime, but he’ll be very good and fun to watch.   

[Aristotelian]

Obviously JJ had more power and overall offense. The comparison is more where they are in their career and their potential role in the rebuild. Plus intangible personality stuff. I thought it was a good interview.

[Moose Milligan]

Loved JJ Hardy.  JJ Hardy all day.  

[Aristotelian]

6 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Loved JJ Hardy.  JJ Hardy all day.  

JAY... JAY... HARDEEEEE.

[spiritof66]

Can Iglesias do this?

 

[interloper]

Iglesias outclasses Izturis in almost every way. 

But JJ Hardy he is not. 

[George]

If Iglesias fields like Miranda and hits .220, then I'll be satisfied (at least for this season).

[Aristotelian]

29 minutes ago, spiritof66 said:

Can Iglesias do this?

 

Yes, i am guessing Iglesias can score from 1st in under 11 seconds.