The fall of Richie Sexson

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 1:40 PM PDT Comment 20 comments

The 2004 offeason had just welcomed two new players to the Seattle Mariners, one Richie Sexton and Adrian Beltre. Both signed to big money deals with promise of HRs for years to come, and perrenial contention in the rough and tumble AL West. This was also what I consider the beginning of the end for Richie Sexton.

Was it the money? Sexton at 4 years / $50M

Could Sexton be suffering from what I call Zito-itis? Ever since he signed that contract he has been on the decline. I believe he'll be 34 at the end of this year, not necessarily the age where I would expect this kind of performance. He's always been a high strikeout guy, and he wasn't necessarily bad when he first got to Seattle, but since the beginning of last season he's been pretty bad.

Was it performance enhancing drugs?

That is all history in the books, but the decline of Richie Sexton leaves me a little confused. He, unlike other big hitters, didn't really hit the PED speculation circuit as much as others have. His HR totals weren't as blatantly obvious as many have said about Beltre, but still his production has been on a decline. He hasn't been the healthiest player, but hasn't been Rich Harden either. What gives?

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
1997	CLE	5	11	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	.273	.273	.273	.545
1998	CLE	49	174	28	54	14	1	11	35	6	42	1	1	.310	.344	.592	.936
1999	CLE	134	479	72	122	17	7	31	116	34	117	3	3	.255	.305	.514	.818
2000	CLE	91	324	45	83	16	1	16	44	25	96	1	0	.256	.315	.460	.774
2000	MIL	57	213	44	63	14	0	14	47	34	63	1	0	.296	.398	.559	.957
2001	MIL	158	598	94	162	24	3	45	125	60	178	2	4	.271	.342	.547	.889
2002	MIL	157	570	86	159	37	2	29	102	70	136	0	0	.279	.364	.504	.867
2003	MIL	162	606	97	165	28	2	45	124	98	151	2	3	.272	.379	.548	.927
2004	ARI	23	90	20	21	4	0	9	23	14	21	0	0	.233	.337	.578	.914
2005	SEA	156	558	99	147	36	1	39	121	89	167	1	1	.263	.369	.541	.910
2006	SEA	158	591	75	156	40	0	34	107	64	154	1	1	.264	.338	.504	.842
2007	SEA	121	434	58	89	21	0	21	63	51	100	1	0	.205	.295	.399	.694
2008	SEA	33	115	14	24	5	0	7	18	16	36	0	0	.209	.303	.435	.738
Career		1304	4763	733	1248	256	17	301	925	561	1263	13	13	.262	.344	.512	.857

All of this may have come to a head when Sexton was under the impression that he was being thrown at, when in reality it was a very high pitch near the middle of the plate. Sexton flipped out, and charged the mound. Luckily he dropped the bat in favor of the helmet his weapon of choice, which was one of the weakest things I'd seen in a while. (Which he did admit to, but still...) When you couple his "warm" reception he gets from the fans in Seattle, and the decline of his career, you wonder how far he was from bringing the bat with him to the mound? The guy is as tall as KG, he should be giving the pitcher a bat to make the arm legnth fair.

My estimation is that he will continue to decline, which leaves me to the question, what do you think happened to him? PEDs? Age? Pressure? Am I alone in this question, besides Mariner's fans I'm sure? Does a player receive further penalty when they use a foreign object duing an altercation, like a bat or helmet for instance? If there isn't anything that discourages a player from bringing weapons to the mound with him, there certainly should be! I'm interested in hearing what the consensus is on his decline....

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The pitch to Sexson

was not close to him, but there was no doubt it was a “purpose pitch”. Hernandez had nailed Laird and Kinsler earlier in the game, and proceeded to glare at Kinsler as he was walking down to first base. So there was no doubt Gabbard threw that pitch with some intent. It wasn’t close enough to justify the mound charge though. A little jawing back and forth with umpire’s warnings should have taken care of it. The mound charge came out of frustration, both on the part of Sexson’s personal performance and his team’s performance.

I’m wondering if that wasn’t one of Sexson’s final inglorious acts as a Mariner. Bavasi may be getting out the fork and knife and preparing to dine on the remainder of that contract. You could put together a platoon of Ben Broussard and Mike Sweeney and get better production than you got from Sexson, at relatively low marginal cost.

by Soaker on May 9, 2008 1:56 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

If that pitch had 'purpose'

Gabbard missed so badly it was embarrassing. Sexson is giant and that pitch might’ve gone right over his head, had it not gone over the plate instead.

by phastphill on May 9, 2008 2:26 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Over his head?

He would have had to be aiming at the upper deck to get over his head! I believe it was a purpose pitch, just not sure what the purpose was.

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 2:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

give the catcher a much-needed stretch?

I just think it was a very high borderline wild pitch.

by phastphill on May 9, 2008 3:04 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

That pitch was simply up in the zone… not close to Richie. He looked like a fool charging the mound on that pitch.
Good for the Mariners though, maybe they will finally see how things are without Sexson giving you on avg. 2k’s a game.

Start that Clement kid at 1st.

by HRH on May 9, 2008 2:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

purpose pitch?

That’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard all year.

A pitch up above the zone – 18 inches (min!) from dude’s head, a purpose pitch? Sexson wanted to hit the showers and was too big a poo-hah to ask the manger for the rest of the night off. Charging the mound was the only other way out.

Some guys just can’t stand getting booed every time they come to bat at home when they SUCK.

by ChrisCEIT on May 9, 2008 10:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Who's Richie Sexton?

Richie Sexson was contrite in a post-game interview.

Chiba Lotte lost simultaneously in the fighter plane of the Japanese ham.

by JediLeroy on May 9, 2008 2:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thank you.

And yes, he was.

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 2:52 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

PED's, they all were on it. When will we finally come to realize that.

Look at all the pitchers who have by some oft chance lost 4-5 mph’s on their fastballs during what should be their ‘live arm’ years in their mid 20’s to early 30’s. I can think of a young $126 million pitcher across the bay who somehow has lost 4-5 mph’s off his fastball. The baseball media chalks it up to “something in his head,” “some sort of psychological problem,” and the list goes on. When will they come to face the music. Canseco wasn’t lying – the majority of players used or, gasp, still do use PED’s.

The use of PED’s doesn’t bother me in and of itself. However, their denial of use, the owners refusal to do anything, and Bud Selig being Bud Selig really pisses me off and makes me have second thoughts about spending my money at the ole’ ball yard. Things may have changed slightly with the new testing policy, but in reality they have failed to acknowledge the problem in the game and have acted as if the Mitchell Report fixed everything.

Leauge-wide power numbers are down and MPH’s are dropping off young pitchers fastballs. You draw your own conclusions.

by 33SwisherSweet on May 9, 2008 2:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

mid to late 20's - correction

by 33SwisherSweet on May 9, 2008 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with the contention that they were all using,

BUT, league offensive numbers might not really be down, once you consider that offense is usually down at the beginning of the season.

March / April OPS for MLB from 2004-2008, 768, 739, 767, 731, 733.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on May 9, 2008 11:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Richie Sexson was fantastic his first year with the Ms ...

his numbers only look worse because he was playing in a premiere pitcher’s park. His decline didn’t start until 2006, but it was a reasonable decline for someone who was starting to age and suffering from diminishing health. He’s fallen off a cliff the last year plus, though …

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on May 9, 2008 4:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

a cliff?

He fell all the way through to China, if I were still 6 years old.

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 4:40 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don't disagree with that characterization ...

the point is, had he not fallen “all the way through to China” in 2007, you wouldn’t think twice about his numbers in 2006.

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on May 9, 2008 5:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Really?

His OPS+ in 2006 was 117, EQA 279. Prior to that, in his prime years of 2001-2005, his OPS+ ranged from 126-144, EQA from 289-308.

He lost ~10 runs from his worst offensive year from his prime period of 2001-2005. It’s not a huge drop no, but a 117 OPS+, ~15 runs above average, from a bad defensive 1b is while, acceptable, but it is not the kind of production that you want to pay tens of millions for.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on May 9, 2008 11:30 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

What I mean is ...

without 2007, 2006’s numbers were disappointing, “well, that wasn’t a great signing”, post 2007 it turns into, “what the hell happened??”

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on May 11, 2008 10:17 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If it would please the court:

Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS
2005 SEA 156 558 99 147 36 1 39 121 89 167 1 1 .263 .369 .541 .910
2006 SEA 158 591 75 156 40 0 34 107 64 154 1 1 .264 .338 .504 .842

The only thing I would think is that in 2006, when compared to the year earlier, he had more ABs, but less:

Runs Scored – HRs – RBI – Walks – Lower OBP – Lower SLG – Lower OPS

His stats in 2006, when looked at alone, aren’t alarming. The drop from 2005 – 2006 in the aforementioned stats aren’t horrid, although they are significant categories for a power hitter.

But those very same stats in 2005 and 2006, when taken into context with his 2007 performance, could be looked at as the makings of a trend. With his 2008 performance as it is, I think it fairly and appropriately solidifies that stance. So you’re right, 2006 wasn’t that bad, but when taken into context with my point, it’s not necessarily good either.

I don’t have it out for the guy, he’s been a limited but productive player.

by passionately objective on May 9, 2008 5:23 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs