TAMPA — Billy Beane thought Eric Chavez was going to the Hall of Fame.
Really, he had to think that to do what he was about to do. To do for Chavez what he had refused to do for Mark McGwire, Miguel Tejada or Jason Giambi. To do for Chavez what he had not done for Tim Hudson, Mark Mulder or Barry Zito.
The A’s GM was going to give a long-term contract that would buy out free-agent years, that would be by far the largest in the history of the tight-fisted franchise, that would be for so much money and for so long that it would define someone as the face of the franchise.
Beane could only do this — only break free of his cautious, calculating shackles — if he looked at Chavez and saw Cooperstown. And he did.
Beane had data to show that players who broke in early and excelled — think Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter — tended to have long, substantial careers. Chavez was entering his walk year in 2004 at age 26. He already had won three Gold Gloves and was being discussed as a historically great defensive third baseman. He had hit at least 26 homers for four straight years and maintained an OPS between .850-.874.
“If you take a look at those seasons, understand that he was just 26 and extrapolate it to a 12-, 13-year career, you are talking about a guy who is going to end up with 400 or so homers and 10-12 Gold Gloves,” Beane said by phone in explaining his Hall of Fame feelings.
And there was one last ingredient that fortified Beane’s confidence in giving a six-year, $66 million contract in March 2004 that remains to this day the largest, by far, ever given by the A’s: Beane looked at Chavez and saw durability.
Sure it is ironic now. But not then. In the four seasons from 2000-2003, just 15 major-leaguers played in 150 games each year, and one of them was named Eric Cesar Chavez.
“Up to that point, he had been very healthy,” Beane said. “And if you take away the injuries, he would have been in the conversation [for the Hall of Fame].”
There is no conversation now, of course. Forget about Cooperstown — Chavez could hardly get on the field. He played just 154 games over the last four years, and managed just three homers over the past three seasons, such was the wreckage inflicted on his body by, particularly, injuries to his back, neck and shoulders.
He contemplated retirement. But at 33 — still 2½ years younger than Alex Rodriguez — he wanted to try again. But it had to be away from Oakland, where Beane thinks Chavez tried to honor the contract by playing through injuries that actually worsened his condition — Chavez took up 23 percent of the A’s payroll last season while managing 111 at-bats.
The expectation was that Chavez would go to the Dodgers. A Southern California native, he shortened his swing in the offseason to ease strain on his shoulders via the tutorials of Dodgers hitting coach Jeff Pentland. But he took a minor-league deal with the Yankees because “I am a realist.”
Translation: He thought he could do more if asked to do less. And with the Yanks, he would be asked only to back up at third, first and DH.
Right now he has the team made. Hitting coach Kevin Long called Chavez “perfect for this role” because so far he has shown a familiar gracefulness around third, adaptability at first and enough of a sweet lefty stroke to project some damage. But Long adds the proviso: “Health is going to be the big thing.”
The Yanks were here last year with Nick Johnson, who tantalized with possibility in spring before reverting to his Mr. Glass persona once the season began.
The stakes are lower now. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman is not imagining Cooperstown for Chavez, not worried about a $1.5 million base salary eating up payroll. But there is an important job here for a championship contender, namely providing lefty sock in reserve and a legitimate alternative at third to keep A-Rod fresh all year.
Chavez does not have to be a Hall of Famer, just healthy enough for 250 meaningful at-bats.
“He’s still relatively young, still very skilled,” Beane said. “The short answer [to whether Chavez can stay healthy] is, I am hopeful, because I am such a big fan of his personally.”