Counting the Pinstripes

The always brilliant and entertaining Uni Watch attempts to answer the following question:

Will CC Sabathia, with his prodigious proportions and preference for a loose, baggy fit, be wearing the most pinstripes of any player in Yankees history?

Read the whole article to find out the answer. (Does Sidney Ponson play spoiler? You might be surprised.)

This got me to thinking about the actual sizes of the players on the Yankees. My guess is that on average the Yanks have the tallest and heaviest starting rotation in baseball, and one of the biggest teams in general. First, that rotation is ridiculously tall. Most rotations are tall, but there's usually at least one crafty undersized dude who is considered the cerebral one of the bunch (My guess is that there is an inverse relationship between the height of a pitcher and the perceived intelligence of that pitcher among media types and fans). That rotation is also hefty. Sabathia and Joba most definitely will not be sitting next to each other on the team's charter flights.

The Yanks are less over-sized when it comes to their positional players, but they are still above average. The Yanks probably have one of the largest starting infields with A-Rod and Jeter both above average for their positions. Cano is heavier than most second basemen. If Nick Swisher is, indeed, the starting first baseman, then the Yanks give back some size. There's always hope that Richie Sexson comes back though. If the Yanks get Mike Cameron, the outfield becomes average sized. Right now, it's below because of Gardner in center. Still, the team seems big compared to most, especially compared to Boston, which I speculate is the smallest team in baseball.

I have a theory that Theo Epstein prefers small players. Perhaps this is Bill James's influence. Recently, I was reading The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract when I came across this in the entry about Yogi Berra (the best catcher ever by the way):

But perhaps, just perhaps, the short, powerful body is actually the best body for a baseball player. Long arms really do not help you when you're hitting; short arms work better. Compressed power is more effective than diffuse power,

A cursory look at the Sox roster shows that the team is undersized at a number of positions. What stands out to me is how the team's most recent additions (whether from the farm, free agency or trade) tend to be smaller players. The second-year player and MVP Dustin Pedroia is famously undersized and now famously great. Jed Lowrie is skinny, recalling the body type of Bill Mueller. Theo, for some inexplicable reason, lusted after the scrawny Julio Lugo for two seasons. A ton of money was thrown at JD Drew, who to my eyes, looks very small for a right-fielder.

This all could be a figment of my imagination, but Boston's roster seems to be getting smaller, and the Yanks seem to be getting bigger. Will that have any effect on where the teams are headed for the next few years? No. Will it affect the way we think about our teams? No, most likely not. Except in extreme cases, we do not notice the sizes of our players. In fact, if we met them in person, we might be surprised by how much bigger or smaller they were than we expected. So what's the point of this post?

To not talk about the hot stove for one second.