Why I Kinda Miss Eric Chavez

The news of the A’s losing 3B Scott Sizemore for the entire 2012 season struck a certain chord inside of me. The news, of course, for an A’s fan was not surprising; players who wear green-and-gold are constantly fighting the injury bug or so it seems. Sizemore, 27, was projected as the A’s starting third baseman this year, but his injury now opens the door for another player seeking to establish himself as an everyday starter.

The loss of Sizemore, though, is definitely a tough loss to overcome. Oakland was expecting a great deal from Sizemore, who managed to hit .249/.345/.433 with 11 HR and 52 RBIs in his 93 games with the A’s last year. Now, the A’s will have to look at some in-house options to fill their vacant third base position. This situation, though, seems rather familiar, doesn’t it?

Oakland hasn’t had a true everyday third baseman since the days of 3B Eric Chavez, who is now a member of the New York Yankees. In his final years with the green-and-gold, however, Chavez found himself in the same boat as Sizemore: injured and looking for a way to get healthy. The A’s former six-time Gold Glove winner struggled, however, keeping himself on the field in his last three years with the team.

He appeared in just 64 games from 2008-2010 and hit just .222/.265/.330 with three home runs and 25 RBIs over that time span. Still, for some reason, I actually miss Chavez. This Sizemore situation, while unfortunate, will likely get resolved in the form of one Josh Donaldson, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing Chavy making a grand return to the bay area this year.

Last year, in 58 games with the Yankees, Chavez managed to hit .263/.320/.356 with two home runs and 26 RBIs. Not quite the Chavez of old, but at least Chavez did enough to earn a return to the Bronx this year. He’s a nice veteran bat to have on the bench and he’s still useful defensively. The Yankees got Chavez for a grand total of $900,000 this year; not a huge amount of money.

I consider myself a huge Eric Chavez fan; I copied his batting stance during little league games, for crying out loud. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to see Chavez back in Oakland this year, but I realize the guy is way past his prime. His health is constantly in question and his power seems to have left his bat, as suggested by his .094 ISO from last year.

I wish Chavy the best, though. Regardless if he’s wearing pin-stripes, he’ll always remain an Athletic to me.

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