Alfonso Soriano has been on winning teams, big money teams, pennant and playoff pressures . . . but his demeanor has always been hard to put into context.
Last night, Soriano hit his 30th HR for the Cubs. At age 36, Soriano has surpassed pre-season expectations. For the third time in his career, he has reached the the 30 HR-100 RBI milestone. The last time he did that was 2005 with the Rangers. He is one RBI away from tying his career high in RBIs at 104 (also set in 2005).
In his 14 major league seasons, Soriano career stats are .273 BA, 370 HR, 1030 RBI, .317 OBP, 269 SB. He averaged 26.5 HR and 73.5 RBI per season.
Those are not Hall of Fame numbers. He is still overpaid at $18 million per season (with a contract through 2014). But he has been the most consistent and productive offensive player the Cubs have had since his arrival in 2007.
Maybe it was his selfish reputation that cooled some fans. He had a massive blow up with his manager in Washington when he refused to move from the infield to the outfield. He had bouts of being mopey when he did not lead off games. His view was that he would see more fastballs leading off, and therefore have more chances to hit home runs. But is low on-base percentage, free swinging style did not lend itself to being a traditional lead off man. But more often than not, Soriano got his way and was the lead off man. Whether that hurt his team or not is subject to debate. He also is a below par outfielder. Even casual observers of the game realized quickly that Soriano was afraid of the fences. He looked nonchalant patrolling the outfield, and a lot of "catchable" balls went over his head or into the gaps. It may have been due to the weakness of his legs, nagging injuries and age but fans wanted to see a complete ball player since he was being paid as a superstar.
Soriano's laid back attitude did not help the perception that he was only self-focused in his approach to the game. All his teammates say he is a great guy in the clubhouse. That he leads by example and not by words. But it is just as clear that he performs better with less pressure. That is why many believe he has blocked any trade to a contender. There is a huge comfort zone playing for the Cubs.
As such, Soriano will be the Cubs left fielder for the next two years. When he leaves his starting position as the Cubs LF, that event should signal the last piece of the rebuilding puzzle has been completed and the new Cubs organization is ready to compete for a title.
