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2009 Report Card: #5 Fernando Seguignol

© www.rakuteneagles.jp

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Now that I've managed to survive a motherboard failure on one of my laptops, I'm ready to continue getting the report cards going.  I'll try to write one a week; that should fill in the time between now and spring training.

This week's installment focuses on the man from Panama, first baseman Fernando Seguignol.

The switch-hitter's 2009 regular season statistics:

At first look the numbers don't look too impressive, especially for someone who'll be turning 35 over the off-season.  It was a tale of two halves however.  After a great trial run at the end of the 2008 season (39 G, .324, 13 HR, 40 RBI) bigger things were expected from the slugger.  Things couldn't have started off worse though for Seguignol, batting just .165 over April and May, earning a demotion to the farm team for the whole month of June.  Upon returning to the team his struggles continued, with just a .237 average in July.

After the All-Star break at the end of July though, something happened.  I don't know what it was, what he did, or who he went to see... he could've prayed to Jobu for all I know, but Seggy exploded over the second half of the season and into the playoffs.

This drastic shift in performance brings up a few questions however...

• Why did he have such a disastrous first half of the season?
• What adjustments did he make to produce such a dramatic turnaround?
• Which player are we going to see in April next season?

Before we even get to next season though, let's break down some of his strengths and weaknesses.

© Yahoo! Japan

Strengths

Switch Hitting - Rakuten was lucky enough to have not one, but two players that could hit from both sides of the plate this year (Linden being the other).  He's got pretty even power from either side of the plate, although his batting average was over 30 points higher from the right side.  The ability to drive in runs from either side of the plate will always give opposing pitchers (and managers) headaches.

Attitude / Personality - Although I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him yet, Seguignol just seems like a really nice guy and a great teammate to have with you in the locker room, on the bench, and in the field.  A definite fan favourite, he can often be seen playing with the crowd during breaks, joking with teammates and opponents, and chatting with the Eagles' other foreign position player Todd Linden.  Even though he didn't have much to smile about to start the season, by the second half you'd always catch him smiling and laughing during the games.  Like a great man once said, "Baseball is a game, and games are supposed to be fun."

Defense - If you would've told me back in May that I'd be marking defense as a positive instead of a negative for the big Panamanian, I would have laughed in your face.

Nomura didn't show much confidence in Fernando's ability to stop grounders at first, frequently pulling him for a defensive substitute late in games.  By September and October though he had really improved his defensive game, flashing a quick glove to repeatedly rob the opposition of base hits.  That's the thing with big guys; they might look slow but often it can be an optical illusion due to their sheer size.  Unless you're John Kruk, then you're just plain slow.

Weaknesses

Speed - While his glove is pretty fast, his legs could use a little help at times.  Over the course of the season he turned more than a few doubles into singles, and was often pulled for pinch runners.  His single stolen base was a thing of beauty however!

Two Strike Counts - If you can get two strikes on Seguignol, you can pretty much start thinking about the next guy in the lineup.  He hit just 25 for 160 (.156) when looking at a two strike count, striking out over half the time.

Power - His home run totals have been in steady decline since 2004, when he put 44 into the outfield seats for Nippon Ham.  Even during his great second half his power numbers didn't notably increase.

A guy as big and strong as Seguignol should have better power numbers, especially considering the stage of career that he's in.  The Eagles were last in the Pacific League in home runs, and he should be good for 25-35 in a full season.  His OPS wasn't the greatest either; a .786 OPS would be good for a "C" grade if you went by Bill James' scale.  If he can up the power he should be able to extend his career as a DH as he gets into his late 30's.

Final Grade: C

If we were just looking at the second half of the season the grade would easily be much higher, but that terrible start really put Seguignol behind the 8-ball.  He did make up a lot of ground though to bring his numbers to a respectable level.  The $64,000 question though is, "Which Seguignol is going to show up to start next season?"  Expectations will be at an all-time high for the club after their first postseason entry and series victory, and with all the questions surrounding Yamasaki's ability as well, offense might once again be hard to come by.  I haven't read anything about his 2010 contract status yet, but I hope that Rakuten brings him back for another year.

Related posts:

1. Regular Season Report Card: #46 Teppei
2. Regular Season Report Card: #3 Linden
3. Regular Season Report Card: #20 Hasebe
4. Regular Season Report Card: #7 Yamasaki
5. Eagles vs Buffaloes Postgame: Seguignol saves the day

About Andrew

Andrew has lived in Japan since 2006, spending time exploring the Tohoku region. He frequently attends Rakuten Eagles games in Sendai. You'll find him sitting along the 3rd base line drinking Guinness wearing a #46 Teppei jersey, next to a Japanese girl in a #5 Seguignol jersey.          You can follow him on Twitter if that makes you happy.