Is Dee Gordon the biggest loser of the Dodgers Blackout?

Maybe the thing I’ll regret most this year is missing so many of Dee Gordon’s stolen bases. By bridgetds on Flickr, via Wikimedia Commons

The majesty of Matt Kemp‘s beard and sweet haircut. Vin Scully telling a story about Aramis Ramirez‘ involvement in cock-fighting in the Domincan Republic. Miguel Rojas picking a few nice grounders.

Tonight, these are things I’m seeing for the first time this season, all while traveling out of state for work. These are all fun things to see, but they aren’t even the most entertaining parts of watching the first inning.

The best of the first comes when Dee Gordon steps to the plate to lead-off the bottom of the inning. The young All-Star second baseman hits a swinging-bunt single down the first base line. It doesn’t take long for Gordon to steal second base (his 55th stolen base of the season), advance to third on an overthrow by Jonathan Lucroy, and score on a Yasiel Puig single. Two batters, one stolen base, two hits, and about everything you could ever expect from Dee Gordon.

Apparently, Gordon has been doing this pretty much all season. What have I been missing? The answer is a ton, and then again not very much. Via advanced stats, like his Baseball-Reference.com page, Gordon has only managed a 2.4 WAR, probably due mostly to his 80/30 walk/strikeout ratio from the leadoff spot in the order. Gordon’s league-leading 55 steals in 68 attempts leads the league.

Gordon may not be as valuable as he is exciting. I’ve always been intrigued by speed in baseball, especially when I haven’t seen very much baseball this year. After Juan Uribe strikes out with runners on second and third and two outs, maybe a little part of me is glad I haven’t seen more.