Eric Karros

By Sarah Morris

Eric Karros had a decent year in 2002, especially considering that he was rebounding from a back injury and playing with a painful left shoulder that required surgery shortly after the season ended. Although he excelled in most areas of the game, his career-low thirteen home runs and a low on-base percentage disappointed the Los Angeles Dodgers and produced serious talk of finding a platoon partner for Karros.

Eric Karros had been a Dodger since September, 1991. During this period, the Dodgers have been to the playoffs only twice and never won a playoff game. Many people, including the Dodger organization, use Karros as a scapegoat for the Dodgers' problems. He should not be blamed, but people blame him because he is not a flashy player.

Not a natural athlete, Karros gets the most out of his ability. He will not wow anybody with his speed, especially after a knee injury and a lower back injury, but he uses his brain to steal the occasional base. Defensively, he has always been considered a weakness because of a lack of range. He always has prevented runs from scoring by diving at low line drives. During his career, many of his teammates have out homered him, but not many have been so consistent. Karros is the rare right-handed hitter who likes the ball low in the strike zone. He has not learned not to chase the breaking ball just off the outside corner.

During spring training, Dodger management told Karros to focus on having a high average and not worry about hitting home runs. He did this. He had a career-low in strikeouts with 74. He did not walk enough with 37, but no Dodger walked enough. His .321 on-base percentage is not good, but only .002 lower than his career on-base percentage. July was the only month that he did not hit at least .247. Entering the All-Star break, Karros had a .292 batting average. As most Dodgers did, he struggled after the break with a .241 batting average.

When the Dodgers had runners on base, they wanted Karros up to bat with his .290 batting average. He had a .301 batting average with runners in scoring position. Thus, Karros had 73 RBI, ranking fourth on the Dodgers. He liked batting fifth when he had a .303 batting average, but he did not get much opportunity to hit there after the All-Star break because Jim Tracy wanted more power in that position.

Karros had a decent .271 batting average for the season, raising his average by 35 points from last year. He is one of the slowest runners in the league, but he stole f our bases. His career-low thirteen home runs was a huge disappointment for the Dodgers and himself. Three of them came in September, in the middle of the exciting race for a playoff berth when the Dodgers needed them the most.

Defensively Karros had his best year ever in 2002. Though the media criticizes his lack of range constantly, his range appears above average for a first baseman. He has learned to dig throws out of the dirt well. He throws to second base better than any other right-handed first baseman in baseball. In 142 games, he committed four errors. His .997 fielding percentage was the best among first baseman in Major League Baseball.

The Dodgers thought they would be better off with a first baseman other than Eric Karros, so they traded him to the Cubs. After having arthroscopic shoulder surgery in October, Karros' power should return. Playing in cozy Wrigley Field will benefit him. Though the Dodgers did not want Karros, they will have difficulty replacing his skills. The Cubs have a good first baseman in Karros. Karros might get the respect that he deserves in Chicago.