5 reasons the Braves shouldn’t have traded Andrelton Simmons
By John Buhler
1. You Can’t Put a Price on Defensive Wizardry
The manner in which Andrelton Simmons plays shortstop is unlike anybody else in Major League Baseball. Though San Francisco Giants shortstop won the 2015 Gold Glove Award, when people think of who is the best defensive baseball player in the game currently, they will say it’s Simmons without hesitation.
He has more range than an opera singer, his arm is a heat-seeking missile, his glove work on some of the tags of his are other worldly. Though he leaves a lot to be desired at the plate, his defensive wizardry was a major reason to tune into the Atlanta Braves the last four seasons. Braves fans never knew what Simmons was going to do every time he took the field. Defensively, he was limitless in Atlanta.
When a player is often grouped in with Ozzie Smith and Omar Vizquel as one of the best gloves to ever play shortstop, there lies a value than cannot be understated. Defense is half of the game and teams can routinely win and loss ball games because of defense.
Major League Baseball is foremost a form of entertainment. The Braves trading away a 26-year-old defensive prodigy that fans from all across the country love to watch play sends the wrong message to Braves Country. How can the fan base support a club that just traded away a pillar of their franchise?
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