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Those who watch Yankees games on YES know that Michael Kay will often mention Homer Bush’s role on the 1998 Yankees whenever discussing how important good baserunning and stolen bases are, particularly from bench players. He tends to pontificate on the topic for a while, suggesting Bush was the consummate bench player and was a key cog on the 1998 Yankees. Yet a close look at the numbers suggest that Kay is misremembering the importance of Homer Bush.
Bush did hit well in his limited appearances, with a gaudy .380/.421/.465 line. However, despite being with the team all year, those numbers came in just 78 plate appearances, and he had just 4 extra base hits and 5 RBI on the season. More importantly, his baserunning was adequate at best. He was just one run better than average as a baserunner in 1998, and had just 6 stolen bases to go with 3 CS’s. In total, he was worth 0.8 wins above replacement over the regular season. The postseason was even less eventful. Over 3 series, he had no at-bats, stole 2 bases, and scored one run. In all, he had a limited impact on the basepaths, in the field, and although he performed well when given a chance, at the plate as well.
The next time Michael Kay brings up Homer Bush’s stellar 1998 season on the basepaths, just tune him out. Bush was an adequate bench piece, and nothing more.
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5 Responses to The Legend Of Homer Bush
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TIQ IQ
This is my favorite TYU post ever. Somehow, I hope this crosses the desk of Mr. Kay.
Nice picture. FORMER President Bush (http://www.hulu.com/watch/31482/the-simpsons-homers-background-check)
I don’t know, i remember Homer Bush having a steal in a marathon game (maybe front end of a double header) in extra innings and scored on a single to win the game. He was a weapon on the bench and was always viewed as such. He never was going to be more than a role player. The 1998 yankees won the division by what 20 games? They clearly did not need him to win the WS that year. That said he was a nice bench player. I’m surprised that he was only 6/9 in steals but remember those attempts for the most part came in the late parts of games when he was put in to run and the other side was looking for it.
Also you can look at Dave Roberts numbers from 2004 and it probably doesnt show much but he got the steal that kept the Sox alive. My point is that maybe the numbers are not what we remember, but maybe you need to look beyond the numbers at the situations.
I went through the game log, and none of his steals in 1998 were of great importance. He had 1 in a tie game, but didnt score. His postseason steals did come in close games, though neither scored. One came in the 9th of a 1-1 game (the Knoblauch game), but the rally was snuffed out by a Jorge DP. That’s it. He was on the roster all year and had somewhere between zero and two important steals.
I was wrong on the one game I remembered. Homer Bush did steal 2nd in the bottom of the 12th in the front end of a doubleheader when he came in to pinch run. However he did not score and the yanks lost in 17. http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA199807201.shtml It’s very strange that I remembered the game was the front end of a long doubleheader and Homer Bush had a steal but not the outcome (i really thought he scored the winning run and the yanks swept the double header). This is why people like Michael Kay say what they do. It’s easy to remember good performances that stand out and not look at the numbers. Player X was great in the post-season or chokes in the post-season is a common theme of announcers when not looking at the facts. They all do it though. Anyways good job on the piece and debunking a legend.
I remember getting into an argument with my boss at the time about his value. He was of the (vehement) opinion that Bush should have been the starting second baseman. When he was included in the Clemens deal, he thought Bush was too much to pay since that would leave a hole at 2B.
Sample size has been misleading folks for a long time, and just how much some folks (myself included pre Bill James) are fooled by them.