Scott Van Slyke’s OPS-plus dipped to 95 from a blistering 157 in 2014. (Associated Press photo)
This is Part 54 of a series in which every member of the 2015 Dodgers has his season juxtaposed with an episode of the greatest sitcom of all-time. Don’t take it too seriously.
Scott Van Slyke, OF/1B
Key stats: .239, 6 HR, 30 RBI in 96 games
Seinfeld episode: “The Wig Master” (Season 7, Episode 19)
Key quote: “I said turn, pimp!”
Scott Van Slyke’s timing seemed off in 2015. That’s what the naked eyeball test said; the numbers might call it “regression to the mean.” His home run-to-fly ball ratio, a stellar 13.4 percent in his first 178 career games, plummeted to 7.7 percent last year. His on-base percentage (.317) and slugging percentage (.383) were around league average-ish — not bad for a fifth outfielder, but not up to SVS’ superlative standards.
Injuries were partly to blame (though not entirely, he would say after the season). Van Slyke was in the middle of a 1-for-36 slump on May 31 when he went on the 15-day disabled list with nagging back pain. In his first game back, Van Slyke went 2 for 4 with a double and a home run. A wrist injury in September sent Van Slyke into a 5-for-36 tailspin to end the regular season, and that was the ultimate stroke of bad timing for the 29-year-old outfielder.
With a postseason roster spot at stake, Van Slyke couldn’t get his wrist back to full health in time for the National League Division Series against the Mets. The roster spot went to Justin Ruggiano instead, a late-season acquisition who fit the same role — a right-handed hitting outfielder who specialized in crushing left-handed pitching. Van Slyke’s season ended Sept. 29.
In “The Wig Master,” timing did Kramer no favors at the end of the episode. He was wearing a flamboyant, brightly colored coat (on loan from a production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”) as he walked to a commercial parking lot that was being for investigated as a hub for prostitution. At the same time, the wind picked up a woman’s hat and blew it to his feet. When Kramer picked up the hat and put it on his head, this happened:
If it’s any consolation to Van Slyke, the Dodgers tendered him a contract in his first year of arbitration eligibility after the season. The $1.225 million deal nearly doubled his salary.
