What makes a good defensive play or player?
We may still be trying to quantify the answer to that question, but Sam Fuld is well known for his defensive prowess.
With Aoki on 2nd base and Hosmer on 1st with two outs, Butler rips a bullet to left field. Fuld gets a great jump, cutting the ball off with solid athleticism and getting it back to the infield quickly.
Butler is unable to take second base on the play. Subsequently, he decides attempting to steal second base somehow makes sense. I will bite my tongue on that decision. I won't talk about how valuable his out is. Okay, yes I will. It was immeasurably important.
If Fuld gets a bad jump or isn't fast enough to cut the ball off, Butler gets to second base, doesn't get picked off and runs can still be scored. Did Fuld save the game for the A's? We don't know the answer to that question.
We can be damn sure he provided value at the margins.
