Laureano could be true leader
Fiery playoff speech could spark a shift in leadership
MESA, ARIZ. >> In the moments after the Oakland Athletics were eliminated from the 2020 playoffs in the American League Division Series, the emotion in the locker room was palpable. They didn’t want to go home early. Nobody does.
The A’s were sent packing with an 11- 6 loss to the Houston Astros on Oct. 8 and were outscored 33-22 in the four-game series. It all left A’s manager Bob Melvin searching for a voice in his locker room, someone to step up and speak to the team.
When outfielder Ramón Laureano did so unprompted, his manager felt the 26-year- old sent his team into the offseason on the right note.
“I think I categorized it somewhere between a speech and an emotional outburst,” Melvin said Friday. “It was on time, it was on point and the guys heard it.”
Laureano is expected to continue being the team motivator who roared to life last October, especially since former Athletics shortstop Marcus Semien is no longer on the team. With three years of big league experience under Laureano’s belt, Melvin feels as though the centerfielder has earned the right to become a vocal presence among his teammates.
“His leadership comes with his fire,” Melvin said. “That’s always been there.”
Laureano’s growth from a leadership standpoint has seemingly run concurrently with his development as a player. Laureano said he matured as a defender and sharpened his skills with the bat throughout the offseason. Glovework was of particular importance to him.
“I just worked on not sucking,” Laureano said, “and all aspects of the game.”
It goes without saying that the A’s will welcome any improvements Laureano made to his defensive skill set, even as he wasn’t exactly a liability a year ago. As a matter of fact, Laureano was among the best defensive players in MLB in the abbreviated 2020 campaign.
In 53 games as the A’s starting centerfielder, his ultimate zone rating — a defensive metric used to quantify an entire defensive performance by attempting to measure how many runs a defender saved — ranked No. 19 out of 107 qualified players.
In outs above average, which calculates the number of plays a defender made and the difficulty of them, Laureano ranked No. 44 of 244 players.
Laureano has played just 225 games at the major league level, so he’s hardly a veteran compared to others who have that title. But Melvin expects a veteran-like presence from one of the league’s best defensive outfielders. Between that and his offensive work, Laureano is eager to start playing again.
“I’m here to win and that’s what I’m focused on,” Laureano said. “Whether I’m batting one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, I’m ready.”