John Fay drools all over Norris Hopper again this morning.
If Norris Hopper gets 300 ABs next year, the Reds are in big trouble. If he is the 25th man on the roster, we’ll be in good shape. He’s a fine option as a fifth outfielder. But he has a career minor league OPS of 678 (with a SLG of .335!). I don’t know why a couple hundred hot ABs in the last few months makes people forget the 3400+ minor league ABs in which Hopper was not good.
To his credit, though, Hopper has the highest batting average in the history of baseball for a player who can’t hit the ball out of the infield.
Seriously, we like Norris Hopper here at Redleg Nation. I like having him on the roster. He plays hard and he’s a good backup option. There’s no shame in that, and no one should pretend he’s anything other than a backup. John Fay should know better.