Brian McCann Was the Literal Slowest Player in Baseball in 2019
By Ryan Giglio
In 15 years, Brian McCann has squatted behind the dish for 1,612 games and 13,501 innings.
That's a lot of time for wear and tear to accumulate on a man's knees.
So at the age of 35, is there any surprise that McCann was literally the slowest player in baseball in 2019?
Brian McCann had a 22.1 ft/sec sprint speed this season.
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 3, 2019
That ranked 568th of 568 players with at least 10 competitive runs this season.
McCann's sprint speed of 22.1 feet per second ranked last out of 568 players who qualified with 10 or more competitive runs in 2019. Perhaps that's why former teammate and current Braves TV commentator Jeff Francoeur calls his home run trot "the most exciting two minutes in sports."
On the other end of the spectrum, Tim Locastro of the Arizona Diamondbacks was the fastest player in the league with a sprint speed of 30.8 feet per second.
In Thursday's NLDS opener between the Braves and Cardinals, McCann bat and foot speed were displayed when he doubled in the second inning.
Brian McCann, whose own shadow could outrun him, nonetheless manages a double to start the bottom of the 2nd
— Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) October 3, 2019
The Braves brought back McCann in the winter not for his speed, but for his experience behind the plate and offensive potential as a backup catcher. As long as BMac contributes in those areas, teams will no doubt overlook his running deficiencies.