SAN FRANCISCO — Almost every day, a few hours before first pitch, one of the few bright spots in a so-far dreadful season takes place on the grass in front of the Giants’ dugout.
Ron Washington is usually already there, a Fungo bat in his hands, a bucket of baseballs to his side and an array of mitts strewn across the ground, when Luis Arraez walks up the steps.
The daily drills that rarely last longer than 15 minutes are a pillar of Washington’s teaching methods that date back to 1990 — seven years before Arraez was born — and have helped transform his latest disciple into the unlikeliest of names atop the defensive leaderboards.
“That’s the maintenance,” the 74-year-old fielding maestro said. “The work is what we do on the field, taking our ground balls. To the glove side, to the backhand, at him. Turning double plays, pivoting. That’s the work. The main thing is knowing what you’re doing. That’s the knowledge.”
Maintenance. Work. Knowledge.
The result: A player who couldn’t convince 29 other teams to give him a chance to play second base has been one of the majors’ top defenders — not just at his position but anywhere.
By any metric, Arraez has flipped his reputation on its head.
Most striking is Statcast’s Outs Above Average, where only two defenders have been valued as highly: Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong and Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. — both reigning Gold Glove winners.
“Don’t give me the credit,” said Washington, who isn’t looking for it. A small sample of his countless proteges includes Eric Chavez, Marcus Semien, Freddie Freeman and, famously depicted in the movie “Moneyball,” Scott Hatteberg.
“I know my s—’s good,” Washington said. “Give the credit to Luis. He’s the one putting in all the work.”
Arraez arrived with a pair of well-established preconceptions when he joined the Giants on a $13 million contract this spring. He was a three-time batting champ with bat-to-ball skills that remain among the best in the game. But he was considered such a liability defensively that each time he finished with the league’s highest batting average, it was in a different uniform.
Sources close to Arraez told The California Post that his temperate free-agent market acted as somewhat of a wakeup call. Teams viewed him as a first baseman, the position he primarily played the past two seasons with the Padres, and were hesitant to make multiyear offers.
He didn’t sign with the Giants until Feb. 10, less than a week before manager Tony Vitello hosted his first full-squad workout of spring training. The deciding factor, Arraez told reporters after he signed, was the Giants’ promise to let him play second base every day.
“It’s pretty amazing how different it is,” Vitello remarked recently of Arraez’s defense. “Just the drastic difference between spring training and now, with just some little things.”
Arraez had never rated positively as a defender in seven previous seasons. On various occasions, he struggled to range to his sides, corral short hops or make accurate throws.
But on the first day of camp, Washington came to him with a message.
“I’ve got the tools to help you play second base. I can help you get where you want to get,” he told him. “But I can’t help you if you question what I tell you to do.”
There’s been nothing but buy-in from Arraez’s side.
“That’s the way he came into spring training,” Washington said. “Motivated to prove to the industry that he can play second base.”
The biggest strides Washington has noticed occur before the pitch is even thrown. Where Arraez sets up. His understanding of who’s at the plate and on the basepaths. The amount of time he has to field the ball and make a clean throw.
All of that comes up while Washington hits him ground balls on the infield dirt three or four hours before first pitch. Before that, on the grass in front of the dugout, Washington peppers Arraez with short-hoppers at close range, encouraging him to come get the ball before it gets to him.
They start off with Arraez on his knees and Washington tossing baseballs with his bare hands. Eventually, Washington has a bat in his hands and Arraez on his feet, alternating between his forehand and his backhand, sliding to his left in one instance and to his right the next.
“All those guys who say he can’t play ball, can’t play second base — they’re just going by what the numbers say,” Washington said. “But none of them has ever helped anyone get better.”
There were concerns about putting Arraez behind a pitching staff that generates ground balls at one of the highest rates in the majors. His presence, however, has helped the Giants turn more double plays than any other team — 33 involving Arraez.
“He’s turning double plays the best of anybody I’ve ever seen,” Washington said. “All you’ve got to do is get the ball to him. The balance in the middle of his body is impeccable. That’s why he’s able to adjust to any throw. He already had the ability to get the ball out of his glove. Once he learned the balance part of it, the rest is history. The work caused that.”
Enjoy it while it lasts: Arraez’s performance on an expiring contract should make him one of the GIants’ top trade candidates if they aren’t able to turn things around before the deadline. It would also open a spot on the diamond for Casey Schmitt, who has been their best hitter despite not having a clear position.
Either way, count Arraez as Washington’s latest success story.
“It’s not like he couldn’t defend before,” Vitello said. “But if this action is that much better, and this action’s that much better … it ends up showing in a bunch of different type of plays, and now you’ve got one of the better defenders in the game at second.”