Apr 19, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Yankees third baseman Kevin Youkilis (36) and second baseman Robinson Cano (center) and shortstop Eduardo Nunez (26) laugh during a break in the action against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. New York defeated Toronto 9-4. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Birthday to Robinson Cano. As a Yankee fan growing up watching him play, he was a pleasure. While Cano has not played since mid-2022, he remains one the better all-around Second Baseman in baseball history. In a career that lasted seventeen seasons, Cano had his best seasons with the New York Yankees and the Seattle Mariners. Cano also played with the New York Mets and had a cup of coffee with the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves.

Career Statistics/Accolades (2005-2020; 22):

.301 BA 2,639 HITS 335 HR 1,306 RBI 1,262 RUNS .351 OBP

  • 8x All-Star
  • 5x Silver Slugger
  • 2x Gold Glove
  • 2009 World Series Champion

Cano was a joy to watch at the plate, which, to me, was the best part of his game. As a Left Handed Hitter, his swing was perfect for Yankee Stadium. He was an excellent hitter, hitting for .319 between his first two seasons with the Yankees. Cano batted over .300 ten times in his career, and for the first thirteen seasons, he recorded no fewer than 155 Hits every year. Cano hit for contact and power, which you want in any hitter. He was so good at making contact that while he wasn’t known for drawing a lot of Walks, he only struck out in the triple digits twice. Cano was good for 25-30 Home Runs yearly and drove in 100 RBIs a few times in his career. Cano was good for Doubles, hitting 572 of them and 40 or more in a year seven times. Besides, in 2006, Cano was not known for missing games. From 2007-17, Cano appeared in 150 or more games every year. While he doesn’t have any noteworthy “Black-Bold Face Type” on the back of his baseball card, I remind you that Black and Bold Type is tricker at Second Base.

Defensively, Cano played a very good Second Base. Cano took home a couple of Gold Gloves, which was well earned. Spending 18,812 Innings at Secon Base, Cano put up a lifetime .988 Fielding Percentage. Take away his rookie year; his fielding percentage at Second Base never fell below .983. In 2010, when he won his first Gold Glove, his .996% was .012 above the league average among other guys at the position that year.

While baseball is a business, in hindsight, it would’ve been nice to see Cano finish his career with the Yankees. He was suspended twice for a combined season and a half for testing positive for a banned substance. He got caught at ages 35 and 38, so he probably was playing around with it to keep his aging body at the same level when he was at his best. It is fair to say that being caught and suspended has possibly cost Cano a chance to make the Hall of Fame one day. What I will say about Cano is before he got caught, his year-to-year offensive numbers were up there with among the best to ever play at the position. Like I said, I wish the Yankees kept Cano; his swing was perfect for the ballpark, and in all honesty, if I’m making an all-time Yankees starting lineup, I’d put him in the nine spot at Second Base over Tony Lazzeri. Let’s say Cano stopped playing after 2017; before getting caught, his lifetime offensive numbers were comparable to or better than other Hall of Fame Second Basemen Ryne Sandberg and Craig Biggio. 

References:

  1. Robinson Cano Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/canoro01.shtml