Juan Pierre has been a below average hitter with some speed (though not stellar base running skills) and meh-to-poor defense for several years now. Seemingly everywhere he’s gone, the fan base soon starts to cry out for his ouster. Yet Pierre continues to find work and continues to get playing time at a rate which seems to outpace his performance.
Why? Mostly because the guy works his butt off, and teams really like having guys like that around:The daily routine begins around 3:30 p.m.
Juan Pierre plays a short game of catch with Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin before stepping into the batting cage for a prolonged session of bunting practice. Mackanin is his pitcher ... The 34-year outfielder lays down bunt after bunt after bunt while his teammates are still inside the air-conditioned clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.Ruben Amaro waxes approvingly of him too. We’ve heard things similar to this everywhere he’s played. I wonder what the shelf life of a player with his exact performance but without the work ethic would be in the bigs.
