Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Runs Created by Position

Yesterday, I ranked American League catchers by runs created per game (RC/G). Today, I present the rest of the positions with comments.


First basemen


Rank

Player

Team

RC/G

RC

1

Hafner

CLE

9.7

122

2

Giambi

NYA

9.1

103

3

Ortiz

BOS

8.7

136

4

Teixeira

TEX

8.5

142

5

Sexson

SEA

8

122

6

Shelton

DET

6.9

70

7

Konerko

CHA

6.8

103

8

Sweeney

KC

6.6

81

9

Stairs

KC

6.6

70

10

LeCroy

MIN

6

50

11

Palmeiro

BAL

5.8

59

12

Pena

DET

5.7

42

13

Johnson

OAK

5.6

56

14

Hillenbrand

TOR

5.5

86

15

Hinske

TOR

5.3

69

16

Lee

TB

5.1

55

17

Erstad

LAA

5

82

18

Young

DET

5

64

19

Broussard

CLE

5

64

20

Hatteberg

OAK

4.8

61

21

Millar

BOS

4.8

58

22

Martinez

NYA

4.8

41

23

Morneau

MIN

4.4

61


Chris Shelton finished 6th among first basemen creating 6.9 runs per game. Remember from yesterday’s discussion that this means that a line-up of nine Sheltons would have theoretically scored 6.9 runs per game. I’d be pretty happy if this one Shelton could produce at the same level for a full season (6.9). Roller coaster Carlos Pena (5.7) finished in the middle of the pack after a horrid start, a trip to Toledo and a strong finish. And yes, runs created does penalize a player for strikeouts. Dmitri Young (5.0) finished near the bottom of the list. Young appears to be on the decline so I hope they manage to move him somehow this off season. Despite his tendency for terrible slumps, I’d rather see Pena get at bats than Young.



Second basemen

Rank

Player

Team

RC/G

RC

1

Roberts

BAL

8

114

2

Polanco

DET

7.6

64

3

Ellis

OAK

7.1

78

4

Kennedy

LAA

6

65

5

Cantu

TB

6

95

6

Belliard

CLE

5.3

75

7

Iguchi

CHA

5.2

72

8

Soriano

TEX

5.2

89

9

Green

TB

4.6

42

10

Hudson

TOR

4.6

57

11

Cano

NYA

4.4

59

12

Gotay

KC

3.9

31

13

Boone

SEA

3.8

29

14

Infante

DET

3.5

41

15

Bellhorn

BOS

3.4

28

16

Punto

MIN

3.3

36


Placido Polanco (7.6) was outstanding in a half season for the Tigers. Polanco had a career year this year and I’d be surprised if he did as well next year. He’s always been an underrated player though so there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be among the leaders at his position again next year. Omar Infante had a bad year after an apparent break out year last year. He’s still only 23 years old but will have a hard time getting a regular job back anytime soon.


Third basemen


Rank

Player

Team

RC/G

RC

1

Rodriguez

NYA

9.1

138

2

Mueller

BOS

6

81

3

Mora

BAL

6

94

4

Figgins

LAA

5.8

99

5

Chavez

OAK

5.7

96

6

Inge

DET

5.2

87

7

Crede

CHA

5

60

8

Hill

TOR

5

48

9

Blalock

TEX

4.7

83

10

Beltre

SEA

4.7

79

11

Teahen

KC

4.2

52

12

Gonzalez

TB

4.2

40

13

Koskie

TOR

4

39

14

Cuddyer

MIN

3.9

45

15

Boone

CLE

3.8

55


It may come as a surprise to some Tiger fans that Brandon Inge (5.2) finished as high as sixth. The problem with Inge is that most of his hitting was done in the first half. Inge has made great strides over the past couple of years but has still not put up a full season of good hitting and many feel he is better suited to the super sub role.


Shortstops


Rank

Player

Team

RC/G

RC

1

Young

TEX

7.6

125

2

Peralta

CLE

6.9

92

3

Tejada

BAL

6.5

110

4

Lugo

TB

6.4

102

5

Jeter

NYA

6.3

106

6

Crosby

OAK

5.3

48

7

Guillen

DET

5

42

8

Renteria

BOS

4.9

82

9

Adams

TOR

4.8

64

10

Cabrera

LAA

4.3

64

11

Uribe

CHA

4.3

58

12

Scutaro

OAK

4.3

45

13

Berroa

KC

4.2

68


After a near MVP caliber season last year, Carlos Guillen (5.0) spent the season going on and off the disabled list. His knee is supposedly going to be at full strength by next spring but I’m skeptical. Infante might be getting a lot of bats there next year too.


Left fielders


Rank

Player

Team

RC/G

RC

1

Ramirez

BOS

9.2

134

2

Catalanotto

TOR

7.1

77

3

White

DET

6.8

65

4

Matsui

NYA

6.8

110

5

Crawford

TB

6.6

111

6

Dellucci

TEX

6.5

78

7

Ibanez

SEA

6.3

103

8

Crisp

CLE

6.3

97

9

Anderson

LAA

5.6

86

10

Winn

SEA

5.2

54

11

Johnson

TOR

5.1

55

12

Everett

CHA

5.1

69

13

Kielty

OAK

5.1

53

14

Stewart

MIN

4.8

71

15

Long

KC

4.7

58

16

Podsednik

CHA

4.7

62

17

Mench

TEX

4.7

72

18

Surhoff

BAL

3.6

30

19

Womack

NYA

3

28


I was a bit surprised to see Rondell White (6.8) ranked as high as he was. As usual, he did spend a lot of time on the DL though. He’s a free agent this off season and his status is unclear. He’s a nice guy to have as a part time outfielder/designated hitter but they need left-handed bats so I’m not sure what will happen with him.


Center fielders


Rank

Player

Team

RC/G

RC

1

Damon

BOS

6.6

104

2

Sizemore

CLE

6.4

107

3

DeJesus

KC

6.4

77

4

Kotsay

OAK

5.6

86

5

Wells

TOR

5.6

93

6

Hunter

MIN

5.5

55

7

Matos

BAL

5.3

55

8

Ford

MIN

5.1

73

9

Rowand

CHA

4.9

76

10

Williams

NYA

4.7

63

11

Hollins

TB

4.7

45

12

Matthews

TEX

4.6

60

13

Logan

DET

3.9

35

14

Reed

SEA

3.8

52

15

Finley

LAA

3.5

41


Even with stolen bases included in the RC/G formula, Nook Logan (3.9) didn’t do much to create runs. It would be great if they could utilize his speed and outfield range but he doesn’t hit well enough to get regular at bats in the majors. Curtis Granderson did not get enough plate appearances to qualify for the list but his 6.3 runs created per game would have put him 4th on the list. Like I said about Shelton, if he can do that for a full season, I’ll be very pleased.


Right fielders


Rank

Player

Team

RC/G

RC

1

Guerrero

LAA

8.6

113

2

Sheffield

NYA

8.5

131

3

Gomes

TB

7.2

67

4

Ordonez

DET

6.9

54

5

Suzuki

SEA

6.5

114

6

Brown

KC

6.4

92

7

Nixon

BOS

6.3

70

8

Gibbons

BAL

6

78

9

Dye

CHA

5.5

78

10

Rivera

LAA

5.4

51

11

Monroe

DET

5.4

82

12

Huff

TB

5.3

84

13

Jones

MIN

5.1

75

14

Swisher

OAK

4.8

63

15

Rios

TOR

4.1

54

16

Blake

CLE

3.8

56

17

Hidalgo

TEX

3.7

33

18

Sosa

BAL

3.5

39


Magglio Ordonez missed the first half of the season with a hernia but had a solid second half producing 6.9 runs per game. It would be good to see a full season of Ordonez but I’m still a little concerned about his knee holding up. He looked like he had a great deal of trouble moving around last year and I’m not convinced his hernia was not related to his knee rehab. Craig Monroe played all three outfield positions and would have finished somewhere in the middle of any of the positional lists. He’s been a durable and versatile outfielder giving average production the last couple of years but I suspect he may be traded as they attempt to become more left-handed.

4 comments:

  1. Dude! Coulda dropped me a line! I find out you're blogging from Billfer... tsk. For shame.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Darn, I wanted to be the first to tell you how cool you were. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Sam and Bert. It's good to have two of my favorite motown posters check out my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. tasty stuff Lee. thanks to Billfer for linking!

    ReplyDelete

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