Runs Created by Position (Part2)

Yesterday, I started a runs created positional analysis with catchers, first basemen and second basemen. Today, I’ll continue the analysis with three more positions. Table 4 ranks the American League shortstops.

Table 4: Runs Created by AL Shortstops

Rnk	Player	Team	PA	R/G	RC
1	Jeter	NYA	715	8.0	130
2	Guillen	DET	622	7.5	111
3	Lugo	TB	322	6.8	54
4	Tejada	BAL	709	6.5	114
5	Bartlett	MIN	372	5.2	48
6	Cabrera	LAA	675	5.2	90
7	Young	TEX	748	5.2	98
8	Scutaro	OAK	423	4.6	50
9	Betancourt	SEA	584	4.4	69
10	Peralta	CLE	632	4.1	69
11	Gonzalez	BOS	429	4.0	46
12	Cintron	CHA	304	3.9	32
13	Uribe	CHA	495	3.5	50
14	Crosby	OAK	398	3.3	36
15	Berroa	KC	503	2.3	33

Derek Jeter led all AL shorstops with 8 runs created per game. In second place was the unheralded Carlos Guillen with 7.5 RC/G. Guillen stayed healthy this year and was by far the best hitter on the Tigers. Guillen also had 7.5 RC/G when he was last healthy in 2004 so it would not be outrageous to expect a repeat performance in 2007.

Now for the Third basemen:

Table 5: Runs Created by AL Third Basemen

Rnk	Player	Team	PA	R/G	RC
1	Rodriguez	NYA	674	7.1	114
2	Teahen	KC	439	6.8	73
3	Izturis	LAA	399	5.6	56
4	Glaus	TOR	634	5.5	89
5	Beltre	SEA	681	5.4	95
6	Crede	CHA	586	5.3	81
7	Lowell	BOS	631	5.2	84
8	Chavez	OAK	576	5.1	74
9	Mora	BAL	705	5.1	89
10	Inge	DET	601	5.0	79
11	Punto	MIN	524	4.8	64
12	Blalock	TEX	646	4.2	70
13	Boone	CLE	392	4.1	43

Alex Rodriguez (7.1 RC/G) and Mark Teahen (6.8 RC/G) were the league’s most productive third sackers. Brandon Inge finished 10^th in the league with 5 runs created per game but was close to the league median of 5.2 as several players were tightly bunched. Inge’s production has remained fairly steady since moving to third base so we can expect a similar season in 2007.

Table 6 lists the left fielders.

Table 6: Runs Created by AL Left fielders

Rnk	Player	Team	PA	R/G	RC
1	Ramirez	BOS	558	9.3	113
2	Thames	DET	390	6.9	66
3	Johnson	TOR	517	6.8	82
4	Rivera	LAA	494	6.6	81
5	Ibanez	SEA	699	6.5	113
6	Crawford	TB	653	6.5	107
7	DeJesus	KC	552	5.8	79
8	Catalanotto	TOR	499	5.7	69
9	Brown	KC	601	5.7	85
10	Cabrera	NYA	524	5.2	68
11	Anderson	LAA	588	5.1	77
12	Monroe	DET	585	4.9	77
13	Payton	OAK	588	4.8	74
14	Michaels	CLE	548	4.7	66
15	Podsednik	CHA	592	4.0	63
16	Wilkerson	TEX	365	4.0	38

Manny Ramirez was the run away winner among left fielders with 9.3 runs created per game. The streaky but powerful Marcus Thames finished second with 6.9 runs created in 390 plate appearances. It’s unlikely that Thames could keep up that kind of production for a full season but he was very valuable as part-time player. It will be difficult for him to get a lot of playing time after the acquisition of Sheffield and is rumored to be on the trading block. Sheffield is better than Thames of course but that’s a lot of production to be giving up if he’s traded. Thames has 6.4 RC/G lifetime.

Even with his red hot summer, Craig Monroe (4.8 RC/G) still finished well below the league median of 5.7. Monroe is a better fielder than Thames and will be the starting left fielder again 2007. I think Monroe would be more productive with 400 plate appearances rather than close to 600. They could use a good 4^th outfielder who can hit and I suspect they might search for a left-handed bat for the bench. Like Inge, Monroe seems to have reached his level and we can expect more of the same next year.