Runs created by position in 2007 (Part 1)

Earlier this week, I looked at how Tiger players ranked in runs created (RC) and runs created per game (RC/G) among 133 American League players with 300 or more plate appearances (PA) in 2007. Today, I will start comparing players by position. Position comparisons are often useful because some positions demand more of players defensively and thus their offensive expectations are somewhat lower. For example, catchers are not expected to create as many runs as first basemen and, on average, they don’t. I’ll start with the catchers (Table 1).

The top run producers in the league were Jorge Posada (8.4 RC/G) and Victor Martinez (6.6 RC/G). Ivan Rodriguez finished 9th with 4.0 RC/G. This was a big decline from 5.1 RC/G in 2006. Since his defense also slipped in the past year, he's going to need to improve his offense a little in 2008.

Table 1: Runs Created by AL Catchers in 2007

Rank	Player	Team	PA	RC/G	RC
1	Posada	NYA	589	8.4	111
2	Martinez	CLE	645	6.6	104
3	Mauer	MIN	471	6.0	67
4	Varitek	BOS	518	5.2	66
5	Zaun	TOR	391	4.7	46
6	Johjima	SEA	513	4.5	62
7	Hernandez	BAL	409	4.3	46
8	Buck	KC	399	4.2	45
9	Rodriguez	DET	515	4.0	57
10	Pierzynski	CHA	509	3.7	51
11	Navarro	TB	434	3.2	39
12	Laird	TEX	448	3.1	38
13	Kendall	OAK	312	2.2	20

The league leading first baseman (Table 2 below) was old friend Carlos Pena with a very impressive 9.3 RC/G. Mark Teixeira created 7.2 runs per game before getting traded to the Braves. Another familiar face, Matt Stairs, finished 3rd with 7.0 RC/G. It was a big year for ex-Tiger first basemen.

Sean Casey was 11th in the league at 5.1 RC/G. Casey will not be back next year and will be replaced by Carlos Guillen who created 6.2 runs per game as a shortstop. That would have placed him 5th in the league among first basemen.

Table 2: Runs Created by AL First Basemen in 2007

Rank	Player	Team	PA	RC/G	RC
1	Pena	TB	612	9.3	126
2	Teixeira	TEX	335	7.2	55
3	Stairs	TOR	405	7.0	68
4	Youkilis	BOS	625	6.4	92
5	Garko	CLE	541	6.2	82
6	Kotchman	LAA	508	5.9	74
7	Morneau	MIN	668	5.7	97
8	Millar	BAL	562	5.7	77
9	Konerko	CHA	636	5.4	87
10	Johnson	OAK	495	5.2	64
11	Casey	DET	496	5.1	63
12	Wilkerson	TEX	389	5.0	50
13	Gload	KC	346	4.4	41
14	Overbay	TOR	476	4.0	50
15	Sexson	SEA	491	3.9	52

Placido Polanco topped all AL second basemen with 7.0 RC/G in 2007 (Table 3 below). He was followed by Brian Roberts (6.5) and Dustin Pedroia 6.2. This year was Polanco's highest RC/G ever and his lifetime mark is 5.1 so I would not expect a repeat performance next year. If he finishes above 6.0 RC/G in in 2008, I'll be very happy.

Table 3: Runs Created by AL Second Basemen

Rank	Player	Team	PA	RC/G	RC
1	Polanco	DET	641	7.0	105
2	Roberts	BAL	716	6.5	112
3	Pedroia	BOS	581	6.2	85
4	Cano	NYA	669	5.9	99
5	Ellis	OAK	642	5.4	88
6	Kinsler	TEX	566	5.3	75
7	Wigginton	TB	417	5.2	56
8	Kendrick	LAA	353	5.1	47
9	Grudzielanek	KC	486	5.0	62
10	Hill	TOR	657	4.9	85
11	Castillo	MIN	384	4.9	47
12	Iguchi	CHA	377	4.7	44
13	German	KC	405	4.4	46
14	Lopez	SEA	561	3.2	50
15	Barfield	CLE	444	3.0	37