2006: The year of the leadoff man
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by user JCantRoot
Major League Baseball’s 2006 season may go down in history as the year of the leadoff man.
OK, it probably won’t, but darn it, it should.
No less than nine leadoff men have had breakthrough or breakout performances based on career numbers or their rookie status, while some already established leadoff men have equaled or surpassed some of their single-season highs.
Sorry I didn't go nuts enough to find VORPs and WARPs and RC/27, but I think the traditional baseball stats I use here speak for themselves.
Observe the following breakouts in no particular order:
Grady Sizemore
The Cleveland centerfielder has thrust himself into the MVP discussion in the eyes of many statistical hawks. He has posted career highs in the standard AVG/OBP/SLG categories .292 / .378 / .537 for a lofty .915 OPS. His 131 runs lead the AL and his 52 doubles lead the ML. Throw in 11 3Bs, 27 HRs, 74 RBI, 22 SB with only 4 CSs and you have yourself a tremendous season.
Gary Matthews Jr.
Another centerfielder who has broken out in a lot of categories, Matthews Jr. has set career highs of .318 / .377 / .505 for an .882 OPS. He has topped 100 runs for the first time, has close to 200 hits, over 40 doubles, 19 HRs, 79 RBI and 58 BBs – all career highs.
Jose Reyes
Met fans have been waiting for this guy to explode, and I’m sure the fallout looks good in Queens. Reyes has 30 2Bs and an outside shot to go 20-20 in 3Bs and HRs. He has collected 80 RBI from the National League leadoff spot – which is amazing for a guy without 45 HRs and has scored 120 Runs. He upped his walk total to a modest 50, he’s hitting .300 and slugging close to .500.
Kevin Youkilis
True he hasn’t had a full season under his belt with only 72 games played in 2004 and 44 in 2005, but Youkilis has gotten it done for the red Sox in a fulltime role in 2006 with 100 runs scored, 41 2Bs and over 70 RBI. His on OBP is .100 points higher than his BA thanks to 89 BBs.
Alex Rios
I’m listing Rios in the breakouts because he’s young and this could just be the start of something good for the Jays. In his third season, the right-fielder’s power numbers have jumped with an increase in 2Bs from 23 to 30 and HRs from 10 to 17. He has driven in 77 runs and scored 61, which is low compared to other players on this list but he has only played in 122 games. His hitting stats are all career highs .298 / .348 /.513
Jimmy Rollins
I know Jimmy Rollins’ name has been around a few years and he has gotten some credit with All-Star appearances and his beginning-the-season-with-a-hit-streak episode, but this could be a breakout season for a guy who has been playing in the shadows of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Rollins has already set career high marks in runs scored (124), HRs with a lofty 25 jacks and RBI (78), but he is also on pace to eclipse his career bests in 2Bs (43). He’s stolen 36 bases and only been caught 4 times.
Jamey Carroll
In the humidified Colorado air Carroll has already set career highs in runs, hits, 2Bs, HRs, RBI, BBs, SBs (though he has been caught more times than he’s been successful) and posted a decent line for a crappy team of .279 / .355 / .357. Not bad for a 25-year-old journeyman second basemen.
Hanley Ramirez
A possible candidate for Rookie of the Year, the Florida Marlins shortstop has compiled 115 runs, 45 2Bs, 10 3Bs, 15 HR and a line of .289 / .349 / .469. He doesn’t walk much for a leadoff guy and his strikeout total is a little high, but throw in 51 SBs and for a 22-year-old rookie these are awesome numbers.
Curtis Granderson
Another leadoff man playing in his first full season, I won’t say anything ridiculous here like ‘Granderson makes the Detroit lineup go’ or ‘As a leadoff man he was a spark to the Tigers’ torrid start to 2006’, but he guarantee he has given more than Detroit could have hoped for. The 25-year-old centerfielder is on pace for 88 runs, 32 2Bs, 18 HRs, 69 RBI and a line of .264 / .340 / .436.
In addition to these players, consider the solid numbers being put up by Alfonso Soriano, Ichiro Suzuki, Johnny Damon and Rafael Furcal and you can see why 2006 could be the year of the leadoff man.
Soriano
.285 .357 .576 career highs in HRs (46) and BBs (63)
Suzuki
.315 .365 .399 not setting any career marks, but does he ever not have a great year?
Damon
.290 .362 .483 career high 23 HRs
Furcal
.301 .371 .450 close to matching or topping his awesome 2003 season in several categories including hits, HR, RBI, 2Bs and BBs
Date
Mon 09/25/06, 7:32 pm EST
