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October 31, 2006

Reviewing the Ranger Lineup: #3 Hitters

Check here for stat descriptions.

Texas #3 Hitters:

Player
% of Team PA
OPS
L-OPS+
OBP
L-OBP+
SLG
L-SLG+
R
HR
RBI
BB
SO
Net SB
M Teixeira
64%
.844
101
.358
100
.486
101
62
18
70
52
84
0
C Lee
17%
.861
104
.357
100
.504
105
24
3
15
8
12
3
M Young
17%
.725
73
.310
87
.415
86
13
3
18
9
22
1
The Rest
1%
1.500
247
.500
139
1.000
207
1
1
2
0
1
0
TEAM
-
.832
98
.351
98
.481
100
100
25
105
69
119
4
AL Average*
-
.840
-
.358
-
.482
-
101
27
103
72
118
6
Team Rank in AL
-
-
7
-
7
-
7
6
6
5
8
6
9

Through June 22nd, Mark Teixeira never left the third spot in the order. After that day’s game, he had six homers and a .425 slugging percentage. Buck Showalter dropped him to fourth, where he soon returned to his expected brilliance. He switched back to third in late August with no ill effects.

As I mentioned in a June 10th column, Teixeira inexplicably flailed against pitchers he faced for the first time in a game. That trend manifested itself even more strongly in the first inning. At the All-Star break, Teixeira batted .243/.317/.284 in the first inning, including no homers and exactly three runs batted in in 82 plate appearances. He did improve in the second half (an odd line of .250/.451/.444: nine hits and twelve walks) but still was nothing special. For the season, he hit .245/.368/.336 in the first and .290/.372/.552 in subsequent innings. He showed more patience in the first (0.35 more pitches per appearance and a 50% higher walk rate) but no power (a David Ecksteinian .091 ISO, two homers in 133 appearances).

Should Showalter have batted him seventh, or started Nevin or Stairs at first and substituted Teixeira in the second inning? Probably overkill. Teixeira had never exhibited this problem in previous years and most likely will return to normal in 2007. That said, it’s an issue worth watching.

Carlos Lee quietly performed to expectations with his bat but probably played his way out of a long-term contract with his passive defense and occasionally cavalier attitude. The Rangers gained no ground on Oakland or even themselves after his acquisition (51-52 pre-trade, 29-30 post).

Relative to his time in the #2 hole, Michael Young struggled while batting third during late June and most of July. It’s only coincidence; he’d often hit third in the past with no loss of performance.

American League #3 Hitters:

TEAM
OPS
L-OPS+
OBP
L-OBP+
SLG
L-SLG+
R
HR
RBI
Boston
1.010
142
.404
113
.607
129
124
55
142
Chicago Sox
.976
131
.403
112
.573
119
136
44
123
Minnesota
.914
126
.423
121
.491
106
100
13
101
NY Yankees
.884
115
.393
111
.491
104
115
29
123
Toronto
.882
108
.355
100
.527
108
97
32
109
Cleveland
.820
102
.359
102
.461
100
108
29
104
Texas
.832
98
.351
98
.481
100
100
25
105
Baltimore
.781
89
.344
96
.437
93
103
22
93
Tampa Bay
.777
87
.332
93
.445
94
86
25
99
Kansas City
.779
86
.355
97
.425
89
91
15
91
LA Angels
.758
84
.319
90
.439
95
85
24
89
Seattle
.750
84
.319
90
.431
94
88
21
92
Oakland
.730
79
.331
94
.398
85
86
20
82
Detroit
.715
74
.304
85
.411
89
92
19
86

Best #3 hitting: David Ortiz. No commentary needed.

Worst #3 hitting: NLCS foes Detroit and Oakland anchor the list, proving that titles are won with productive outs, not power. Anyway, Ivan Rodriguez drew over half of his team’s #3 at-bats and showed he no longer belongs in the top half of the order even when batting .300. He, Dmitri Young, Marcus Thames, Craig Monroe and Sean Casey combined for a paltry 19 homers and 31 walks. The rest of the league averaged 27 homers and 76 walks. Oakland’s Milton Bradley handled the spot well but his teammates (mostly Chavez, Kotsay, Crosby[?]) hit .233 and slugged .346.

Posted by Lucas at October 31, 2006 09:29 AM