By The Numbers - Hitters

July 1, 2009 3:41pm CDT

"Numbers constitute the only universal language." -- Nathanael West, Author/Screenwriter

* Bobby Abreu has had a very odd season to say the least. While his batting average (.298) and his OBP (.395) are pretty much where they always are (.300 and .404 in his career), the rest of his line is in total upheaval.

(1) Home runs - Abreu has hit at least 15 home runs every season since 1998. He currently has four putting him on pace to barely reach double-digits.

(2) RBI - After a slow start in this category which included 21 RBI over the first two months, he knocked in 23 runs in June. With 44 RBI overall he will need to pick things up slightly to record a seventh straight 100-RBI effort.

(3) Runs - Like Ichiro, whom we will discuss below, Abreu hasn't scored nearly as many runs as he should given that 241 of his 255 ABs this season have come out of the second and third holes in the order, which when coupled with a .395 OBP should mean tons o' runs. Alas, he has crossed home plate only 35 times in 69 games, putting him on a pace to fall short of 80 on the year. For a man who has scored at least 98 runs in each of the past 10 seasons, that is an awful total.

(4) Steals - Shot out of a cannon in the early going, Abreu had 15 steals over the season's first two months. Since that time, 23 games in June, he stole only two bags. He is still on pace for his first 30-plus effort since 2006 but he no longer seems assured of a second 40-steal campaign (he swiped 40 bags in 2004).

* With Adrian Beltre being placed on the DL due to shoulder surgery he has no shot at all for his seventh straight 19 HR, 75 RBI season. What makes that fact so disappointing is that he is the only third baseman in baseball who hit both of those plateaus in each of the past seven seasons. The man who is second on the list with six such seasons, Aramis Ramirez, also is dealing with a shoulder injury that has held him to four home runs and 16 RBI, so he too will lose his streak. That means Alex Rodriguez stands to have the longest current streak of 19-75 seasons for a third baseman if he can hit seven more home runs and drive in 36 more runs the rest of the way. Such an effort would give him six straight seasons.

* Do the flurry of moves that the Nationals have made the past couple of days, the club needed to create some room on the big league roster. Therefore, the player sent down to Triple-A was Elijah Dukes who was hitting .244 with six home runs and 30 RBI in 193 at-bats this season. Looking at his career numbers it is clear that it's his attitude and not his game that has held him back up until this point. Through 653 career at-bats Dukes is hitting a poor .237, but with 29 home runs, 95 RBI, 93 runs and 17 steals he has clearly flashed similar skills on offense to what Mike Cameron has done for the better part of a decade. There is a lot of fantasy value in that, but Dukes will have to clean up his defensive work, his base running (15 caught stealing in his career), and his often atrocious behavior and attitude off the field before he can be counted on.

* Everyone knows that Aaron Hill has had a wonderful first half, but here are some data points. (1) Hill has 19 home runs. His previous career best was 17. (2) His current SLG of .510 would be a career best. He has never even posted a mark of .460 before. (3) Hill leads AL second basemen in home runs, is first in RBI (56) and first in hits (104). Playing the old extrapolation game, a highly unscientific endeavor, Hill would end up with season long totals around .300-38-115-100. Do you know how many such seasons have been produced by a second baseman since 1930? The answer is zero. In fact, there has only been one man in baseball history who called second base home who has reached each of those levels in one season and it is Rogers Hornsby who reached that level in three seasons (1922, 1925, 1929). Doesn't that put into perspective just how fantastic Hill has been?

* Who has been the most effective hitter in baseball against left-handed pitching? A great argument can be made that the man to fit that designation would be the Rangers' second baseman Ian Kinsler. Ian leads all batters with a 1.189 OPS in such situations thanks in no small part to his total of 11 home runs, three more than anyone else has against lefties. He is also second in such situations for runs scored (24) trailing only Shane Victorino (26).

* It's not a surprise that Joe Mauer has the best batting average amongst all players with a minimum of 100 plate appearance at home as he is hitting .458 at the HHH Metrodome. The other two men who are currently over .400 at home might be a slight surprise - Miguel Cabrera (.412) and Brad Hawpe (.404). Pablo Sandoval is close at .392. As far as batting average on the road, no one can match any of the figures just listed. The leader on the road is David Wright at .388. Only two other men are hitting at least .370 away from their home turf - Ichiro Suzuki (.381) and Ryan Braun (.376).

* Nyjer Morgan is now a member of the Nationals. With his speed (18 steals) he certainly has fantasy value, though the fact that he has been caught a major league high 10 times is a concern. In addition, the man really cannot hit left-handed pitching with a line of .151/.244/.205. To put how awful that is his .449 OPS in such situations is less than the SLG of Jorge Cantu, who has a .455 mark.

* Alex Rios is hitting .263 with nine home runs on the year. If we remove May, Rios has hit just .240-4-24-22 in 200 at-bats. If not for the 11 steals in those two months, he would be an absolute bust. Come to think of it, Rios is on pace for his worst season of the past four years at roughly .260-18-75-80-25. It would certainly help if he could learn how to hit on the road where he is batting .232 with only a single home run in 36 games.

* If you are looking for one of the oddest seasons in recent memory, you should take a close look at the efforts of Ichiro Suzuki this season. Currently leading baseball with an enormous .373 batting average, he has hit .391 since the start of May (238 ABs). Ichiro is on pace to score, get this, about 80 runs this season. For a man who has scored at least 100-runs in each of his eight big league seasons, that is a total shock. Moreover, do you know how many hitters have hit at least .350 over a season of at least 502 plate appearances that have failed to score at least 90 runs since the 1950 season? There have only been 13 such seasons (oddly Tony Gwynn recorded three such efforts). Come on Mariners, get to knocking this guy in.

* Mark Teixeira is on pace to sock 40 long balls and knock in more than 120 runs, totals he reached in 2005 when, as a Ranger, he hit 43 home runs with 144 RBI. Do you know how many switch hitters in history have had at least 40 home runs and 140 RBI in a season? Your reading about the only man to accomplish that feat here. Still, 2009 has been far from a consistent effort from Teixeira who is currently hitting .275, which would be his worst batting average since his rookie season in 2003 when he hit .259. Even worse, his production has come in waves. Over the past 15 games he hasn't gone deep one time, and he has only five RBI in his last 12 games played. He is also hitting poorly away from his home yard with a .243 average and seven home runs in 144 road at-bats compared to a .309 mark and 13 home runs at home over 136 at-bats.

* Just checking in... Josh Willingham has improved his improbable ratio of late. He is now up to 16 RBI with nine home runs hit.