Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Fun with numbers: David Ortiz

A little player comparison for your afternoon. Below are the numbers of two prominent players since June 1 -- one of whom should be relatively easy for Red Sox fans to identify:

Player A
* .265 batting average, .357 on-base, .558 slugging
* 27 home runs, 77 RBI
* 50 walks, 79 strikeouts

Player B
* .300 batting average, .386 on-base, .551 slugging
* 22 home runs, 76 RBI
* 52 walks, 76 strikeouts

Player B has a significantly higher batting average and on-base percentage. Player A has a slight edge in power numbers -- more home runs, more RBI and a higher slugging percentage. The walk numbers and strikeout numbers for the two players are almost identical.

Player A, of course, is the resurgent David Ortiz.

Player B?

Any guesses?

(Cue Jeopardy music.)

It's Mark Teixeira.

1 comment:

Jim Monaghan said...

Those numbers would give the strong impression that Ortiz isn't done yet. Still, the Red Sox appear to have a couple of major decisions in the off-season.

My guess is that they're going to look hard to find a catcher who can 1) catch the ball (how many PB's does Varitek have in the last three weeks alone?), 2) throw a runner out once in awhile, and 3) hit. VMart to first and Youk to 3rd makes sense, but also gives rise to the Lowell/Ortiz dilemma.

Both of them have made invaluable contributions to this team. Both most likely won't be with the team in 2010. The question is which one is more expendable?