Batting Second
My favorite page in a newspaper is the baseball today sheet that provides the current MLB standings, some updated player and team statistics, and the box scores. Whether I have just enough time to glance at the standings or perhaps 30 minutes to devour the page with my morning coffee, it’s my version of a perfect start to the day!
As promised, next week’s Memorial Day edition will focus on the MLB standings. This week I took a quick look at the National League and American League updated statistics at the quarter mark of the 2019 season What stood out is that not one NL player has stolen 10 bases so far, yet 17 sluggers have 10 or more home runs. In the AL, there are actually 4 players who have 10 or more stolen bases, yet 19 have 10 or more homers. Baseball today is indeed a power game.
My real love though is the box scores. From pitch counts to the playing times of the games, I’m kind of a junkie. Recently I caught up with a mentor of mine and the topic quickly turned to baseball. I recalled he told me years ago that he began each morning by checking the box score of the Yankees game the prior day. Our conversation inspired me to explore today’s box scores and review baseball’s new power theme.
What strikes me most is that many teams are now batting their power hitters second in the lineup. Teams used to employ a lineup of a leadoff man with speed, a number 2 hitter with good bat control to hit behind the runner or lay down a bunt, a third batter as its best pure hitter, and the #4 cleanup hitter to drive in runs. The prototypical examples of a #2 hitter from the past are Glenn Beckert and Bill Russell, both solid hitters who saw their roles in the Cubs and Dodgers lineups as more of set-up guys. Beckert hit 22 home runs in his 11 seasons (1965-1975), while Russell hit just 17 in his 18-year career (1969-1986). The role began to change more recently with Derek Jerek batting second in the Yankees lineup. Yet again, Jeter only averaged 13 home runs a season in his 20-season career (1995-2014).
The role of the #2 hitter in the lineup has now clearly pivoted to a hitter with big-time power. One theory behind this is that the team wants to see the power hitter get as many at-bats as possible in a game. Also, managers (and bench coaches!) now realize that the leadoff batter may only bat first one time in a game. Beginning with former Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa’s creativity in lineups about ten years ago, it is now common to bat the pitcher eighth with a speed guy in the ninth slot. Traditional lineups don’t seem to be that important anymore.
Just take a look at some of today’s players batting second, baseball’s royalty. In the AL, Mike Trout, who many believe is the best in baseball, wreaks havoc from that slot in the Angels lineup. Mookie Betts, last year’s reigning AL MVP, bats second for the World Champion Red Sox. In the senior circuit, Christian Yelich, last year’s NL MVP and current major league leader with 19 home runs, is Brewers manager Craig Counsell’s everyday #2 guy. And of course there is Kris Bryant of the Cubs, the 2016 NL MVP, who on Friday hit home runs in three consecutive innings as the second batter in the lineup.
We also find some rising stars in the two slot, especially in the American League. How about Yoan Moncada of the White Sox, who has 9 home runs to date after connecting for 17 HRs last year? If you haven’t seen the first place Twins play this year, you are missing out on Minnesota’s number two hitter, shortstop Jorge Polanco. He may be one of the most complete players in the game with a league leading batting average of .329 and 8 home runs. Vlad Guerrero, Jr. of the Blue Jays has just now rocketed into our baseball world, and hit four home runs in the past week while batting second for the Blue Jays. The incredible statistic about these young stars is that they have a combined five stolen bases this year.
Some of baseball’s established veterans are also now penciled in each game as the second hitter. Paul Goldschmidt of the Cardinals, who was acquired in the off season from the Diamondbacks, now finds himself as the #2 batter in St. Louis after eight seasons as Arizona’s cleanup hitter. Joey Votto, one of baseball’s best and most knowledgeable hitters over the past ten seasons, has relinquished his customary three slot in the Reds lineup and is now batting second. The Dodgers, who lead the MLB in home runs, employs Justin Turner, their slugging third baseman, as the #2 batter.
The tradition of “raising the W” after a Cubs win at the top of the centerfield bleachers began years ago so that commuters coming from downtown Chicago did not have to wait until the next morning to check the box scores and see if the Cubs won. While the “W” tradition continues, the traditional number 2 hitter in the box score has indeed changed. For today’s sluggers, the message is “Put Me in the Two Slot Coach, I’m Ready to Play the Game!”
Until next Monday,
your Baseball Bench Coach