In Praise Of The Bison
by Eric Stephen on Aug 15, 2009 10:54 AM PDT
in News
Email
PrintThe Dodgers lone run last night was scored by Matt Kemp, who drove himself in with his 17th home run of the season, one off his career high. Using Wins Above Replacement (WAR, per Fangraphs), Kemp is the eighth-most valuable player in baseball this season, at 4.7 WAR.
Kemp has managed to increase his walk rate in each of the last two years:
| Year | PA | BB | BB% |
| 2007 |
311 |
16 |
5.1% |
| 2008 | 657 | 46 | 7.0% |
| 2009 | 478 | 41 | 8.6% |
Kemp has drawn a walk in 8.6% of his plate appearances this year, which is just under the league average of 8.9%.
Among MLB centerfielders, Kemp ranks:
- 1st in batting average (minimum 300 PA, at .313)
- 1st in OF Assists (12)
- 1st in RBI (76)
- 2nd in wOBA (.381)
- 2nd in OPS (.872)
- 2nd in OPS+ (128)
- 2nd in Runs Created (82)
- 2nd in Hits (135)
- 3rd in SLG (.500)
- t-4th in HR (17)
- 5th in OBP (.372)
- t-5th in Runs Scored (67)
- t-6th in Stolen Bases (23)
The last Dodger centerfielder with at least 400 plare appearances to slug .500 or better was Duke Snider in 1957. Think about that!
There is plenty of time left in the season, but if you want to determine the Dodgers' MVP, look no further than Matt Kemp.
18 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
All this batting in the 7th spot… Imagine how good he would be and how much bigger his numbers would be batting 5th or 4h or even 2nd!!!!!
bad time to talk about his walks though and he has walked just once this month with 20 Ks
A) I think Kemp should bat higher, so we agree, but…
B) Using your Russell Martin logic, Kemp should be kept lower in the order because:
Batting 2nd: 0 for 3
Batting 4th: 27 PA, .208/.296/.250
Batting 5th: 50 PA, .255/.300/.362
Batting 6th: 104 PA, .237/.288/.392
by Eric Stephen on Aug 15, 2009 11:20 AM PDT up reply actions
wait!!!
but then when you said 50 plate appearances is too small i said ok and we will give him some more timee!!!!!!
but wow those numbers are pretty interesting… he must be slugging over 700 in the 8 and 7 spots cause those are some horrible numbers
by matthewmafa on Aug 15, 2009 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions
That’s my point…Hard to draw any conclusions from a small amount of PA.
I agree Matt Kemp should bat higher, because he’s a good hitter.
I think Russell Martin is OK batting 2nd, because he is still very, very good at getting on base.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 15, 2009 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions
Martin is a tough one to slot. Yes he gets on base. He’s also probably the worst hitter on the team, and also can’t bunt. I think you can make an argument for 2nd or 8th for him effectively.
Our lineup would be in serious trouble w/o the great contributions of Kemp and Ethier. Massive props to those guys. Manny we knew, and Blake and Hudson have been solid or above average. Loney/Martin/Furcal – terrible. It’s a testament to Kemp, Ethier, and Manny when he’s played that we’ve scored like we have on the season.
Kemp deserves Gold-Glove consideration
But unfortunately, he won’t get one.
"Andre Dawson has a bruised knee and is listed as day-to-day.... Aren't we all?"
by Mr. LA Sports Fan on Aug 15, 2009 11:29 AM PDT reply actions
who is going to win it?
victorino again?
i got to go with nyjer morgan.. i think he will win.
otherwise who else is there?
by matthewmafa on Aug 15, 2009 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions
They just choose 3 outfielders regardless of position. I think the GG should go to a LF, CF, and RF, but that rarely happens.
by Eric Stephen on Aug 15, 2009 11:41 AM PDT up reply actions
o yaaa
last year it was victorino and mcclouth and beltran 3 center fielders
by matthewmafa on Aug 15, 2009 11:43 AM PDT up reply actions
I think Brendan Ryan has a shot at being the first player with two gold gloves in one year…one at SS, and one for OF. :)
by Eric Stephen on Aug 15, 2009 11:56 AM PDT up reply actions
That's a lot of unknowns
Not saying they shouldn’t win, but I wouldn’t be shocked if some older guys sneak in there.
Beltran sure isn't going to win it again
I don’t know many other outfielders, let alone centerfielders, who are putting up the same kind of defensive numbers as Kemp.
"Andre Dawson has a bruised knee and is listed as day-to-day.... Aren't we all?"
by Mr. LA Sports Fan on Aug 15, 2009 11:44 AM PDT up reply actions
I don't think Gold Glove voters look at any numbers whatsoever
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
Tonight’s D-Backs lineup:
Drew SS
Oeltjen LF
Parra CF
Reynolds 3B
Montero C
Tracy 1B
Romero RF
Ojeda 2B
Davis P
As a baseball fan I can think of nothing more satisfying then watching
a kid from single A ball grow in to one of the best players in the game. So many times we get on a kids bandwagon and they just don’t end up doing their good work for the Dodgers. In the Logan White era we have been blessed to see Kemp, Billingsley, Broxton, Martin, and Kershaw from being drafted to all-star level in a very short period of time.
Sure Loney hasn’t turned out to be what we hoped but we have little to complain about given how much success we have seen with the home grown kids. And as of right now we have traded no one that Logan White has drafted that has had what one would call above average major league success. Andy Laroche/Byron Morris/Josh Bell/Steve Johnson will put that to the test in the future but for now he’s traded the right guys.
Before someone says Edwin Jackson, he was not drafted by Logan White and Carlos Santana was not drafted but signed as a free agent.
Patience is for those who die waiting for something to happen
great season for the bison....
like kershaw people will realize what a stud he is in the postseason…
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on True Blue LA
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Big League Stew - MLB - Yahoo! Sports
- The Juice: Nelson Cruz matches career high eight RBIs, Pujols stays hot in Seattle
- Benches clear at Fenway as Red Sox-Rays rivalry heats up
- Keeping good company: Albert Pujols becomes fourth-youngest player to hit 450 home runs
- Giancarlo Stanton misses cutoff man, and Logan Morrison is thankful he did (Video)
- Snoop Dogg delivers memorable first pitch at U.S. Cellular Field
