The Yankees just got a whole lot better
The Tony Womack era is officially over.
And to think Womack was brought in as a lead off hitter last year. What a crime.
On a related subject, some idiot called in to WFAN and complained that the Yankees have to get Johnny Damon so that the team will have its first legitimate lead-off hitter since Willie Randolph. Forgetting, for a moment, crazy but cool Chuck Knoblauch's 1998-2000 seasons, let's take a look at Jeter's numbers in '05 (the first year he pretty much had the lead-off job all season) as compared to lead-off hitter par excellence, Damon:
Damon edges Jeter in terms of batting average, at .316 to .309, but the purpose of the lead-off hitter is primarily two-fold -- get on base and score.
OBA
Jeter: .389
Damon: .366
Runs scored:
Jeter: 122
Damon: 117
Another important duty for the lead-off is to show patience, give the sluggers coming up behind him a chance to see what the pitcher's got. In '05 Jeter drew a career-high 77 BBs, while striking out 117 times. Damon walked 53 times while the contact hitter striked out only 69; looking at pitches is not something Johnny Damon likes to do.
Finally, scoring runs in the first inning is a good way to give your starter piece of mind, put the opposing pitcher on edge, and make the other team play catch-up. To do that, it's awfully helpful if your first batter leads off with an extra base hit:
Slugging (total bases):
Jeter: .450
Damon: .439
And Jeter had nearly double the homeruns that Damon had, 19 to 10. Johnny Damon's skills as a center fielder diminished noticeably last year. The Yankees don't need a lead off hitter because they've got one. I like Damon a lot, and the hair, oh the hair. Certainly Damon would represent a huge upgrade of the position offensively. But the Yankees would be doing the Red Sox a huge favor if they offer Damon more than three years.
Idiots call into these sports talk shows by the car load. But it would be nice if the shows' hosts knew a little something about the subject they're talking about and correct the idiots.
And to think Womack was brought in as a lead off hitter last year. What a crime.
On a related subject, some idiot called in to WFAN and complained that the Yankees have to get Johnny Damon so that the team will have its first legitimate lead-off hitter since Willie Randolph. Forgetting, for a moment, crazy but cool Chuck Knoblauch's 1998-2000 seasons, let's take a look at Jeter's numbers in '05 (the first year he pretty much had the lead-off job all season) as compared to lead-off hitter par excellence, Damon:
Damon edges Jeter in terms of batting average, at .316 to .309, but the purpose of the lead-off hitter is primarily two-fold -- get on base and score.
OBA
Jeter: .389
Damon: .366
Runs scored:
Jeter: 122
Damon: 117
Another important duty for the lead-off is to show patience, give the sluggers coming up behind him a chance to see what the pitcher's got. In '05 Jeter drew a career-high 77 BBs, while striking out 117 times. Damon walked 53 times while the contact hitter striked out only 69; looking at pitches is not something Johnny Damon likes to do.
Finally, scoring runs in the first inning is a good way to give your starter piece of mind, put the opposing pitcher on edge, and make the other team play catch-up. To do that, it's awfully helpful if your first batter leads off with an extra base hit:
Slugging (total bases):
Jeter: .450
Damon: .439
And Jeter had nearly double the homeruns that Damon had, 19 to 10. Johnny Damon's skills as a center fielder diminished noticeably last year. The Yankees don't need a lead off hitter because they've got one. I like Damon a lot, and the hair, oh the hair. Certainly Damon would represent a huge upgrade of the position offensively. But the Yankees would be doing the Red Sox a huge favor if they offer Damon more than three years.
Idiots call into these sports talk shows by the car load. But it would be nice if the shows' hosts knew a little something about the subject they're talking about and correct the idiots.
posted by John at 4:39 PM
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