Statistically Speaking, This Speaks Volumes
Among its many attractions, big-league baseball offers a smorgasbord of statistics unequaled in any sport. The latest evidence is available in the March issue of Baseball Digest that includes editor Bob Kuenster’s report on “Baseball’s Best Clutch Hitters in ‘97.”
Kuenster has come up with a rare listing of what the hitters did with runners in scoring position. He insists it is the most significant stat simply because the “name of the game is to score runs.” His opinion is that the other major stats, such as batting average and total bases, in particular, are of lesser importance.
It is a potent argument. To a point, I am inclined to agree. Certainly, a .260 hitter who responds well in the clutch and drives in 100 runs is more valuable than the .290 singles hitter with only 50 runs batted in.
Some, but not all, baseball insiders, are firm in the belief that runs batted in with runners in scoring position are the best index of a player’s contribution - especially when they come after the seventh inning in a close game.
Sal Bando, previously an All-Star third baseman and now the general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, agrees with Kuenster but also maintains a pitcher who throws strikes and has twice as many victories as losses is of equal importance.
Baseball stats can be digested easily. The high-average hitters, more than likely, are usually the best clutch hitters. Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres and Frank Thomas, for example, are also the most productive in the clutch.
Last season, Gwynn led the National League in both categories: a .372 batting average, along with a .429 clutch average. Thomas led all American League batters with a .343 average, .420 with a runner in scoring position.
“The oldest saying in the book is, ‘Don’t let this guy beat you,”’ said Ed Lynch, the Cubs’ general manager. Translated, it means when the game is on the line, pitch around the big hitter, put him on base and try your luck with the next batter.
Lynch is in awe of Thomas, without question the best hitter of these times. What impresses him most is his home run-to-strikeout ratio. Last year, the Big Hurt had 35 home runs and struck out only 69 times. And, as usual, Thomas drew more than 100 walks.
“It’s rare when someone has almost as many home runs as strikeouts,” Lynch declared. “That’s Ted Williams stuff.”
Lynch was reminded of Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper who was selected as the best player of the first half of the 20th Century. DiMaggio was both a power hitter and a peerless center fielder.
His record 56-game hitting streak, set in 1941, never has been approached. But DiMaggio has another equally astonishing stat - a career total of 361 home runs accompanied by only 369 strikeouts. Imagine, eight more career strikeouts than home runs.
Strikeouts and home runs are singular achievements and stand alone. But many baseball stats depend on the ability of teammates. A player’s RBI total, for example, will vary on the number of men on base. As Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau often has said, “RBIs are not an equal-opportunity statistic.”
The slugger on a weaker team will not have as many run-scoring opportunities as a rival performing with a stronger team that will have more men on base. And there is another factor. If the baserunners have exceptional speed, over a season they can provide a slugger as many as 15 to 20 more RBIs.
So to a large extent baseball stats are interdependent. In 1961, when Roger Maris hit 61 home runs to break Babe Ruth’s one-season record he didn’t receive a single intentional walk. Why not? Because Mickey Mantle was batting behind him.