Feats of Clay

Dave Paisley

I've always been fascinated by odd facts and feats. In past years, there's been the Mariners' Jay Buhner and his quest for more RBI than hits, a feat he almost pulled off in 1995, with 121 RBI and 123 hits. Then there's Mark McGwire's chase of the dubious honor of keeping more balls out of play than he puts in play (where home runs, walks and strikeouts are more than half of his plate appearances) -- a feat he accomplished with ease last year, keeping the ball out of play 57% of the time.

So, without further ado, here's a look at some oddities from the season so far.

We are most fascinated by superstars -- guys who can spank the ball, yet also manage to show a modicum of plate discipline. Hmm, with the words spank and discipline in the same sentence, a casual observer might think this article was going to be about the British Parliament. But enough of the sexual proclivities of British politicians.

Sadly, the injury-plagued Jay Buhner is out of the running in the chase for more RBI than hits. However, there are a couple of candidates who are keeping their heads above the RBI waterline so far this year. With two grand slams in one inning, perhaps it's not surprising that Fernando Tatis should be leading the league, with +4 (41 RBI, 37 hits). The only other player in positive numbers is Charlie Hayes of the Giants, with a measly +1 (22, 21). Honorable mentions go to Gary Gaetti (-2), Mark McGwire (-3, but always a possibility), Jose Canseco, Manny Ramirez, Mo Vaughn and Richie Sexson (all at -3.) Noted RBI vulture Juan Gonzalez is still within striking distance at -6.

If, like me, you've always been fascinated by the correlation between batting power and plate discipline, it's always informative to see how home runs stack up with walks. Keeping it as simple as possible, I decided to look at home runs minus walks. Are there players who end up with positive numbers in that category?

Backing up to last year, three players achieved that very feat, and one came out even. Take a guess, then click here for last year's top 6.

Leading the pack this season is noted hacker Matt Williams, who is definitely enjoying a great resurgence in power. With 14 homers and a measly 10 walks so far, Matt is well on his way to crushing last years winning HR-BB number. Tied with him is a player who, up to now, hasn't really demonstrated the power that was promised -- Garrett Anderson of the Angels. His 10 homers and miniscule 6 walks are possibly more impressive (in a bad kind of way) than Williams' are.

Right behind them are two young players, both nominally catchers, although Todd Greene has never quite been healthy enough to catch in the bigs. He's a catcher in much the same way that I'm a skydiver -- it's more of a hypothetical notion than a reality. Anyway, he's managed to hit 8 homers while walking a mere 5 times, tied with the Expos' Chris Widger who tops him(?) on percentage with 6 and 3.

After that there are some classic hackers. Juan Gonzalez shows up at plus 2, with 12 homers and 10 walks (remember, you don't walk off the islands...) tied with the slash and burn habits of his teammate Ivan Rodriguez (9 and 7), the impatient Mariners Russ Davis (11 and 9) and John Mabry (7 and 5), the Twins Ron Coomer (7 and 5) and the Marlins' Alex Gonzalez (6 and 4).

Finally, let's take a look at those friends of the fielder, the guys that hit home runs, strike out and walk a whole bunch, allowing the guys with the gloves to pick daisies or check out the crowd for babes (or, dare we say it, check for flying ginger snaps.) As noted above, Mark McGwire blew away the .500 mark last year in a romp. This year, the pack is being led by that (and I'll say it again) much unheralded slugger, Jim Thome of the Indians. So far he's the only player keeping the ball out of play at over a .500 rate for the year, and just barely, at .503. And he hasn't really hit his home run stride yet.

It's no shock that McGwire is once again right in the running, at around .483. Mac's home runs are down, but the strikeouts and walks aren't.

Behind McGwire is fellow Bash Brother Jose Canseco. Now, as we've noted above, Jose doesn't rely on the free pass quite as much as elite sluggers, so his ranking up here is more due to the prodigious number of homers and even more prodigious Ks. Young Fernando Tatis seems to be learning from the best in the biz over in St. Louis, because he's fourth with .454, and a fairly balanced walk/strikeout ratio.

After that, we get a mixture of the sublime (6th-place Jeff Bagwell, .439) and the ridiculous (12th-place Mike Cameron, .418). Cameron is interesting, because he makes it so far up this list entirely on his strikeouts.

Oddball statistics can be fun, but remember, taken to extreme, they can cause calculator failure.

Remember, be careful out there.

about the author

Dave Paisley set the all-time beers-to-hits ratio record during the 1993 Renton Beer League season, with a 8.45 pace. Ask for his athletic secrets, including how to wait until the keg is gone before hitting the bathroom, at drdjp@strikethree.com.