out in left field
left field. that's where he plays. the good one. but he's far down the list because it's ordered by at-bats. adjusted at-bats. aab's.

these columns are imperfectly spaced but fuck it let's go.

Player            aab    w    k   hr   23  wal  con  pow  avg

suzuki,ichiro     707   53   63    8   29 .070 .911 .057 .372

oh, that was exciting. wasn't it? still, he didn't get the attention he deserved, what with being on a losing team and not being seriously considered for mvp i guess they figured he got one that's what he gets that's what the woman at harold's chicken said when we asked why the wings were so small she said "that's what you get!" she repeated it a number of times.

anyway, for the record, ichiro suzuki in 2004 had more hits than anyone else ever.

pierre,juan       680   53   35    3   34 .072 .949 .057 .326

i wanna say more about ichiro suzuki. first of all, he's so fuckin stylish. but the other thing is he's an innovator. he has a deeper understanding of hitting than anyone else, except that bonds guy. i'm not gonna say one knows more than the other. they're very creative, and very different. that's like who's better, miles or coltrane? ok, miles is, but one's a saxophonist and one's a trumpetist. one's a left fielder and one's a right fielder.

do i make sense? sometimes.

there are two juan pierre is one ichiro is the other. why isn't juan better than ichiro? he's got better wal better con same pow. it's because ichiro is the master artist. he's got so many swings. he starts running before he makes contact. he hits the ball hard when he wants to. he more than anyone else understands the differences in pitchers that we see with the wal con pow system. if it's a strikeout pitcher, he'll slap and run. if it's a control pitcher, he'll smack it. maybe over the wall. he uses different techniques against different pitchers. so it averages out to look not as good. but you can't argue with the results: 262 hits. he also takes the defense into account.

also ichiro has the ability to place the ball which very few hitters have.

ichiro's a difference maker juan pierre's a difference maker ichiro's number two. barry's number one.

podsednik,scott   641   65  105   12   34 .092 .836 .086 .244

rookie of the year candidate but that was luck. turns out he's in his physical prime and he doesn't hit the ball hard enough. he's a guy.

maybe he could reinvent himself as a slap-and-run.

biggio,craig      636   55   94   24   47 .080 .852 .131 .281

craig biggio can play. they put him at catcher and he played catcher. they switched him to second base and he played second base. they switched him to center field and he played center field. then they switched him to left. he's still a strong contributor. and he'll get to 3,000.

finley,steve      635   62   82   36   29 .089 .871 .118 .271

another strong contributor. plays good defense, makes good contact, 36 home runs.

winn,randy        633   61   98   14   40 .088 .845 .101 .286

randy winn had a lot of hits as a devil ray and then played center field for seattle. he's a guy.

if you're knowledgeable you'll point out that it wasn't til his second year as a mariner that he played center field. or if you pay attention to details.

crawford,carl     632   36   81   11   45 .054 .872 .102 .296

carl crawford is good in low-run situations. he gets on base against strikeout pitchers, and steals second. he's 23. he's a strong contributor.

patterson,corey   632   50  168   24   39 .073 .734 .136 .266

isn't corey cute he runs real fast and he hits the home runs! too bad he ain't got skills. he's a guy.

damon,johnny      624   78   71   20   41 .111 .886 .110 .304

great defense. great leadoff hitter. walks, hits for contact, hits for power. difference maker.

jenkins,geoff     623   58  152   27   42 .085 .756 .146 .264

well he hits the ball hard but he misses it too much. guy.

guerrero,vladim   620   60   74   39   41 .088 .881 .147 .337

mvp. why not. he was gonna get one eventually. i just hope that wasn't sheff's last chance. cause he shoulda got one.

i just had the thought that the mvp is kinda like the oscars. anyway obviously anyone that gets an mvp is a difference maker.

giles,brian       618   93   80   23   40 .131 .871 .117 .284

yes yes yes great contact great patience good power difficult park to hit in if he were still in center he'd be a difference maker but he's not he's a strong contributor. maybe i'm being hard on him. suck me.

cabrera,miguel    611   74  148   33   32 .108 .758 .140 .294

now i'm gonna turn around and call this kid with the .758 con a difference maker? he's 21 and he's got superstar written all over him. that con'll come up. sit back and enjoy the show.

kotsay,mark       611   57   70   15   40 .085 .885 .102 .314

that kind of contact with that kind of power in oakland coliseum? add that to his defense and he's a strong contributor.

beltran,carlos    609   97  100   38   44 .137 .836 .161 .266

obviously someone who gets $119 million dollars is a difference maker. that average is lower than it should be. he had bad hit luck.

alou,moises       607   68   80   39   39 .101 .868 .148 .293

yes that kind of contact with that kind of power is a strong contributor.

pujols,albert     601   90   52   46   53 .130 .913 .180 .331

umm . . . difference maker. even if he doesn't play outfield anyomore. i mean, who cares where he plays. talk about contact and power. sheesh.

lee,carlos        597   61   86   31   37 .093 .856 .133 .305

yes once again we see contact and power we see a strong contributor. carlos has quietly put it together on the south side of chicago.

lawton,matt       595   84   84   20   25 .124 .859 .088 .277

guy.

matsui,hideki     589   91  103   31   36 .134 .825 .138 .298

guy.

abreu,bobby       581  132  116   30   48 .185 .800 .168 .301

difference maker. best hitter on his team.

sheffield,gary    581  103   83   36   31 .151 .857 .135 .290

difference maker. it's hard to walk that much when you make that much contact. he also has power.

figgins,chone     579   49   94    5   39 .078 .838 .091 .296

guy. turned out to be handy, though, that he could play third base and center field.

ford,lew          576   80   75   15   35 .122 .870 .100 .299

great patience/contact combo. strong contributor.

wilkerson,brad    575  110  152   32   41 .161 .736 .173 .255

he don't make contact, but he gets on base. strong contributor.

byrnes,eric       574   58  111   20   42 .092 .807 .134 .283

eric byrnes has been a very useful player for the a's the last couple years. he's a guy.

ramirez,manny     574   88  124   43   44 .133 .784 .193 .310

umm, yes. difference maker.

jones,andruw      572   74  147   29   38 .115 .743 .158 .260

the best fielder in history, and he has paitence and power. obviously a difference maker.

dunn,adam         568  112  195   46   34 .165 .657 .214 .266

the single-season strikeout leader. it's nice to hit 46 home runs, but i just don't think good pitchers are afraid of him. i have to rate him a strong contributor. it's close. the way i see it, he's not as good as jim thome, who is a borderline difference maker.

guillen,jose      568   52   92   27   31 .084 .838 .122 .294

nice to see jose made it after all the trials over the years. he's a guy.

grissom,marquis   566   38   83   22   28 .063 .853 .104 .279

borderline guy/strong contributor.

wilson,craig      564   78  169   29   40 .121 .700 .175 .264

guy. too many strikeouts.

williams,bernie   563   87   96   22   30 .134 .829 .111 .262

it had to happen eventually. bernie's just a guy. he's had some great years, though.

jones,jacque      556   49  117   24   23 .081 .790 .107 .254

guy.

cruz,jose         553   78  117   21   33 .124 .788 .124 .242

guy.

redman,tike       551   25   52    8   23 .043 .906 .062 .280

guy.

berkman,lance     550  137  101   30   43 .199 .816 .163 .316

difference maker.

burnitz,jeromy    543   63  124   37   34 .104 .772 .169 .283

bautista,danny    542   39   66   11   28 .067 .878 .082 .286

johnson,reed      539   40   98   10   27 .069 .818 .084 .270

dye,jermaine      537   53  128   23   33 .090 .762 .137 .265

guys.

wells,vernon      537   53   83   23   36 .090 .845 .130 .272

he was a difference maker in 2003, but a strong contributor in 2004. no, he plays center field. he's a difference maker.

hidalgo,richard   529   49  129   25   29 .085 .756 .135 .239

hidalgo's been overrated for a long time. he's a guy.

conine,jeff       527   50   78   14   36 .087 .852 .111 .280

guy. useful against good pitching.

baldelli,rocco    524   38   88   16   30 .068 .832 .106 .280

rocco. he's so young. he's gonna go far. at least a strong contributor.

hunter,torii      522   46  101   23   37 .081 .807 .143 .271

they pay him like a strong contributor, but it's a terrible contract. he's a guy.

drew,j.d.         521  123  116   31   36 .191 .777 .165 .305

difference maker.

bradley,milton    517   77  123   19   24 .130 .762 .109 .267

strong contributor. i give a little extra to the young guys.

edmonds,jim       506  105  150   42   41 .172 .704 .233 .301

difference maker. overrated by sabermetricians due to patience, power, and strikeouts. they overrate patience and power and ignore strikeouts.

freel,ryan        505   79   88    3   29 .135 .826 .077 .277

chavez,endy       504   31   40    5   26 .058 .921 .067 .277

wigginton,ty      497   46   82   17   32 .085 .835 .118 .261

cameron,mike      496   65  143   30   31 .116 .712 .173 .231

guys.

crisp,coco        493   36   69   15   26 .068 .860 .097 .297

up-and-comer. he's at the age where power usually develops. he's got the contact.

rowand,aaron      489   40   91   24   40 .076 .814 .161 .310

aaron rowand had a super power spike this year. he'd be a strong contributor if he'd played more, instead of a guy.

encarnacion,jua   486   45   86   16   32 .085 .823 .120 .236

ibanez,raul       485   39   72   16   32 .074 .852 .116 .304

guys.

gerut,jody        484   61   59   11   36 .112 .878 .111 .252

jody gerut was an early discovery of mine, so i have a special fondness for him. but those are great numbers. patience, contact, and power all well above average. it's obvious he was hit-unlucky.

bigbie,larry      482   46  113   15   24 .087 .766 .106 .280

sosa,sammy        481   58  133   35   21 .108 .723 .161 .253

tucker,michael    469   72  106   13   27 .133 .774 .110 .256

payton,jay        462   47   56    8   21 .092 .879 .071 .260

burrell,pat       454   80  130   24   17 .150 .714 .127 .257

higginson,bobby   452   77   84   12   26 .146 .814 .103 .246

white,rondell     451   47   77   19   23 .094 .829 .112 .270

monroe,craig      450   31   79   18   30 .064 .824 .129 .293

sanders,reggie    449   37  118   22   30 .076 .737 .157 .260

anderson,garret   445   30   75   14   21 .063 .831 .095 .301

guys.

mench,kevin       442   39   63   26   33 .081 .857 .156 .279

this is a great contact/power combo. i gotta rate him a strong contributor. kevin mench doesn't get the respect he deserves.

stairs,matt       442   54   92   18   24 .109 .792 .120 .267

defied expectations his whole career. you'd think he woulda made it easier for future hamsters, but see kevin mench, above. guy.

rios,alexis       426   33   84    1   31 .072 .803 .094 .286

this kid's gonna go far. serious up-and-comer.

bay,jason         416   51  129   26   28 .109 .690 .188 .282

what was he, rookie of the year or something? why do they persist in giving roy awards to people who aren't gonna make it?

harris,willie     412   52   79    2   17 .112 .808 .057 .262

klesko,ryan       405   74   67    9   34 .154 .835 .127 .291

holliday,matt     401   36   86   14   34 .082 .786 .152 .290

floyd,cliff       399   57  103   18   26 .125 .742 .149 .260

sledge,terrmel    399   41   66   15   26 .093 .835 .123 .269

guys.

rivera,juan       391   35   45   12   25 .082 .885 .107 .307

juan rivera had a slow start but he showed his skills. up-and-comer.

gonzalez,luis     381   70   58   17   33 .155 .848 .155 .259

those are retarded percentages. except for batting average, which means it's luck. strong contributor, but he'll be a difference maker again in 2005.

stewart,shannon   381   48   44   11   19 .112 .885 .089 .304

guy.

bonds,barry       376  241   41   45   30 .391 .891 .224 .362

god.

nix,laynce        374   25  113   14   24 .063 .698 .146 .248

guy.

dejesus,david     363   42   53    7   18 .104 .854 .081 .287

up-and-comer.

clark,brady       356   62   48    7   19 .148 .865 .084 .280

gibbons,jay       349   30   64   10   15 .079 .817 .088 .246

byrd,marlon       347   29   68    5   15 .077 .804 .072 .228

guys.

cuddyer,michael   340   40   74   12   23 .105 .782 .132 .263

definite up-and-comer qualities. possibilities for improvement in all areas.

the rest are guys.

dellucci,david    334   52   88   17   14 .135 .737 .126 .242

sanchez,alex      333    7   50    2   12 .021 .850 .049 .322

matos,luis        332   23   60    6   18 .065 .819 .088 .224

roberts,dave      325   43   48    4   21 .117 .852 .090 .254

slap-and-run! useful against strikeout pitchers.

michaels,jason    302   44   80   10   12 .127 .735 .099 .274

ward,daryle       296   25   45   15   19 .078 .848 .135 .249

perez,timo        295   17   29    5   12 .054 .902 .064 .246

long,terrence     293   20   51    3   23 .064 .826 .107 .295

kapler,gabe       292   16   49    6   15 .052 .832 .086 .272

werth,jayson      291   34   85   16   14 .105 .708 .146 .262

davanon,jeff      290   46   54    7   15 .137 .814 .093 .277

nunez,abraham     286   34   69    6   11 .106 .759 .078 .214

everett,carl      284   26   45    7   18 .084 .842 .105 .260

matthews,gary_j   283   34   64   11   18 .107 .774 .132 .275

lofton,kenny      280   32   27    3   17 .103 .904 .079 .275

valent,eric       271   29   61   13   17 .097 .775 .143 .267

mohr,dustan       266   54   64    7   21 .169 .759 .139 .274

garcia,karim      261   14   50   10    9 .051 .808 .090 .229

marrero,eli       254   24   50   10   19 .086 .803 .142 .320

grieve,ben        253   41   70    8   17 .139 .723 .137 .260

catalanotto,fra   252   21   33    1   20 .077 .869 .096 .293

kielty,bobby      239   38   47    7   15 .137 .803 .115 .214

gload,ross        237   22   37    7   16 .085 .844 .115 .321

thomas,charles    236   30   45    7   12 .113 .809 .099 .288

i go back-and-forth on whether this guy's an up-and-comer. he had no trouble adjusting to the majors, and he's young, so there's a real possibility he'll improve. how much? billy beane got some good stuff for tim hudson.

terrero,luis      229   25   78    4   14 .098 .659 .119 .245

fick,robert       228   25   36    6    7 .099 .842 .068 .199

kearns,austin     217   29   71    9   12 .118 .673 .144 .230

will he get it back? we shall see.

jordan,brian      216   17   35    5   14 .073 .838 .105 .222

lankford,ray      204   31   55    6   15 .132 .730 .141 .255

ordonez,magglio   203   19   22    9   10 .086 .892 .105 .292

wilson,preston    202   20   49    6   11 .090 .757 .111 .248

borchard,joe      201   20   57    9    5 .090 .716 .097 .174

cedeno,roger      201   19   41    3   11 .086 .796 .088 .265

brown,dee         196   12   50    4    7 .058 .745 .075 .251

macias,jose       195    7   38    3    9 .035 .805 .076 .268

spencer,shane     187   15   37    4   11 .074 .802 .100 .281

taguchi,so        182   14   23    3   12 .071 .874 .094 .291

sweeney,mark      181   34   51    9   14 .158 .718 .177 .266

ledee,ricky       177   28   47    7    9 .137 .734 .123 .233

mccracken,quint   177   15   27    2   12 .078 .847 .093 .273

grabowski,jason   173   19   50    7    7 .099 .711 .114 .220

thames,marcus     165   19   41   10   12 .103 .752 .177 .256

glanville,doug    164    8   21    2    2 .047 .872 .028 .210

wise,dewayne      163   10   28    6   13 .058 .828 .141 .228

escobar,alex      152   24   42    1   10 .136 .724 .100 .211

mccarty,dave      152   16   40    4    9 .095 .737 .116 .258

nixon,trot        151   16   24    6   10 .096 .841 .126 .315

hollandsworth,t   148   18   26    8    8 .108 .824 .131 .318

cruz,jacob        147   20   43    3    8 .120 .707 .106 .224

sizemore,grady    140   19   34    4    8 .119 .757 .113 .246

up-and-comer.

lane,jason        138   17   33    4   12 .110 .761 .152 .272

guiel,aaron       136   20   42    5    4 .128 .691 .096 .156

logan,nook        134   13   24    0    7 .088 .821 .064 .278

mondesi,raul      133   14   31    3    9 .095 .767 .118 .241

palmeiro,orland   133   21   19    3    5 .136 .857 .070 .241

gross,gabe        129   19   31    3    4 .128 .760 .071 .209

he's got potential.

williams,gerald   129    8   26    4   10 .058 .798 .136 .233

gonzalez,juan     128   10   19    5    5 .072 .852 .092 .276

mateo,ruben       126   11   26    3    7 .080 .794 .100 .206

devore,doug       107    7   31    3    5 .061 .710 .105 .224

goodwin,tom       106    8   22    0    8 .070 .792 .095 .200

hawpe,brad        106   12   34    3    5 .102 .679 .111 .248

bragg,darren      101   10   31    4    4 .090 .693 .114 .188

there it is. i plan to put a few links in there but i wanted to get this published. there are only a few more players to talk about. guys that didn't get mentioned yet, dh's and other miscellaneous folks.
- posted by julien @ 2:25 PM