Seasons right out of left field
With few surprises in MLB standings, these players have surpassed expectations
Once the baseball season reaches its halfway point, the league leaders start to take on a familiar look. The patient hitters are drawing the most walks, the home run hitters are hitting homers, and the doublers are doubling.
But part of what makes the game great is that there are always a few surprises among the usual suspects.
Some young players like Kris Bryant, 24, of the Chicago Cubs; Nolan Arenado, 25, of the Colorado Rockies; and Manny Machado, 24, of the Baltimore Orioles, have taken steps forward. But at their ages — and with their talent — these strides were mostly expected.
Josh Donaldson of the Toronto Blue Jays is having an outstanding year at 30, but after last year’s breakthrough MVP season, it can hardly be called a shock.
Here, though, are five hitters whose huge 2016 seasons you might not have seen coming: 5. David Ortiz, Red Sox, 1.107 on-base plus slugging. Known as a fearsome clutch hitter, Ortiz is widely respected for his long career of excellence. But he is 40 now. Who expected him to be leading the majors in on-base average plus slugging in what he has said will be his final season? With a major-league-leading 34 doubles, he is only three short of his total from last season, and he is in the top three in RBI and batting average, too.
He is not too concerned about his aging body, he told The Boston Herald last week: “I’ve been managing myself pretty well and I got through the first half of the season and I feel good right now, so hopefully we’ll be in the same situation the second half of the season.” 4. Wilson Ramos, Nationals, .918 OPS. A journeyman catcher, Ramos had not played 120 games in a season until last year at age 27; he hit .229. So a double-take is a natural reaction to this season’s batting average: .330., comfortably a career high. Ramos has also socked 13 homers, three short of his previous season best, and was named to his first allstar team.
Manager Dusty Baker has praised his defence, too, telling The Washington Post: “He’s my right-hand man on the field. I depend on him as much as anybody — to get the signs, to get the pitchouts, get the throw overs, to call a game, to throw people out, to block balls in the dirt.” 3. Michael Saunders, Blue Jays, .923 OPS. Last year, he played just nine games because of knee problems and hit .194. In his only two full seasons, he hit less than .250. There was talk that Toronto would give up on him and trade him away.
But at age 29 he is suddenly hitting .298 with 16 homers, including three in one game in June, and 25 doubles. As a Canadian, Saunders has been a fan favourite in Toronto. Now he is putting up the numbers to back it up. He won a spot on the all-star team through MLB’s Final Vote campaign, a social media driven contest that leaves the final roster spot for the AL and NL teams to fan voting. 2. Daniel Murphy, Nationals, .985 OPS. To believers in clutch hitting and the power of the post-season, Murphy’s big year is no surprise, perhaps. After years of competence with the New York Mets, he erupted in the 2016 post-season, hitting seven home runs in the first two series and being named the National League Championship Series MVP. Despite a disappointing World Series (three hits, none for extra bases), he has carried his hot hitting into the regular season, perhaps making the Mets regret letting him go as a free agent to the Nationals. At 31, he is having clearly his best season, with a NL-leading .348 batting average and having already exceeded his career best homer total with 17.
A month ago, Murphy might have been No. 1 on this list. But after hitting .416 in May, he slipped to .253 in June. 1. Jake Lamb, Diamondbacks, .983 OPS. This year’s biggest eyeopener. Lamb looked to have some promise, but last year’s numbers of a .263 batting average with six homers in 107 games hardly set the baseball world alight.
But this year, Lamb, a third baseman, is looking like George Brett. He has 20 home runs, more than tripling his previous season best, and is tied for a major league high seven triples. His slugging percentage of .612 trails only Ortiz’s.
Lamb’s feats have mostly gone unnoticed. Despite a campaign in Arizona, he missed out on the all-star team. He told The Arizona Republic that he understood: “I didn’t have a great year last year, and my numbers weren’t nearly like this last year. Not a whole lot of guys know about me.”
If he keeps it up, that soon could change.