As we turn our thoughts to the 2010 edition, let's start setting the context. Yup, it's Data Table time.
Your AL offenses in 2009 performed as follows.
They've made some changes - different players will be starting the season at catcher, shortstop, third base, and right field than we saw out there last year. But at nine of the ten offensive spots, the team can reasonably be expected to be roughly as good as last season. If not better. Which doesn't mean they actually will be better, of course. But there are worse places to start from. It's at at the tenth spot where... well, oh dear. Oh dear dear dear. The single greatest fall-off at any single roster spot from last year's team to this year's does not come at the head of the starting rotation.
It comes in the infield.
Let's look at the whole thing by position.
It's unlikely, I suppose, that Edwin Encarnacion will hit as well as Scott Rolen did in 2009. On the other hand, it's even more unlikely that a 35 year old Scott Rolen will hit as well for Dusty Baker this year as he did for Cito Gaston in 2009. Encarnacion and Rolen each hit 8 HRs last season as the Jays' third baseman, Encarnacion in half the playing time. The striking difference between them was: a) Rolen hit a ridiculous number of doubles b) when Rolen put the ball in play, he got lots of hits whereas Encarnacion hit into a lot of outs. That may have been a little random. I really think that if there is a falloff here, it won't be all that bad. (Now when it comes to catching the ball... there will be Trouble. Oh yes. Rolen plays the position as well as anyone I've seen since Brooks Robinson himself. Encarnacion does not.)
And yet... who really wants to complain about saying goodbye to a 34 year old shortstop coming off a season that was simply light years ahead of anything he had done in his career? Especially if you're planning to punt the 2010 season anyway, and just need someone to catch the ball in the meantime until you find a real shortstop? Nothing in Scutaro's past suggested he had a season like 2009 in him, except the always present possibility of Lightning Striking at Random.
Hey! A happy thought to leave you with.
Your AL offenses in 2009 performed as follows.
TOTAL AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27As you see, Toronto was sixth in the league in runs scored. Along with most of the league, they were a clear step behind the three really good offensive teams - two of which reside in their own division, natch. But despite Kevin Millar, despite the offensive sinkhole that were their catchers, despite the huge disappointments named Vernon wells and Alex Rios, despite the failure of Travis Snider to take the league by storm, despite the Mysterious Ways of Cito Gaston... they were actually pretty good. They were comfortably better than league average, and clearly were not one of the really bad offensive teams.
NY Yankees 5660 915 1604 2703 325 21 244 881 663 1014 111 28 31 39 54 144 .283 .362 .478 979 6.05
LA Angels 5622 883 1604 2482 293 33 173 841 547 1054 148 63 43 52 41 128 .285 .350 .441 863 5.35
Boston 5543 872 1495 2516 335 25 212 822 659 1120 126 39 19 51 70 137 .270 .352 .454 893 5.52
Minnesota 5608 817 1539 2406 271 40 172 770 585 1021 85 32 51 57 45 147 .274 .345 .429 824 5.03
Tampa Bay 5462 803 1434 2400 297 36 199 765 642 1229 194 61 25 45 49 104 .263 .343 .439 843 5.24
Toronto 5696 798 1516 2508 339 13 209 766 548 1028 73 23 24 49 45 130 .266 .333 .440 829 4.97
Texas 5526 784 1436 2458 296 27 224 748 472 1253 149 36 40 51 37 97 .260 .320 .445 791 4.82
AL AVERAGE 5569 781 1485 2384 295 28 183 746 550 1094 110 39 36 46 52 130 .267 .338 .428 797 4.88
Cleveland 5568 773 1468 2321 314 28 161 730 582 1211 84 31 39 50 81 140 .264 .339 .417 789 4.80
Oakland 5584 759 1464 2218 307 21 135 723 527 1046 133 48 31 54 50 130 .262 .328 .397 729 4.42
Detroit 5540 743 1443 2307 245 35 183 718 540 1114 72 33 53 39 61 131 .260 .331 .416 757 4.61
Baltimore 5618 741 1508 2333 307 19 160 708 517 1013 76 37 13 46 39 131 .268 .332 .415 763 4.67
Chicago Sox 5463 724 1410 2248 246 20 184 695 534 1022 113 49 34 39 62 139 .258 .329 .411 730 4.51
Kansas City 5532 686 1432 2242 276 51 144 657 457 1091 88 29 38 32 42 135 .259 .318 .405 700 4.28
Seattle 5543 640 1430 2228 280 19 160 613 421 1093 89 33 56 44 49 124 .258 .314 .402 687 4.16
They've made some changes - different players will be starting the season at catcher, shortstop, third base, and right field than we saw out there last year. But at nine of the ten offensive spots, the team can reasonably be expected to be roughly as good as last season. If not better. Which doesn't mean they actually will be better, of course. But there are worse places to start from. It's at at the tenth spot where... well, oh dear. Oh dear dear dear. The single greatest fall-off at any single roster spot from last year's team to this year's does not come at the head of the starting rotation.
It comes in the infield.
Let's look at the whole thing by position.
CATCHER AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27Yup. Kurt Suzuki RBI machine. Anyway, are you as surprised to see the Royals in second place, ahead of the Yankees and Red Sox, as I am? Go figure. Well, Miguel Olivo and John Buck were both perfectly adequate hitters last season (each had an OPS+ of 103). Neither one of them is Jorge Posada, of course, but all the good Posada did was undone by the evil that is... Jose Molina. Oh, great. Still, considering how disturbingly inoffensive the Barajas-Chavez tandem was last season, just how bad can it get? Hang on... it can get pretty bad indeed. Buck is unlikely to hit as wellas he did last season (he never has before), and with Molina at age 35 what you saw last year is about what you're going to get. But offensive ineptitude actually has a basement, and Barajas-Chavez were pretty damn close to useless already. Buck should be a little better than Barajas overall, and Molina should be a little worse than Molina. It should all even out, more or less.
Minnesota 612 96 208 316 35 2 23 83 80 77 4 1 0 5 2 20 .340 .415 .516 130 8.08
Kansas City 601 70 162 303 32 8 31 99 30 167 6 3 3 2 6 10 .270 .310 .504 90 5.18
Boston 578 71 138 241 43 0 20 85 83 124 1 0 0 8 3 10 .239 .333 .417 84 4.78
Oakland 643 88 172 280 40 1 22 109 34 87 8 1 1 7 7 16 .267 .308 .435 83 4.44
NY Yankees 592 78 159 259 34 0 22 98 53 129 1 3 5 6 4 18 .269 .330 .438 81 4.68
Baltimore 571 62 154 232 32 2 14 62 62 119 0 0 1 4 4 14 .270 .343 .406 80 4.81
Chicago Sox 606 71 172 253 28 1 17 64 36 84 1 1 3 3 2 19 .284 .325 .417 77 4.45
AL AVERAGE 584 70 148 238 32 2 18 76 50 121 3 2 4 5 6 15 .254 .318 .408 73 4.21
LA Angels 549 76 131 224 25 1 22 72 54 160 4 5 9 4 11 5 .239 .317 .408 73 4.32
Cleveland 559 65 126 204 31 1 15 75 74 141 0 0 3 9 18 18 .225 .330 .365 70 3.99
Texas 568 74 133 215 31 0 17 71 41 188 1 2 6 4 2 13 .234 .286 .379 59 3.39
Toronto 618 55 142 231 29 0 20 87 26 108 2 1 6 7 1 9 .230 .259 .374 58 3.05
Seattle 571 50 128 202 31 2 13 54 40 110 4 3 5 2 7 18 .224 .282 .354 53 3.02
Detroit 535 58 115 175 29 2 9 50 53 115 5 1 10 6 10 17 .215 .295 .327 52 3.04
Tampa Bay 571 62 133 199 25 1 13 55 29 81 7 5 9 3 6 21 .233 .276 .349 49 2.79
FIRST BASE AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27The end of the Lyle Overbay era approaches, but he isn't entirely to blame for the dismal showing Jays first sackers provided in 2009. There was that Millar fella, never to be seen again, one assumes. Millar saved his real awfulness for those days when he was in the lineup as a DH - nevertheless, Randy Ruiz can hardly help but be better. Overbay should continue to hit doubles, draw walks, and play solid defense. His manager (and much of the fan base) don't seem to like him that much. But he's a good player, although at this stage of his career he definitely needs a platoon partner. Which is where Ruiz comes in, of course. It's possible , of course, that by the end of July Overbay will have been sent on his way (how many contenders are likely to be looking for a first baseman, anyway?) and the Brett Wallace era will be upon us...
NY Yankees 641 112 187 363 45 4 41 126 91 121 2 0 0 5 11 14 .292 .386 .566 142 7.91
Detroit 635 101 203 347 37 1 35 105 70 115 6 4 0 1 5 25 .320 .391 .546 128 7.52
Minnesota 630 106 177 336 38 2 39 120 81 106 1 0 0 7 7 19 .281 .366 .533 121 6.72
Boston 597 108 175 288 34 2 25 97 76 128 7 1 0 5 17 19 .293 .386 .482 112 6.68
Seattle 604 81 158 302 32 2 36 97 70 179 2 0 1 6 13 9 .262 .348 .500 108 6.08
LA Angels 622 87 184 333 46 2 33 114 49 136 3 7 0 8 3 17 .296 .346 .535 108 6.16
Tampa Bay 581 101 133 291 31 2 41 107 99 188 5 3 0 3 10 6 .229 .349 .501 107 6.06
Kansas City 640 79 189 309 55 1 21 96 55 109 2 0 0 4 2 21 .295 .351 .483 103 5.79
AL AVERAGE 609 89 165 293 37 2 29 100 70 131 2 2 1 5 8 16 .271 .353 .481 101 5.75
Chicago Sox 597 82 165 288 34 1 29 96 63 96 1 0 1 8 8 17 .276 .349 .482 99 5.74
Toronto 586 77 154 262 46 1 20 91 92 124 0 0 0 3 2 15 .263 .363 .447 97 5.67
Cleveland 587 82 162 271 29 1 26 102 65 103 1 1 3 6 14 17 .276 .359 .462 97 5.67
Baltimore 623 75 163 256 39 0 18 86 50 99 0 6 0 5 4 21 .262 .318 .411 75 4.10
Texas 610 73 138 251 23 3 28 84 38 210 0 0 0 6 3 10 .226 .272 .411 67 3.58
Oakland 576 87 125 205 30 1 16 74 79 121 1 3 5 8 8 15 .217 .316 .356 66 3.65
SECOND BASE AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27Aaron Hill's 2009 season came out of nowhere - just how often does a guy double his previous career high in homers anyway? I have no idea what to expect from him in 2010. The pattern of his 2009 season is interesting - he hit .333/.368/.519 with 12 HRs and 37 RBIs in April in May. The league may have made an adjustment, and while he kept right on hitting homers, everything else disappeared - he hit .241/.293/.476 with 12 HRs and 33 RBI in June and July. And then Hill adjusted to the league - in the final two months he hit .280/.327/.498 with 12 HRs and 38 RBIs. The basic issue with Hill, of course, isn't his production - it's the enormous number of outs he makes in the process. If he could just draw 50 walks in a season....
Baltimore 659 116 189 299 57 1 17 83 82 112 31 7 1 8 2 10 .287 .364 .454 115 6.10
Toronto 702 105 203 354 37 0 38 111 45 100 6 2 1 4 5 17 .289 .335 .504 113 5.74
Boston 659 120 194 296 49 1 17 79 76 53 20 8 3 6 7 20 .294 .370 .449 109 5.84
Texas 645 110 166 305 35 4 32 92 66 88 32 5 6 6 6 9 .257 .329 .473 105 5.45
NY Yankees 656 106 208 336 49 2 25 87 30 65 5 7 0 4 3 23 .317 .348 .512 105 5.91
Kansas City 607 83 178 270 39 7 13 74 56 56 7 1 1 5 2 18 .293 .352 .445 93 5.45
AL AVERAGE 630 94 173 269 38 3 17 80 56 90 16 5 4 5 5 15 .275 .339 .428 90 4.92
Tampa Bay 584 75 152 231 25 6 14 72 86 114 18 3 2 4 3 6 .260 .356 .396 90 5.22
LA Angels 626 104 179 275 39 6 15 102 42 102 18 7 2 4 6 15 .286 .335 .439 89 5.01
Detroit 678 89 192 273 32 5 13 81 39 60 6 2 10 6 10 15 .283 .329 .403 88 4.47
Oakland 617 80 170 258 38 1 16 92 43 88 18 7 6 6 6 16 .276 .326 .418 82 4.53
Seattle 640 77 170 288 44 1 24 94 33 84 5 4 3 8 5 25 .266 .303 .450 78 4.15
Cleveland 615 101 162 230 36 4 8 51 59 129 7 5 5 2 3 16 .263 .330 .374 74 4.10
Chicago Sox 575 74 145 208 25 4 10 55 53 101 31 5 3 5 9 8 .252 .322 .362 72 4.21
Minnesota 555 71 116 148 20 3 2 43 73 105 23 1 15 5 3 14 .209 .302 .267 51 2.83
THIRD BASE AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27
Tampa Bay 623 109 176 330 44 1 36 120 77 144 9 0 0 7 8 26 .283 .365 .530 117 6.55
Texas 650 87 205 328 45 3 24 80 51 113 9 3 0 4 1 18 .315 .364 .505 115 6.51
LA Angels 643 116 195 262 32 7 7 62 100 119 41 17 7 4 1 12 .303 .396 .407 110 6.10
NY Yankees 584 89 158 269 29 2 26 109 88 132 15 1 3 3 10 19 .271 .374 .461 103 6.09
Boston 641 89 184 318 43 2 29 106 55 114 5 2 0 5 6 26 .287 .347 .496 102 5.66
Toronto 615 94 175 270 39 1 18 73 56 95 6 2 1 8 9 6 .285 .349 .439 98 5.55
AL AVERAGE 619 85 166 262 34 2 19 81 60 124 10 4 2 5 7 16 .269 .340 .423 88 4.86
Kansas City 605 89 160 250 35 2 17 60 46 146 12 0 1 3 7 14 .264 .322 .413 81 4.57
Cleveland 639 80 166 252 33 1 17 94 60 130 0 2 4 6 4 21 .260 .324 .394 78 4.13
Chicago Sox 606 78 153 246 36 3 17 86 59 138 9 7 3 4 9 17 .252 .326 .406 77 4.29
Detroit 589 75 138 241 17 1 28 87 56 176 2 6 1 3 17 12 .234 .317 .409 75 4.21
Minnesota 611 73 151 235 27 3 17 72 56 107 2 3 5 6 4 10 .247 .312 .385 74 3.98
Oakland 613 74 151 218 29 4 10 66 63 124 14 2 4 4 2 7 .246 .317 .356 73 3.96
Baltimore 614 66 161 229 26 0 14 67 44 79 4 4 1 3 8 17 .262 .318 .373 70 3.88
Seattle 631 70 156 220 34 0 10 54 35 120 14 4 2 3 8 20 .247 .294 .349 61 3.25
It's unlikely, I suppose, that Edwin Encarnacion will hit as well as Scott Rolen did in 2009. On the other hand, it's even more unlikely that a 35 year old Scott Rolen will hit as well for Dusty Baker this year as he did for Cito Gaston in 2009. Encarnacion and Rolen each hit 8 HRs last season as the Jays' third baseman, Encarnacion in half the playing time. The striking difference between them was: a) Rolen hit a ridiculous number of doubles b) when Rolen put the ball in play, he got lots of hits whereas Encarnacion hit into a lot of outs. That may have been a little random. I really think that if there is a falloff here, it won't be all that bad. (Now when it comes to catching the ball... there will be Trouble. Oh yes. Rolen plays the position as well as anyone I've seen since Brooks Robinson himself. Encarnacion does not.)
SHORTSTOP AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27This is the big one, kiddies. Roy Halladay gave up 82 runs in 239 innings last season. Let's assume those innings are picked up by a combination of Shaun Marcum (3.95 career ERA) and the Toronto bullpen (4.08 ERA in 2009.) The team would give up from 30 to 35 extra runs in those innings. Now look at the difference between the runs created by the Toronto shortstops and the runs created by the Boston shortstops. That's right. Read 'em and weep.
NY Yankees 681 110 226 318 31 2 19 73 72 99 31 7 4 1 7 17 .332 .401 .467 129 7.16
Tampa Bay 595 105 194 305 40 10 17 77 62 113 32 9 4 4 5 5 .326 .392 .513 125 7.77
Toronto 654 109 183 266 39 1 14 67 90 85 14 6 6 8 5 11 .280 .367 .407 103 5.41
LA Angels 606 94 191 256 26 9 7 71 39 69 18 8 15 8 8 10 .315 .360 .422 93 5.40
Cleveland 661 85 188 278 49 4 11 82 52 141 15 4 9 4 2 15 .284 .337 .421 92 4.85
Chicago Sox 594 82 162 237 16 1 19 78 61 80 16 6 6 8 1 15 .273 .337 .399 80 4.58
AL AVERAGE 601 79 165 235 29 5 11 66 48 98 16 6 9 6 4 14 .274 .331 .391 77 4.35
Oakland 634 70 180 245 35 3 8 64 45 86 18 9 6 5 1 20 .284 .330 .386 76 4.19
Texas 555 82 149 206 19 10 6 46 46 88 36 6 15 3 6 4 .268 .330 .371 75 4.48
Minnesota 631 87 166 236 30 5 10 82 47 107 7 3 7 13 1 21 .263 .309 .374 70 3.69
Boston 558 69 131 200 33 0 12 61 41 128 6 4 6 6 11 11 .235 .297 .358 59 3.44
Detroit 532 62 133 182 26 1 7 70 35 98 6 4 22 6 7 12 .250 .302 .342 55 3.27
Baltimore 566 58 141 183 22 4 4 40 30 80 14 7 4 2 3 17 .249 .290 .323 49 2.92
Seattle 576 44 133 193 24 3 10 53 23 100 8 4 19 4 3 17 .231 .262 .335 47 2.57
Kansas City 577 48 128 184 18 10 6 54 23 97 8 3 7 5 1 14 .222 .251 .319 44 2.41
And yet... who really wants to complain about saying goodbye to a 34 year old shortstop coming off a season that was simply light years ahead of anything he had done in his career? Especially if you're planning to punt the 2010 season anyway, and just need someone to catch the ball in the meantime until you find a real shortstop? Nothing in Scutaro's past suggested he had a season like 2009 in him, except the always present possibility of Lightning Striking at Random.
LEFT FIELD AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27As bad as he was last year - and let's be honest, folks, he was bad - Travis Snider was still no Brad Wilkerson. And Adam Lind had more ABs in LF than Snider did anyway. That's unlikely to happen in 2009, so the youngster needs to Step Up. He had trouble last season adjusting to his first real taste of Adversity and Failure, and seems to have shut out his coaches in the process. On the other hand, he appears to understand that that's what he did, which is encouraging. I think he's going to set a team record for strikeouts in the very near future, and the future begins now. Snider strikes out so often -ore than Adam Dunn - that I've worried about his future. He's not as good as Dunn was athe same age, but he's obviously young enough to improve a great deal, as we all fervently hope. Dunn didn't develop even one little bit from where he was at age 21, but he was already good enough to stay in the league anyway.
Boston 589 114 157 315 32 3 40 126 99 175 13 3 0 4 9 10 .267 .378 .535 125 7.29
Tampa Bay 646 104 199 305 30 8 20 79 60 106 59 17 2 5 8 8 .308 .371 .472 118 6.63
NY Yankees 663 120 183 322 45 2 30 97 78 104 12 0 3 1 2 13 .276 .353 .486 116 6.10
Texas 608 88 165 287 36 1 28 89 60 133 20 4 5 12 3 8 .271 .334 .472 100 5.52
Toronto 581 77 157 268 39 3 22 82 65 135 5 1 6 3 7 13 .270 .349 .461 94 5.54
Minnesota 652 80 189 295 26 7 22 101 46 127 9 7 2 7 5 20 .290 .338 .452 94 5.05
AL AVERAGE 617 87 165 272 31 5 22 86 63 124 16 5 3 6 6 13 .267 .341 .442 93 5.13
Chicago Sox 637 86 167 268 28 2 23 80 60 93 21 8 2 1 17 14 .262 .341 .421 92 4.94
Kansas City 634 84 173 261 29 10 13 78 65 108 7 8 8 7 8 12 .273 .345 .412 90 4.81
Baltimore 590 74 154 257 25 3 24 74 71 132 8 4 1 3 5 11 .261 .344 .436 89 5.18
Oakland 620 81 161 253 38 3 16 86 66 112 16 5 0 6 8 14 .260 .336 .408 86 4.73
LA Angels 636 86 173 274 27 1 24 88 48 91 8 2 1 5 2 17 .272 .323 .431 85 4.64
Detroit 602 83 153 268 26 10 23 98 66 116 12 6 2 7 2 19 .254 .326 .445 84 4.69
Cleveland 593 85 150 247 35 4 18 77 50 143 18 3 3 9 6 16 .253 .313 .417 77 4.33
Seattle 580 59 127 193 24 6 10 48 49 163 12 4 6 8 0 9 .219 .276 .333 55 2.99
CENTRE FIELD AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27What to expect from Vernon Wells? After examining the entrails of a number of defunct fowls, I... have no clue. None whatsoever. And neither do you. Whatever happens will be impossible to have honestly expected, which is fun in a weird kind of way. I mean, if we actually knew what was going to happen why would we even pay attention? Still, he was downright bad last season, and he's unlikely to be worse. This is our hope, and there's probably still some talent there.
Detroit 656 98 167 303 24 8 32 77 77 148 20 6 3 2 3 2 .255 .335 .462 107 5.52
LA Angels 627 94 175 276 37 2 20 113 71 135 22 5 1 5 4 10 .279 .354 .440 101 5.64
Boston 677 99 200 274 27 10 9 66 51 89 70 13 6 6 6 17 .295 .347 .405 99 5.16
Cleveland 656 99 172 285 33 7 22 84 72 128 19 12 4 2 10 15 .262 .343 .434 96 4.99
Baltimore 655 103 180 291 29 5 24 94 52 129 12 5 2 8 7 17 .275 .331 .444 94 4.93
Texas 627 75 170 281 40 4 21 94 43 138 10 7 0 10 10 10 .271 .323 .448 90 4.90
AL AVERAGE 629 89 167 254 30 6 15 72 57 122 27 9 6 5 6 13 .265 .332 .404 84 4.55
Seattle 605 88 169 253 25 1 19 72 51 128 16 5 15 2 4 15 .279 .338 .418 84 4.75
NY Yankees 587 88 160 235 25 7 12 78 55 86 27 6 10 5 6 11 .273 .338 .400 83 4.77
Minnesota 601 99 162 219 27 9 4 57 57 121 24 10 15 6 11 4 .270 .341 .364 80 4.44
Toronto 656 87 169 260 37 3 16 69 54 98 18 4 0 6 1 20 .258 .312 .396 79 4.07
Oakland 632 85 177 240 34 4 7 65 43 101 39 11 3 9 9 21 .280 .330 .380 78 4.26
Tampa Bay 639 89 152 241 36 4 15 63 64 175 44 17 3 3 4 10 .238 .310 .377 76 3.92
Kansas City 595 80 144 204 21 9 7 43 64 108 31 6 9 3 5 12 .242 .319 .343 69 3.81
Chicago Sox 587 61 136 189 26 6 5 37 38 120 22 13 10 3 7 16 .232 .285 .322 51 2.79
RIGHT FIELD AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27It could have been even worse - Alex Rios might have been here all season long. Jose Bautista hit 9 HRs in 36 games and posted an .844 OPS in his late season turn as the right fielder last season, which boosted the team total above the Kansas City Experience. A full season of Bautista won't bring back memories of Jesse Barfield, but it should be just as good as the 2009 version of Alex Rios.
Seattle 693 96 239 321 35 4 13 54 42 81 27 9 3 3 4 1 .345 .384 .463 127 7.05
Cleveland 615 95 183 288 32 5 21 79 77 139 21 3 1 5 15 11 .298 .386 .468 117 6.84
Boston 578 104 163 303 34 5 32 88 87 138 3 6 1 4 5 11 .282 .378 .524 115 6.98
Minnesota 639 104 176 311 32 8 29 98 63 128 9 3 2 3 6 20 .275 .345 .487 103 5.62
Baltimore 656 94 192 295 45 2 18 101 57 101 6 2 0 10 3 12 .293 .347 .450 103 5.54
NY Yankees 585 93 146 281 36 0 33 89 98 143 2 1 3 6 5 17 .250 .359 .480 102 5.82
LA Angels 617 102 172 263 29 4 18 116 88 125 25 8 0 13 2 16 .279 .364 .426 100 5.55
AL AVERAGE 614 91 171 277 33 4 22 85 68 123 13 5 2 5 5 14 .278 .355 .451 98 5.55
Texas 610 91 161 287 34 1 30 92 63 140 23 5 1 4 2 14 .264 .333 .470 95 5.36
Oakland 602 92 171 261 36 3 16 76 68 134 9 8 1 4 3 10 .284 .357 .434 93 5.46
Chicago Sox 604 91 159 285 29 2 31 98 64 120 2 4 1 3 7 17 .263 .339 .472 93 5.28
Detroit 628 80 175 262 27 6 16 69 67 125 6 1 2 2 1 17 .279 .348 .417 90 5.03
Toronto 629 87 159 278 33 4 26 89 58 134 19 4 1 6 10 19 .253 .323 .442 88 4.72
Tampa Bay 533 68 138 228 39 3 15 79 70 118 14 7 3 7 0 10 .259 .341 .428 79 5.00
Kansas City 607 78 156 214 24 2 10 60 54 101 11 7 4 0 8 14 .257 .326 .353 69 3.84
DH AB R H TB 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS SH SF HBP GDP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27Imagine how wonderful this would have been without the awesome work turned in by Kevin Millar, who hit an amazing .129/.247/.243 in his 70 ABs as the DH. Perhaps one shouldn't expect Adam Lind to be as thoroughly outstanding as he was in 2009 - I won't be moaning and gnashing my teeth if he hits .280 with 27 HRs and 95 RBI. But on the other hand... he turns 27 this July (so he should just be hitting his peak), not having to worry about defense definitely agrees with him (although it has its own peculiar entertainment value), and working for Cito Gaston certainly appears to have agreed with him. He could actually improve.
NY Yankees 576 93 156 285 26 2 33 106 81 108 4 2 0 4 5 10 .271 .363 .495 106 6.34
Minnesota 596 83 174 275 33 1 22 99 69 117 3 1 0 5 5 16 .292 .367 .461 101 6.00
Toronto 593 98 163 300 38 0 33 93 59 119 3 2 1 4 5 20 .275 .343 .506 98 5.73
LA Angels 622 104 184 292 31 1 25 93 46 99 7 2 3 1 4 25 .296 .348 .469 94 5.40
Chicago Sox 555 81 139 252 23 0 30 97 90 157 5 2 1 4 2 13 .250 .355 .454 92 5.55
Texas 595 99 144 292 32 1 38 97 57 136 18 4 2 2 4 11 .242 .312 .491 91 5.07
Oakland 573 93 144 240 24 0 24 81 85 170 7 2 0 4 5 7 .251 .351 .419 89 5.26
Cleveland 579 71 147 252 36 0 23 79 66 137 3 0 3 6 9 10 .254 .336 .435 87 5.06
Boston 576 83 136 256 35 2 27 103 81 145 1 2 0 7 6 11 .236 .333 .444 87 4.98
AL AVERAGE 581 83 148 258 29 1 26 89 69 132 4 2 1 4 5 13 .255 .339 .443 87 5.07
Baltimore 580 73 151 257 29 1 25 82 62 123 1 2 0 2 3 10 .260 .334 .443 86 5.06
Seattle 575 67 139 241 30 0 24 78 74 103 1 0 1 6 3 10 .242 .328 .419 82 4.70
Tampa Bay 549 73 134 222 23 1 21 90 77 141 3 0 1 8 4 11 .244 .337 .404 78 4.71
Detroit 588 73 144 223 26 1 17 65 67 127 4 2 0 5 5 12 .245 .325 .379 74 4.19
Kansas City 583 64 122 218 20 2 24 84 56 167 1 0 3 3 3 18 .209 .281 .374 59 3.20
Hey! A happy thought to leave you with.
