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Panda in elite company

sf1giantfan · 2012-01-26T11:18:13-08:00

I think we should keep him. ... there have been 126 other occurrences of a switch-hitter playing in at least 100 games and getting to a 140 OPS+. Mickey Mantle is responsible for 15 of the 127 instances, Chipper Jones owns nine of the rest, Lance Berkman has eight, and Eddie Murray, Ken Singleton and Reggie Smith are tied for the fourth- most, with six apiece. Twenty-two other players have done this multiple times, including Davis and the current Giants third baseman, Pablo Sandoval. Sandoval reached these heights in 2009 (144) and '11, when, in his age-24 season, he batted .315, slugged .552, and posted a 153 OPS+ in 117 games. This latest round of hitting excellence has moved the man known as "Kung Fu Panda" into much more exclusive company. Of the 28 switch-hitters since 1893 to have multiple seasons with an OPS+ of at least 140 in 100 or more games, only Mantle and Sandoval had at least two such years before their age-25 season. In 2011, Sandoval missed six weeks with a broken hamate bone in his right hand. It was the only bit of individual dreariness in what otherwise was a resounding season. After hot-shotting it through the Majors with a .345 average in 41 games in his debut year in '08, Sandoval then played in 153 games in '09 (his age-22 season), batted .330 (second in the NL), slugged .556 and assembled a .943 OPS, which worked out to a 144 OPS+. With that year in 2009, Sandoval became the youngest switch-hitter since Murray in 1978 to post a 140 OPS+ in a qualifying season, the first switch-hitter since Mantle in '54 to have at least a 144 OPS+ in his age-22 season (or younger), and the first switch-hitter since Tom McCreery in 1896 to qualify for the batting title in his age-22 season (or younger) and hit as high as .330 with a slugging percentage over .500 (Davis also did this in 1893). Pablo Sandoval Earlier, it was noted that Mantle's age-24 season in 1956, by OPS+, is the third greatest in the modern era of the game. When looking at just switch-hitters with 100 or more games in that age-season, Sandoval's 153 in 2011 comes in a distant second. For the moment, let's move away from switch-hitting and contextualize Sandoval's accomplishments thus far through the prism of his position and age. A few points: • For all third basemen since 1901, Sandoval is one of five to have multiple years -- through their age-24 season -- of at least a 140 OPS+ in at least 100 games. The others: Eddie Mathews (four such seasons), Dick Allen (two), George Brett (two) and Miguel Cabrera (two). • Sandoval's 144 OPS+ in 2009 is the fourth-highest since 1901 for any third baseman in his age-22 season or younger with at least 100 games. In '54, Mathews (age-22 season) posted a 172, which followed his own 171 in '53. And in '64, Allen had a 162 in his age-22 season. • Sandoval's 153 OPS+ in 2011 is the fourth-highest since 1901 for any third baseman in exactly his age-24 season with at least 100 games. He trails Ron Santo's 164 in 1964, Mike Schmidt's 158 in '74 and Jim Thome's 157 in '95. • For all players through their age-24 season with at least 400 games and at least 75 percent of those games at third, Sandoval's career 129 OPS+ is the eighth-highest, his .307 batting average is the fifth-highest, and his .501 slugging percentage is the seventh-highest. Full article... http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120126&content_id=26470570&vkey=news_sf&c_id=sf

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Feb 2, 2012 at 1:38 PM

HomestarRunner
Member
Posts: 48

Really glad we're keeping him. Was a no brainer if you asked me. He just needs to stay selective at home plate and really selective at the dinnner plate and he'll be a great player, I have no doubt. Keeping his weight down year after year may be his biggest challenge IMO. Hopefully he finds something that works for him so it isn't such a struggle for him.

Feb 2, 2012 at 7:31 PM

sf1giantfan
Member
Posts: 319

First comment after 154 views, not bad. Yes, I agree, him staying in decent shape is the key. He doesn't have be pure muscle man, but the less fat and more muscle will help his bat speed. Leaner is meaner.

[ Edited by sf1giantfan on Feb 2, 2012 at 7:31 PM ]

Feb 10, 2012 at 2:47 AM

HomestarRunner
Member
Posts: 48

KNBR Said that he's around 25lbs over wieght right now.

Feb 10, 2012 at 5:17 PM

sf1giantfan
Member
Posts: 319

That is sad, overweight panda means a subpar season. I see a 3rd place finish in the west.

Feb 12, 2012 at 2:12 PM

kodiakgiant
Member
Posts: 259

has there been any other player on this team that has produced offensively better than he has since hes been up? there is no reason not to keep him, without posey, he was our only threat for any runs, 3 years in 2 great seasons, and one down year..... that was better than half this team was.

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Panda in elite company

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