Nick the Stick, Still the Best
Just in case we got caught up in Aubrey Huff's hitting streak, Melvin Mora's RBI production or Brian Roberts' run at 60 doubles, Nick Markakis has reminded us in recent days of this fact - he's still the best player on this team.
I'll give Nick the slight nod over B-Rob. Markakis is on pace to finish with these numbers - .301-24-100 with 47 doubles and 14 steals. Plus he plays Gold Glove defense and is among the Major-League leaders in outfield assists.
One season Markakis will probably hit 30 homers and knock in 110 or 120 runs and, while it won't happen this year, his play can't be overlooked. Take Monday night, it's late, the 7th inning and the O's, once down 5-0, are now trailing by three. Markakis clears the bases, picking a great time for his first triple. The O's go on to get the lead and it's not his fault O's pitching couldn't hold that lead.
In recent days we've seen several O's errors, physical and mental miscues, but Markakis is almost never involved in one. He's just rock solid consistent and his head is always in the game.
As a lefty hitter he's supposed to hit worse vs. lefty pitchers but he bats .326 against them. It can be tough on the road in the Majors, but he hits .320 in road games. As the season goes on he gets better - he's hitting over .300 in June, July and August. And he bats .309 with runners in scoring position.
Many O's players are having tremendous individual years, but Nick the Stick is still the best of them all.
One final note. Congrats to the kids from Hagerstown, Maryland that won the regional last night and are headed to the Little League World Series. I believe a team from Hagerstown last made it this far in 1968. I think it was 1985, maybe 1986, when a group of gutsy kids from Brunswick, Maryland made it. I was a young radio reporter in Frederick then and got to cover the Brunswick kids in their amazing run. What a thrill to cover that Series at Lamade Stadium in Williamsport. Good luck and go Hagerstown !
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Categories (click for archive)Steve Melewski |
Steve, I agree for the most part but he has made several baserunning blunders this year. One, he made up for the other day with his 3 run home run after admitting to the mistake.
Steve, I basically agree, with one slight bit of nitpicking, if I may. How can you be on a "pace" for a specific batting average? Your point is well-taken other than that.
And don't forget his .400 OBP
Steve:
Yes, you can't be "on pace" for an average, but I figure the stats would look a little lost without the batting average. So you keep the same average as he currently has and project the rest of the stats by doing a little math. That's all I did.
Steve, Don't forget about that small town on the eastern shore a few years ago going to williamsport. Preston, MD with a current population of only 566 people! that is amazing considering most teams that get there come from towns with close to 100,000 in population!