2004: Year of the Third Baseman

By Keith Glab

     One of my less-poor predictions for the 2004 season was that players at the hot corner would,
as a whole, have a year of disproportional success the likes of which we haven’t seen since 1993
with backstops.  What did I mean by this?  More players at these positions having breakout
seasons, career years, or unusually high value.  If your favorite team did not have a good catcher
in 1993 or a good third baseman in 2004, you have reason to be upset.  Check out the following
statistics and compare The Year of the Catcher with the Year of the Third Baseman.

1993: Year of the Catcher

Other outstanding statistics from 1993:

-Mike Piazza wins NL Rookie of the year, hitting .318 with 35 homers and 112 runs batted in, and
beginning his career as the best offensive catcher of all-time.

-Officer Ron Karkovice clubs 20 home runs.  In no other season would he top 13.

-Seattle’s Dave Valle establishes career highs in at-bats (423), runs (48), hits (109), doubles (19),
homers (13), RBIs (63), and walks (48).

-Cincinnati’s Joe Oliver sets career marks in doubles (28), homers (14), and RBIs (75).

-Kirt Manwaring of the Giants hits a relatively robust .275 given his next best season of .251 in 1995.

-The Phillies’ Darren Daulton is involved in an astounding 19 defensive double plays as a catcher.


2004: Year of the Third Baseman:

Other mentionable statistics from 2004:

-Alex Rodriguez spends his first season at the hot corner.  At .286 36 106 it is an off year for him, yet
he brings the aggregate third basemen stock up considerably.  

-After starting only 8 games at the hot corner in 2003, Tampa Bay’s Aubrey Huff got the nod in 87
games there in 2004.  He would go on to post an .888 OPS after an abhorrent April.

-Chipper Jones, who hadn’t started a game at third base since 2001, plays 96 games there after
ousting the ineffective Mark DeRosa from his starting job.  Larry posts a .939 OPS after the all-star
break, leading the Braves to their 13th consecutive division title.

-Mets rookie third baseman David Wright hits .293, slugs .525, and isn’t caught in six stolen base
attempts.

-Anaheim’s Chone Figgins swipes 34 bases, the most by any third baseman since HoJo Johnson’s 41
in 1989 (Figgins matched HoJo’s mark of 34 in 1990).

-At the age of 37, Vinny Castilla knocks in 131 runs for the Rockies, tops in the NL and good for third
in all of baseball.

-Third baseman Tony Batista paces the Montreal Expos in homers (32) and RBIs (110) in their final
season of existence.  Tony’s efforts also earn him BaseballEvolution’s First Annual Dave Kingman
Award.

Notice another "Year of the"?  Tell us about it.  Email submissions@baseballevolution.com.