Splitsville: 2005 Batters Part One

 

By Keith Glab, January 9, 2006

 

            Gosh, there are a lot of fun splits to look at for last years batters!  We’re not going to be able to cover it in a single article.  Major themes in this one include:

 

Players from Good but not Great Teams

Pre/Post All-Star Break Splits (Pre/Post)

Lefty/Righty Splits (vsL/vsR)

Home/Away Splits (Home/Away)

Indoor/Outdoor Splits? (Ind/Out)

 

Carlos Lee

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	Career OPS
Pre	339	22	76	268	336	528	821
Post	279	10	38	262	309	437	830
Home	295	15	55	254	312	464	819
Away	323	17	59	276	335	508	832

 

            Remember how at the All-Star break we were calling 2005 the Year of the Lee due to Carlos and Derrick’s onslaught against NL pitchers?  While Derrick’s collapse has been well documented, Carlos’ bid for Alex Gonzalez of the Marlins Award has gone relatively unnoticed.  Exactly two-thirds of Carlos’ RBIs came in the first half, before his production plummeted and before he finished the season with his worst OPS since 2001.

            Part of the problem may have been Lee’s new ballpark.  Generally as good at hitter-friendly US Cellular field as anywhere else, Carlos’ power and average numbers suffered a bit in the more neutral Miller Park.

 

Bill Hall

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	Career OPS
Home	261	12	41	310	347	571	773
Away	240	5	21	271	337	413	727
vsL	125	3	13	336	407	560	745
vsR	376	14	49	277	319	473	753

 

            Take it lightly because of his career splits, but Bill Hall was absolute murder on southpaws last year.  What you can’t ignore is that the man really likes seeing Bernie Brewer sliding in the outfield, having hit 42 of his 69 career doubles at Miller Park.

 

Bobby Abreu

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	Career OPS
vsL	207	5	28	275	353	406	766
vsR	381	19	74	291	430	512	982
Home	286	15	58	304	423	535	962
Away	302	9	44	268	387	417	885
Pre	323	18	58	307	428	526	918
Post	265	6	44	260	376	411	928

 

            Everyone’s talked about how Abreu tired himself out in his long-overdue first ever All Star appearance in which he obliterated two Home Run Derby records, 24 in the first round and 41 total.  While a second half collapse is certainly atypical of Abreu, his success at home and against right handed pitching should come as no surprise.  It is worth noting, however, that Abreu has succeeded at home whether playing in Veteran Stadium or new Citizens Bank Park, so teams interested in acquiring him should not shy away because of that split.

 

Ryan Howard

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG
Pre	64	3	11	250	300	453
Post	248	19	52	298	371	597
vsL	61	1	6	148	175	246
vsR	251	21	57	323	396	645

 

            Is Ryan Howard ready to put up Thomean numbers this year?  Howard’s second half OBP falls short of Thome’s career .408 mark, but his SLG actually eclipsed Thome’s average by 35 points.  Another thing that the two sluggers share is a complete inability to handle southpaws.  Philadelphia would do well to play Pat Burrell at first base against lefty pitchers, using both Michaels and Rowand in the outfield.

 

Shea Hillenbrand

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	Career OPS
Pre	328	9	42	302	364	451	803
Post	266	9	40	278	314	447	742
vsL	160	7	22	325	361	525	790
vsR	434	11	60	279	336	422	770

 

            A perennial Alex Gonzalez candidate, Hillenbrand didn’t disappoint this year, losing any plate discipline that Moneyball Maven JP Ricchardi was able to instill in him early in the season.  Even with Koskie out of the picture, I think Toronto has too many corner infielders and too much love of walks to keep Hillenbrand, although he’d be a more attractive platoon option with Lyle Overbay than Eric Hinske would be, due to Hillenbrand’s continued success against southpaws.

 

Greg Zaun

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	Career OPS
Home	213	7	32	286	359	437	706
Away	221	4	29	217	353	312	728
Pre	224	6	35	277	378	420	707
Post	210	5	26	224	331	324	727

 

            Has Greg Zaun rejuvenated his career by drinking from the Fountain of Coors in 2003?  Or has he just been enjoying the hitting background at the Skydome?  I’m leaning towards the Fountain (surprise, surprise) because Zaun’s Home/Road OPS in 2004 was .742/.781.  One thing’s for sure: aging catchers tend to tire in the second half.

 

Frank Catalanotto

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	Career OPS
Pre	224	4	21	286	355	406	819
Post	195	4	38	318	382	503	811
Ind	92	0	7	250	307	293	692
Out	327	8	52	315	384	495	846

 

            Aha!  So Catalanotto’s clutch second half performance offset the decline of Hillenbrand and Zaun.  Not a typical trait of Frank’s, though.

 

Hank Blalock

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	Career OPS
vsL	194	8	19	196	228	356	624
vsR	453	17	73	291	354	464	880
Ind	63	0	2	159	169	190	596
Out	584	25	90	274	333	457	831

 

            If you couldn’t figure out why Texas traded young, promising Adrian Gonzalez for old, whiny Phil Nevin, look at Blalock’s numbers against lefties.  He shouldn’t be allowed near a southpaw, but he nevertheless logged almost 200 at bats against them last year.  Now, the Rangers can use either Nevin or Mark Teixeria at the hot corner for those matchups.  While this may downgrade the infield defense, it helps the loss of Alfonso Soriano in the lineup.

            I’d never really looked at Indoor/Outdoor splits before, but Cat and Lock must be outdoorsmen.  Is this an aberration?  Is there something to the fact that they are both left handed, both good hitters, and both spent time on the Rangers?  I think I’m in over my head here.

 

Xavier Nady

 

2005 Stat	AB	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	Career OPS
vsL	124	3	16	323	400	452	843
vsR	202	10	27	223	270	431	677
Pre	178	11	31	264	328	511	743
Post	148	2	12	257	313	351	716

 

            I’m not yet convinced that Nady’s a second half choker, and probably won’t be until he shows it over a full season.  But he’s not likely to play a full season, because I am convinced that he has an awful approach against right handed pitchers.  The Mets better use him sparingly against them, and better hope that David Wright will stay healthy.  San Diego’s Nady-at-3B experiment last year was not only a defensive failure; Xavier also went just 0 for 9 as a third baseman.

 

 

Statistics used for this edition of Splitsville were provided by Yahoo! Sports, except for Xavier Nady’s 3B numbers, which were courtesy of ESPN.com.  Check back with BaseballEvolution.com for more of Splitsville: 2005 Hitters.