NL Batting Champ

[stringer bell]

Going into the last 30 or so games, the identity of the NL Batting Champion this year is unknown, but it looks like it will be an unlikely winner. Since before the All-Star break, the leaders have been Yadier Molina and Chris Johnson. Michael Cuddyer has been second or third most of the time. None of these guys would have been a great bet to win the batting crown when the season opened. Following this trio is a pair of names who would be classified as better known--Andrew McCutchen and Joey Votto--but they haven't really challenged at this point

 

Puig of the Dodgers is hitting .346, but has only 301 PAs, 201 fewer than required to qualify for the hardware. He might get as many of 150 in the remaining games, but would fall a bit short. Jason Werth is hitting .327 and should qualify, he is just a couple of plate appearances short of being on pace.

 

Who will be the surprising NL Batting Champion?

[Bark's Lounge]

Since this is pretty much a crapshoot - I am going to predict that Votto gets hot and the other contenders slightly regress and Votto ends up winning it.

 

My 2nd prediction would be that Chris Johnson pulls off a Bill Mueller and wins it.

[biggentleben]

I wrote a piece on Chris Johnson on Tomahawk Take and how he fits long-term into the Braves plans, and it's interesting how he was a "throw-in", and here he is possibly the Braves' MVP this year as really their only consistent bat throughout the season.

[darin617]

wake me up when this matters who win the NL Batting title... zzzzzzzzz

[stringer bell]

wake me up when this matters who win the NL Batting title... zzzzzzzzz

If you don't care, don't post. I've been a big Cuddy fan for a long time and he's got a chance to win a batting championship and the other leaders are good stories as well.

[Danchat]

I'll go with Yadier. Another catcher not named Mauer will win the batting title.

[Brock Beauchamp]

wake me up when this matters who win the NL Batting title... zzzzzzzzz

 

Feel free not to comment.

 

I think counting stats are stupid but for some reason, I enjoy the batting title chase. It probably has something to do with a childhood of watching Puck chase Boggs so many years.

[snepp]

And Boggs playing that ridiculous never-ending game of pepper off the Monster (.369 career avg in Fenway).

[stringer bell]

Kirby was also much, much better in his home park: .344 BA, .909 OPS at home--.291 BA, .761 OPS on the road.

[biggentleben]

For me, it's all those years that the Sunday paper listed every qualified player in baseball, sorted by batting average. I remember pouring over those stats and the corresponding HR, R, RBI that were listed. Once I got into things like Baseball Weekly when I got a little older, I got to see a lot more stats and saw that a .330 average with a 40/80 bb/k rate wasn't quite as impressive as the same .330 average with a 70/80 bb/k ratio. While we know that batting average can be swayed greatly by outside influences and isn't the greatest measure of true hitting skill, it's still one of those numbers that has been tallied since the beginning of the game, and with appreciation to .401 and .440, we pay attention each year to see how the best of this year matches up with the greats of the past.

[Beezer07]

Feel free not to comment.

 

I think counting stats are stupid but for some reason, I enjoy the batting title chase. It probably has something to do with a childhood of watching Puck chase Boggs so many years.

 

Don't worry, AVG isn't a counting stat, so you're free to like it.

[stringer bell]

I've been waiting to say this for a couple months--the leader in the NL batting average chase is ...........Michael Cuddyer. He sits at .331, one point ahead of Chris Johnson.

[stringer bell]

With the weekend to go, Cuddyer has opened up a .012 lead on the field. I don't want to jinx Cuddy, but it sure looks like the 34 year-old ex-Twin is going to win a batting title and he may garner a Silver Slugger as well.

[MichiganTwins]

Yeah it looks to be a done deal. Good for him. I wish he would have hit this well for average with us.

[biggentleben]

Good for Cuddy!

[stringer bell]

Congratulations to Michael Cuddyer on winning a batting championship at 34 years of age. One of the more unlikely winners ever of a batting championship

[Death Rattle]

.382 BABIP...the gods smiled upon Cuddyer this year.

[ThePuck]

Very, very happy for Cuddy!

[stringer bell]

.382 BABIP...the gods smiled upon Cuddyer this year.

Yes they did. I can't think of a more "out of the blue" batting champ--especially since Cuddy has a decade of sample size showing him to be a .270 hitter. Bill Mueller was one, but he was a lifetime .290 hitter, the other surprise batting champ that comes to mind is the late Norm Cash, considered more of a power hitter, who hit .361 in 1961 and won the AL crown.

 

Cash was a good hitter (lifetime .862 OPS, 139 OPS+) but he never hit over .286 in any other year. He won his batting title at age 27.

[biggentleben]

You had two very high BABIP guys with interesting backstories going after the batting title, on opposite ends of their careers. It was a fun race in the end. Here's something interesting, though...

 

NL batting leaders with BABIP

1. Cuddyer .334 (.382)

2. Johnson .321 (.394)

3. Freeman .319 (.371)

4. Molina .319 (.338)

5. Werth .318 (.358)

6. Carpenter .318 (.359)

7. McCutchen .317 (.353)

8. Craig .315 (.368)

9. Tulowitzki .312 (.334)

10. Votto .305 (.360)

 

Tulo and Yadi were the only ones who were under .350. Usually it takes the BABIP gods smiling down to pull off a batting title, and it was very evident this season.