The last team to come close to having an infield belt 25 home runs each was the 2005 Rangers, and they came very close. Michael Young was the only player to not hit 25, and he hit 24. The other members of that infield were Mark Teixeira (43), Alfonso Soriano (36), and Hank Blalock (25), bringing the infield total to 128. (Even more impressive, every starter for that team had a home run total in the double digits, with the least amount being Richard Hidalgo's 16. And Hidalgo only appeared in 88 games!)
To further put into perspective how amazing the Marlins infielders' feat was, the Elias Sports Bureau records that only seven teams since 1876 have had three infielders to crush 25 longballs. Only six infield units, the '08 Marlins and '05 Rangers included, have had all four members hit 20.
Cody Ross (with 22 homers himself) commented last month: "A lot of times, teams will have first basemen or third basemen that hit for power, but to also have a second baseman do what Uggla does and a shortstop do what Hanley does ... it's pretty amazing what they've done."
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yea, that is a money accomplishment. felt like the best marlins team in awhile. to ponder: which infield would you rather have, 2008's Jacobs Uggla Ramizes Cantu, or 2003's Castillo Lowell Gonzalez Lee (remember that Lee hadn't had his breakout yet)?
ReplyDeleteOffensively you've got to like the '08 Marlins, though Uggla and Jacobs were all or nothing for much of the year. The thing about this year's team is that although they hit a lot of home runs, they were pretty poor at getting hit with RISP. That was something the '03 team was better at. Defensively there is no question. There were three Gold Glovers on the '03 team and the fourth, Gonzalez, is a Gold Glove caliber player. The '08 team was awful defensively.
ReplyDelete"defense wins championships" - Brian Steinhauer
ReplyDeleteis that where that comes from?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure where it comes from, but I'm sure he quotes it often, and usually with an air of authority.
ReplyDelete