The New Mr. October?

by dwintheiser on Oct 4, 2009 3:11 AM EDT Comment 11 comments

Time for a player A/player B:

A - 95 PA, 29 H, 5 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .330/823

B - 104 PA, 32 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, .344/869

Player B is Delmon Young in games in September and October of this season.

Player A is...Delmon Young in games in September and October of 2008.

By comparison, Reggie Jackson's career regular-season Sept./Oct. numbers, on a per 100 PA rate:

100 PA, 23 H, 4 2B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, .254/821

(Update: Edited to include Games 161 & 162)

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I thought it was just 'Mr. October.'

Quite a manipulation here, but OK, let’s play:

Delmon’s 9th-inning solo home run off Victor Marte (12 big-league innings, 8 ERA) in a 9-4 Twins win wasn’t exactly clutch. His home run off DiNardo was crucial, but left-handed Lenny has a plus-10 ERA.

You never know how people are going to hit those September call-ups.

Hitting the double off Greinke is more reason for hope than any collection of statistics from Delmon’s September. For those who still want to see Delmon traded, that’s going to catch scouts’ interest.

Reggie’s 7 post-season series with 1000-plus OPS in 17 total series appear to be safe.

Amused observer of the old ladies backyard laundry gab.

by Johnny Safron on Oct 4, 2009 10:17 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Well, if we're going to call someone Mr. October

…I’d rather not confuse people as to who we’re talking about.

Interpreting stats is fun, because the same numbers do sometimes admit of different interpretations. (’He’s awesome in the clutch’ vs. ‘Damn, he’s a lucky bastard’) I don’t know for sure that Delmon can ‘turn it up’ in September, and I didn’t include his numbers in Tampa (which aren’t as good as his numbers here), so yeah, as a serious assertion, it ranks somewhere up there with “Nick Blackburn: the new Don Drysdale?”

As for whether Delmon can match Reggie’s post-season success? Let’s get him there and find out, shall we?

by dwintheiser on Oct 4, 2009 11:30 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pot--kettle--black?

Quite a manipulation here

I always loved that one.

by FoulJack on Oct 4, 2009 11:55 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nail---head

"Don't take life for granted, because tomorrow isn't promised to any one of us." -Kirby Puckett
"Over? Did you say 'over'? Nothing is over until we decide it is!" -John "Bluto" Blutarsky

by less cowbell, more 'neau on Oct 4, 2009 12:33 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Delmon having a good month...

… but OPS’s in the mid-800s… That’s what Cuddyer and Kubel have been doing for the full year. Glad to see Delmon chipping in, but this isn’t Yaz-67 or anything.

by DavidRF on Oct 4, 2009 12:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Young and Cuddyer

I was just going to put up a post on Young and Cuddyer, but I’ll just make my comments here. I think that, to look at what has led the Twins to improve so much in the last couple of months, you have to credit Young and Cuddyer. I’m obviously not saying they’re better players than Mauer / Morneau, I’m just saying that their improvement was the driver of the change.

What they’ve done is bring balance and depth to our lineup. I know I’m slicing data into relatively small samples here, but its appropriate because I’m talking about correlation to improved team play, not suggesting that there was a fundamental shift in the players themselves. If they can keep it up, then we are talking about a strong lineup into the future.

Stats are avg/obp/slg/ops (all figures rounded)

Young post all star totals: ~.300/.320/.485/.805, 8 HR, 200 at-bats.
Young post all star v LHP: ~.370/.375/.675/1.050, 5 HR, 60 at-bats.

Cuddyer post all star totals: ~.280/.330/.530/.860, 17 HR 275 at-bats
Cuddyer post all star v LHP: ~.320/.375/.680/1.055, 8 HR 85 at-bats

That is unbelievable. Remember, some of this is coincidental, i.e. they shouldn’t be expected to sustain 1.000 OPS against LHP. Still, it is not a coincidence that the Twins improved to 39-32 since the break, compared to 45-44 prior. We all know how much more power Mauer, Morneau and Kubel have against RHP. The fact that Young and Cuddyer have picked up the pace against LHP is what makes them so much more balanced.

Anyway, let’s just hope they keep it up.

by snolls on Oct 4, 2009 2:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Two more dingers for Delmon today

Mr. WIntheiser, I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Oct 4, 2009 5:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks!

Your comment gave me the best case of the chuckles I’ve had in weeks. I appreciate it.

by dwintheiser on Oct 4, 2009 11:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Welcome back, David.

I’m ready to commence cloning on this September version of Delmon if everyone else is.

by Jesse on Oct 5, 2009 8:33 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks, Jesse

I never really went away; just went quiet for a while.

If you’re looking for hope that this might be evidence that Delmon is turning a corner, check out the following baseballreference.com profiles: Jermaine Dye, Sammy Sosa, Dwight Evans, George Bell, Larry Walker, and Roberto Clemente.

‘Struggled as a young player, found himself at 24 or 25’ is a fairly common template for MLB outfielders.

by dwintheiser on Oct 5, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sosa

That’s a comp for Delmon I hadn’t really thought of before, but it does make quite a bit of sense. Sosa eventually discovered plate discipline, too – he’s generally Exhibit A for the “Patience can be learned” argument.

Of course, there’s also the issue of Sosa and various illicit pharmaceuticals.

"There are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." - Albert Einstein

by BeefMaster on Oct 5, 2009 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs