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Was Brian Roberts The Best AL Second Baseman Of The Aughts?
By Jamie Mottram | June 12, 2012
Brian Roberts is set to play tonight for the first time in 13 months, so what better time to dust off some three-year-old, half-baked research? I put this together in the fall of 2009 to see where B-Rob ranked among the best 2B of the past decade, and I don’t know why I didn’t post it then.
But here it is, the top 2B of the ’00s ranked by WAR (with OPS+ and plate appearances in parentheses):
1. Chase Utley — 41.3 WAR (130 OPS+, 3,813 PA)
2. Jeff Kent — 37.7 WAR (130 OPS+, 5,377 PA)
3. Placido Polanco — 35.2 WAR (100 OPS+, 5,656 PA)
4. Luis Castillo — 29.4 WAR (96 OPS+, 5,961 PA)
5. Brian Roberts — 28.2 WAR (105 OPS+, 5,096 PA)
6. Ray Durham — 26.9 WAR (107 OPS+, 5,139 PA)
7. Mark Grudzielanek — 19.1 WAR (93 OPS+, 4,632 PA)
8. Adam Kennedy — 19.0 WAR (89 OPS+, 4,946 PA)
9. Jose Vidro — 18.7 WAR (111 OPS+, 4,747 PA)
10. Bret Boone — 18.6 WAR (115 OPS+, 3,613 PA)
11. (tied) Ronnie Belliard — 18.4 WAR (96 OPS+, 4,920 PA)
11. (tied) Mark Loretta — 18.4 WAR (100 OPS+, 4,695 PA)
Yeah, not a great decade for second basemen (Ronnie Belliard)? It’s even worse if you’re just talking about AL second basemen, of which Roberts is the cream of the crop, at least by this metric.
Still, to be atop a decade-long run at a position is remarkable, and B-Rob is clearly that. Plus, he did it all for the long-suffering Orioles. Here’s to hoping he does it again, for these now-in-contention Orioles.
Topics: Brian Roberts, Orioles, Stats Are Cool | 2 Comments »
June 12th, 2012 at 3:57 PM
Any list that includes Mark Grudzielanke, Jose Vidro, and Ronnie Belliard is worth posting.
June 12th, 2012 at 4:12 PM
All three belong in the Hall Of Not Very Good for sure.