We Got Wood - 44.29 - Top Hitter? Take Your Pick

[7teen]

Unlike the other 3 major team awards where there was only 1 or 2 choices and even then the pick was pretty straight forward, picking a top hitter for the Portland Lumberjacks isn't so easy. Do you go with the highest WAR guy, even though that includes defense? The guy with the highest OPS? Most homeruns? Most hits? Most runs scored and walks? Well, the answer to all of those questions is a different guy. No one really stood out. Here are the candidates:

Player	Position	Games	Hits	Runs	Homeruns	OPS	WAR
Pedro Gomez	Catcher	129	141	59	12	.753	2.7
Bartolo Ortiz	1B/DH	104	89	41	25	.918	0.9
Robert Menzies	Shortstop	79	89	38	6	.799	2.9
Manuel Martinez	1B/DH	139	96	76	27	.750	0.2
Juan Mendoza	Thirdbase	158	142	61	20	.712	0.8
Myeong-hwan Kim	Leftfield	149	176	70	3	.794	2.9
Werner McConnel, Jr	RF/DH	135	130	68	32	.847	1.9

So you can see, no real standout. Of course, those stats don't tell the whole story and aren't always the best stats to go by. As mentioned, WAR is tying in defense. And are Menzies and Kim excel out. Menzies, clearly our best hitter, only played in 79 games. That would be a disservice to the rest of the team to give him the award. Meanwhile a guy like Mendoza and Martinez are terrible defenders and their WARs are low because of it. But this is the best HITTER AWARD. Defense is irrelevant when determining who the winner is.

I think in the end, there are three guys that should be considered. Those three are Gomez, Kim, and McConnel. The first justification there is those guys played all season. Yes, McConnel and Gomez's game totals are lower but Gomez is a catcher who needs natural rest behind the dish and McConnel is primarily a platoon guy though he did see more action against LHP later in the season.

Gomez, though a solid catcher and was consistent across the board, didn't lead the team in any category so I'm going to cross him off the list. That leaves Kim and McConnel.

Kim led the team with 176 hits this season which included a team high 40 doubles and 6 triples. He also led the team with 41 stolen bases. His .364 OBP was the highest of guys who played full season (Menzies was better but he missed half the season).

On the flip side, McConnel led the team in homeruns and RBI. His .512 slugging percentage was also a team high which led him to a team high .847 OPS on the season. Old school guys will point out he led the team with 176 strikeouts. But new school guys will state that doesn't matter because he led the team in extra base hits as well.

Soooooo........... Who was the best hitter for us this season?

AFter flipping a coin (not really) I think I'll go with Kim. At first glance I was going to go with McConnel just because of the higher OPS. But the doubles total is impressive by Kim. It also set a franchise record by 3. The 41 stolen bases is also rather impressive. Yeah, it doesn't equate to "hitting" but it does factor into his offensive output. Those 41 steals ranks as the 2nd most in the franchise's history. When you break or nearly break a couple short termed franchise records you get some pull in my eyes.

Agree with the pick?

Let's just hope Menzies stays healthy all next season so this choice is a layup!

[RonCo]

That was quite a conundrum.

[HoosierVic]

Seems like the right pick to me - although Kim and McConnell both had nice seasons, it's hard to argue with Kim's combination of hitting and speed. Pretty impressive.