Trying to pick a top hitter on this 2059 team is tough. Not because we didn't have worthy candidates. We did. But because none of them were stand out, clearly elite performances. But don't take that as a knock on the offense. We had several very worthy candidates who all had great seasons in their own right. But when you break down the individual offensive numbers, you find that:
- No one hit over 20 homeruns
- No one had over 100 RBI
- But 4 guys stole over 20 bases
- 3 Guys hit over .300
- 3 Guys had an OPS over .800
- 3 Guys posted WAR over 5.0
But we typically ignore WAR when choosing our top hitter because it factors in defense and we're not choosing our MVP here, we're choosing the best hitter. So who do we go with? The guy who set a franchise record in hits in Mynorli Gaajlimitz and led the team in RBI? Do we go with a guy who led the team with 52 stolen bases and led the team in runs scored with 52 in Sammy McNeill? Or maybe we go with the guy who dominated the post-season and led the team in Homeruns with 18 in Greg Squires.
Honestly, all 3 of those guys and even one or two more guys could probably claim the honors this year and you wouldn't have a legitimate complaint.
But no, I think we're going to give the award to the guy who may have made the largest impact with his offensive output this year. Output that no one really expected. I mean how unexpected was it?
"He began the season on the bench" reminds Mons Raider.
Yep, we're giving the award to Rich Dares. Maybe it is the easy way out since he did lead the team in WAR with 5.7. But there was more to him that superior defense at 2B this season. He led the team with a .933 OPS. His .523 slugging was over 100 points better than anyone elses on the team. Which probably catches you off guard considering he just had 5 homeruns. But he also led the team in doubles with 41. Rich Dares had 41 doubles and played in just 117 games. His slash line led the team at .351/.409/.523. He wasn't eligible for the batting title (he wouldn't have won it anyway) because he only logged 407 at-bats. His 77 runs were the 4th most on the team and his 33 stolen bases ranked him 2nd.
"I'm not sure anyone's bat meant more to our lineup this season than Dares'" added Raider. "I don't think we could have afforded to lose many other guys in our lineup, but I think the times he missed with an injury really showed how valuable he was to our lineup. I think you could hand out 6-7 awards to this team because they all were so similar or added their own element to our lineup. But I think Dares put up the season worthy of being recognized."
