But one of the concerns expressed in recent days, by myself and by others, has been more or less as follows: if Vernon Wells is your best hitter, just how good an offense can you have?
I have suggested repeatedly that Wells is essentially a Joe Carter type hitter, albeit distinctly better. (And Wells is also younger than Carter at the same stage of their careers, and much better defensively - but these are factors more relevant to his overall value as a player - here, we're just concerned with his current level as an offensive force.)
Joe Carter was the best hitter on the Toronto Blue Jays just once in his seven year tenure - that was his first year here, for the 1991 AL East champs. In 1992, Winfield and Alomar were clearly better, and you can make a case for Olerud and Maldonado as well. In 1993, Olerud, Alomar, and Molitor were all significantly better than Carter. The Jays were a below .500 team for the rest of his tenure, and he was never the best hitter on those teams, either. Molitor and Olerud were definitely better in 1994, and I'll spare you the gory details from his final three years in Toronto, as Carter by then was very much a below-average hitter.
Anyway, enough of the Joe Carter digression. I have another Data Table! Two, actually!
The first one is really simple: it lists the 100 best hitters in the major leagues. They are ranked by Runs Created Per Game, as calculated by me, using as much data as I could (in other words, CS and GDP and HBP are part of these rankings.)
The second Table simply lists the 30 teams and notes how many players it has from each group of the Top 100 hitters. This is the fun part!
Ready? Here's the Hot 100!
Player Team GPL AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB GDP HBP BAVG OBP SLG RC RC/27 1 Derrek Lee ChC 146 551 114 188 47 3 44 102 15 3 80 11 5 .341 .425 .677 162 11.57 2 Albert Pujols StL 150 553 119 186 35 2 39 109 16 2 88 18 8 .336 .433 .618 149 10.39 3 Alex Rodriguez NYY 148 554 112 176 26 1 44 118 15 6 83 8 15 .318 .419 .606 146 10.08 4 Jason Giambi NYY 128 386 66 108 14 0 30 80 0 0 95 7 17 .280 .441 .549 103 9.72 5 David Ortiz Bos 146 550 109 163 37 1 43 132 1 0 93 13 1 .296 .394 .602 134 9.04 6 Carlos Delgado Fla 132 481 77 147 39 3 31 108 0 0 63 13 17 .306 .400 .593 115 8.97 7 Jason Bay Pit 149 555 103 169 42 6 30 90 19 0 83 12 6 .305 .397 .564 131 8.92 8 Travis Hafner Cle 124 436 82 131 36 0 26 90 0 0 70 9 9 .300 .405 .562 103 8.85 9 Todd Helton Col 130 460 75 142 39 1 17 66 3 0 96 13 8 .309 .435 .509 107 8.70 10 Bobby Abreu Phi 149 540 97 161 34 1 24 96 31 9 107 5 5 .298 .416 .498 124 8.50 11 Vlad Guerrero LAA 131 485 90 154 28 2 31 103 13 1 54 15 8 .318 .391 .575 108 8.40 12 Brian Giles SD 144 499 84 150 36 7 14 76 12 5 110 13 6 .301 .424 .485 112 8.23 13 Miguel Cabrera Fla 147 571 103 185 39 2 32 107 1 0 59 17 2 .324 .386 .567 122 8.20 14 Ken Griffey Cin 128 491 85 148 30 0 35 92 0 1 54 9 3 .301 .369 .576 106 8.08 15 Adam Dunn Cin 147 498 98 123 32 2 37 92 4 2 102 5 11 .247 .385 .542 112 7.90 16 Brian Roberts Bal 141 555 91 174 45 6 18 71 27 10 67 5 3 .314 .388 .514 116 7.90 17 Morgan Ensberg Hou 137 476 78 133 27 2 35 96 6 6 77 11 8 .279 .385 .565 105 7.84 18 Lance Berkman Hou 119 422 68 124 34 1 19 68 3 0 81 17 3 .294 .410 .514 90 7.70 19 Manny Ramirez Bos 139 505 99 145 30 1 36 125 1 0 73 19 9 .287 .383 .564 108 7.69 20 Pat Burrell Phi 141 508 73 144 23 1 30 111 0 0 92 11 3 .283 .393 .510 107 7.69 21 Mark Teixeira Tex 150 600 106 177 36 2 41 132 4 0 66 18 10 .295 .373 .567 126 7.68 22 Jim Edmonds StL 135 442 84 115 35 0 28 84 4 5 90 5 4 .260 .388 .529 96 7.68 23 Troy Glaus Ari 137 497 76 131 29 1 36 93 4 2 76 7 7 .264 .366 .543 104 7.46 24 Gary Sheffield NYY 119 530 94 156 26 0 28 102 10 2 73 12 10 .294 .384 .502 107 7.44 25 David Wright NYM 147 527 88 164 40 1 21 89 17 7 66 15 6 .311 .392 .510 106 7.43 26 Michael Young Tex 147 622 106 205 37 5 22 83 5 2 52 18 3 .330 .383 .511 119 7.34 27 Aramis Ramirez ChC 123 463 72 140 30 0 31 92 0 1 35 15 6 .302 .358 .568 89 7.11 28 Jeff Kent LAD 141 519 95 153 34 0 27 100 6 2 68 18 8 .295 .382 .516 101 7.10 29 Andruw Jones Atl 149 552 92 149 24 3 50 125 3 3 61 18 12 .270 .351 .596 111 7.09 30 David Dellucci Tex 123 419 95 106 17 5 28 64 5 3 76 7 4 .253 .371 .518 85 7.09 31 Paul Konerko CWS 144 529 89 144 21 0 37 90 0 0 72 9 5 .272 .363 .522 103 7.05 32 Nick Johnson Was 140 415 60 121 33 2 14 66 3 7 70 10 7 .292 .404 .482 81 7.04 33 Marcus Giles Atl 145 539 98 162 45 4 12 56 16 3 61 6 6 .301 .375 .466 100 7.02 34 Chase Utley Phi 134 491 79 139 33 6 22 89 13 3 59 10 7 .283 .363 .509 94 6.96 35 Geoff Jenkins Mil 135 496 80 143 38 1 22 78 0 0 49 11 17 .288 .369 .502 93 6.91 36 Richie Sexson Sea 145 517 91 135 33 1 37 110 1 1 80 14 2 .261 .365 .544 101 6.90 37 Cliff Floyd NYM 137 507 78 140 21 1 32 93 11 2 53 5 9 .276 .354 .511 95 6.89 38 Johnny Damon Bos 136 572 104 182 33 6 9 72 14 1 47 5 2 .318 .367 .444 99 6.77 39 Derek Jeter NYY 138 599 111 183 25 5 16 60 13 5 69 5 4 .306 .384 .444 106 6.75 40 Jason Varitek Bos 122 434 66 122 29 1 21 66 2 0 56 10 3 .281 .365 .498 80 6.74 41 Chad Tracy Ari 133 449 62 133 28 3 23 58 3 1 31 10 7 .296 .348 .526 81 6.69 42 Jhonny Peralta Cle 128 453 69 130 33 3 22 73 0 2 47 11 3 .287 .355 .519 82 6.60 43 Miguel Tejada Bal 148 596 82 184 48 5 25 91 5 1 37 22 7 .309 .355 .532 105 6.54 44 Hideki Matsui NYY 148 576 98 173 42 3 21 110 2 2 57 15 3 .300 .362 .493 102 6.53 45 Shawn Green Ari 145 533 84 157 35 4 22 73 7 3 59 17 4 .295 .364 .499 96 6.52 46 Lyle Overbay Mil 132 486 75 133 30 1 18 69 0 0 73 7 0 .274 .368 .451 85 6.39 47 Victor Martinez Cle 145 496 65 149 25 0 19 74 0 1 54 15 5 .300 .370 .466 85 6.35 48 Placido Polanco Det 147 458 77 151 24 1 8 53 4 3 32 11 5 .330 .385 .439 75 6.30 49 Alfonso Soriano Tex 111 592 99 164 40 2 35 99 25 2 30 9 7 .277 .316 .529 101 6.23 50 Emil Brown KC 121 489 67 140 31 5 14 78 8 1 42 6 9 .286 .347 .456 82 6.23 51 Coco Crisp Cle 145 536 80 164 39 4 14 65 15 6 40 14 9 .306 .351 .472 90 6.21 52 Sean Casey Cin 147 529 75 165 32 0 9 58 2 0 48 10 4 .312 .371 .423 85 6.16 53 Jose Guillen Was 140 528 80 153 29 2 24 75 1 1 30 12 18 .290 .344 .489 88 6.13 54 Carlos Lee Mil 141 573 82 156 39 0 32 106 12 4 53 12 5 .272 .333 .508 98 6.11 55 Randy Winn Sea 117 559 75 164 43 4 16 54 18 9 46 11 11 .293 .351 .470 94 6.10 56 Raul Ibanez Sea 149 564 85 164 30 2 19 84 9 4 63 11 2 .291 .362 .452 94 6.10 57 Ichiro Suzuki Sea 149 621 107 188 18 12 15 68 32 8 44 4 4 .303 .350 .443 100 6.08 58 Ray Durham SF 135 450 65 135 30 0 12 58 4 3 44 8 1 .300 .368 .447 73 6.08 59 Mike Sweeney KC 113 435 57 127 37 0 20 74 3 0 30 15 4 .292 .340 .515 72 6.06 60 Bill Mueller Bos 135 473 66 139 33 3 9 58 0 0 53 12 7 .294 .369 .433 78 6.05 61 Grady Sizemore Cle 133 577 100 167 32 11 20 77 21 10 49 14 9 .289 .349 .487 97 6.04 62 Joe Mauer Min 139 445 55 135 25 2 9 53 12 1 57 22 6 .303 .381 .429 74 5.97 63 Carl Crawford TB 148 619 96 185 31 15 15 80 44 6 25 8 2 .299 .327 .470 98 5.91 64 David DeJesus KC 133 461 69 135 31 6 9 56 5 5 42 9 9 .293 .359 .445 74 5.89 65 Jermaine Dye CWS 149 485 68 132 27 2 28 78 10 3 32 6 2 .272 .328 .509 78 5.85 66 Kevin Mench Tex 134 512 69 139 33 3 25 70 4 2 50 14 5 .271 .340 .494 84 5.84 67 Julio Lugo TB 147 579 81 170 33 6 5 52 36 9 54 4 5 .294 .357 .397 90 5.73 68 Tadahito Iguchi CWS 132 462 69 129 24 5 14 66 14 5 45 9 7 .279 .347 .444 73 5.71 69 Bill Hall Mil 133 454 61 127 34 3 16 55 17 4 34 7 0 .280 .328 .474 71 5.71 70 Jorge Posada NYY 131 433 61 114 21 0 16 62 1 0 61 6 2 .263 .354 .423 69 5.70 71 Felipe Lopez Cin 145 532 84 152 31 5 20 72 15 6 46 15 2 .286 .340 .476 84 5.65 72 S. Hillenbrand Tor 144 562 86 168 36 2 17 78 4 1 25 21 22 .299 .351 .461 87 5.62 73 Craig Biggio Hou 143 542 86 143 36 1 22 62 11 1 35 7 17 .264 .327 .456 84 5.56 74 Joe Randa Cin 144 513 68 142 39 2 16 63 0 1 47 14 10 .277 .340 .454 79 5.55 75 Eric Chavez Oak 137 576 85 156 35 1 25 94 6 0 57 19 6 .271 .334 .465 90 5.53 76 Melvin Mora Bal 135 540 70 150 28 1 20 74 7 4 43 9 9 .278 .339 .444 82 5.52 77 J. Encarnacion Fla 120 473 58 136 25 3 16 74 4 5 38 8 1 .288 .350 .455 71 5.49 78 Luis Castillo Fla 118 434 70 129 12 3 4 30 10 7 64 11 1 .297 .388 .366 65 5.42 79 Brady Clark Mil 132 550 84 167 30 0 11 44 10 13 42 13 16 .304 .369 .418 82 5.42 80 Kevin Millar Bos 127 430 56 119 27 1 9 50 0 1 49 10 8 .277 .356 .407 65 5.42 81 Ryan Klesko SD 125 412 53 103 19 1 17 56 3 4 62 6 1 .250 .349 .425 63 5.35 82 Vernon Wells Tor 142 567 71 155 29 3 26 88 4 3 41 11 1 .273 .320 .473 84 5.35 83 Jorge Cantu TB 129 556 67 160 38 1 25 105 1 0 18 17 7 .288 .315 .495 81 5.33 84 Carlos Beltran NYM 138 529 77 144 31 2 15 70 17 6 53 8 2 .272 .337 .423 78 5.29 85 Rafael Furcal Atl 143 578 90 160 27 10 11 54 42 10 57 11 1 .277 .340 .415 86 5.28 86 Jeromy Burnitz ChC 148 559 78 148 31 2 23 83 5 4 55 11 2 .265 .330 .451 83 5.26 87 Craig Counsell Ari 138 539 78 140 31 3 9 41 24 7 73 7 8 .260 .354 .378 79 5.18 88 David Eckstein StL 147 586 82 169 24 7 7 56 10 7 55 13 13 .288 .360 .389 84 5.17 89 Brad Wilkerson Was 138 526 70 132 36 7 11 55 7 10 77 6 6 .251 .352 .409 78 5.14 90 Garrett Atkins Col 124 456 56 129 27 0 13 77 0 2 45 17 5 .283 .351 .428 66 5.14 91 Jay Gibbons Bal 139 444 64 118 27 3 22 63 0 0 22 9 3 .266 .301 .489 64 5.13 92 Ben Broussard Cle 129 427 56 109 24 4 19 62 2 2 30 4 4 .255 .309 .464 62 5.13 93 Hank Blalock Tex 149 602 77 162 32 0 24 87 1 0 48 12 2 .269 .323 .442 86 5.12 94 Eric Hinske Tor 134 425 72 111 26 2 12 58 7 4 45 8 8 .261 .340 .416 62 5.11 95 Preston Wilson Was 129 476 69 125 28 2 24 84 4 6 43 17 7 .263 .331 .481 71 5.10 96 Chone Figgins LAA 146 596 101 171 24 8 8 52 51 17 55 9 0 .287 .345 .394 85 5.09 97 Craig Monroe Det 144 516 61 143 26 3 18 86 8 3 40 15 3 .277 .326 .444 73 5.07 98 Matt Lawton NYY 135 493 66 125 30 1 12 51 18 9 68 10 12 .254 .355 .391 73 5.07 99 Ronnie Belliard Cle 133 487 65 139 34 1 14 70 2 2 30 13 1 .285 .324 .446 68 5.06 100 Luis Gonzalez Ari 137 538 80 142 30 0 21 72 4 1 71 27 5 .264 .358 .437 79 5.06As it turns out, Wells' recent struggles (going into yesterday's game, he'd gone 14-75, .187, over his last 20 games) mean he doesn't even rank as the top hitter on his own team anymore.
And here is how those hitters are distributed around the majors. The teams are ordered by games won, and the figure in parentheses tells us where the team's best hitter ranks:
Team 1-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 71-80 81-90 91-100 TOTAL St. Louis (2) 1 - 1 - - - - - 1 - 3 Chicago Sox (31) - - - 1 - - 2 - - - 3 Boston (5) 1 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 - - 6 Cleveland (8) 1 - - - 2 1 1 - - 2 7 NY Yankees (3) 2 - 1 1 1 - 1 - - 1 7 Atlanta (29) - - 1 1 - - - - 1 - 3 LA Angels (11) - 1 - - - - - - - 1 2 Oakland (75) - - - - - - - 1 - - 1 Houston (17) - 2 - - - - - 1 - - 3 Philadelphia (10) 1 1 - 1 - - - - - - 3 Florida (6) 1 1 - - - - - 2 - - 4 Washington (32) - - - 1 - 1 - - 1 1 4 Minnesota (62) - - - - - - 1 - - - 1 Texas (21) - - 3 - 1 - 1 - - 1 6 San Diego (12) - 1 - - - - - - 1 - 2 Chicago Cubs (1) 1 - 1 - - - - - 1 - 3 Toronto (72) - - - - - - - 1 1 1 3 Milwaukee (35) - - - 1 1 1 1 1 - - 5 NY Mets (25) - - 1 1 - - - - 1 - 3 Baltimore (16) - 1 - - 1 - - 1 - 1 4 Cincinnati (14) - 2 - - - 1 - 2 - - 5 San Francisco (58) - - - - - 1 - - - - 1 Detroit (48) - - - - 1 - - - - 1 2 LA Dodgers (28) - - 1 - - - - - - - 1 Arizona (23) - - 1 - 2 - - - 1 1 5 Seattle (36) - - - 1 - 3 - - - - 4 Tampa Bay (63) - - - - - - 2 - 1 - 3 Pittsburgh (7) 1 - - - - - - - - - 1 Colorado (9) 1 - - - - - - - 1 - 2 Kansas City (50) - - - - 1 1 1 - - - 3And there is a team whose top hitter has been roughly equivalent to Toronto's best hitter; and this team, unlike Toronto, doesn't even have any other players in the Hot 100. That team is the Oakland A's, who sport an 82-67 record and are in the thick of the hunt for a post-season berth.
There are a couple of factors completely ignored by my quick and dirty look that really should be taken into account. First, of course, the A's play in a pitcher's park while the Blue Jays play in a hitter's park. Even more important, the A's have three players who would probably rank higher than either Eric Chavez or Shea Hillenbrand, but none of them have had quite enough plate appearances this year: Mark Ellis, Dan Johnson, and Bobby Crosby.
The A's and the Blue Jays stand 5th and 6th in the AL (9th and 10th) in the majors in scoring runs this year. It obviously isn't fair to compare their overall output to that of NL teams like the Cubs or the Marlins. It's true that despite the presence of such elite offensive players as Derrek Lee and Carlos Delgado, the Blue Jays have outscored both the Cubs and the Marlins. Obviously this is because of the designated hitter. However, it is worth pointing out that Toronto and Oakland have also outscored AL teams featuring Big Scary Bats like Vladimir Guerrero, Paul Konerko, and Miguel Tejada.
