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Bauxite ayjackson was wondering

When was the last time we were in that situation?  With a 3-4 hole in the lineup as strong as its been since (ever?).  Certainly since Green/Delgado.

Is Bautista-Lind indeed the best one-two punch the Jays have had in their lineup since then?

Let's find out, but let's make it quick and dirty (I'm working on something else!)

I'm just going to take the OPS+ of the top two hitters on the team. And I'm going to count the number two guy twice (because we want to measure the combination of the two, rather than have insanely good performances by Bautista, Olerud, Delgado or McGriff drag some otherwise unworthy accomplice along for the ride. Which will probably happen anyway, those guys did have some absolutely monstrous seasons...)

Just for fun  (and in response to the first few comments!) I'm adding (in parentheses after the player's name) their normal batting order spot that season.

Year  Points   Best           OPS+   2nd best       OPS+

2011    486    Bautista (3)   212    Lind (4)       137 
1993    472    Olerud (5)     186    Molitor (3)    143
2003    425    Delgado (4)    161    Wells (3)      132
2000    421    Delgado (4)    181    Fullmer (5)    120
1989    420    McGriff (5)    166    Bell (4)       127

2010    417    Bautista (3)   165    Wells (4)      126
1999    417    Green (3)      143    Delgado (4)    137
1986    412    Barfield (5)   146    Bell (4)       133
1990    407    McGriff (5)    153    Gruber (3)     127
1983    404    Upshaw (3)     136    Moseby (3)     134

1984    397    Johnson (4)    143    Moseby (3)     127
1992    395    Winfield (4)   137    Alomar (2)     129
1985    391    Barfield (8)   141    Mulliniks (3)  125
1994    386    Molitor (3)    138    Olerud (5)     124
2002    385    Delgado (4)    147    Hinske (2)     119

2001    384    Delgado (4)    146    Cruz (1)       119
1988    383    McGriff (5)    157    Gruber (7)     113
1998    382    Delgado (4)    150    Green (2)      116
1987    380    Bell (4)       146    Moseby (2)     117
2009    379    Lind (5)       141    Overbay (7)    119

2006    379    Wells (3)      129    Overbay (5)    125
1980    377    Velez (4)      127    Woods (3)      125
1977    373    Howell (3)     127    Fairly (4)     123
2007    369    Thomas (4)     125    Rios (3)       122
1981    360    Mayberry (4)   128    Velez (5)      116

1991    356    Carter (3)     124    White (1)      116
1997    347    Delgado (5)    127    Green (7)      110
2008    346    Wells (4)      122    Rios (3)       112
1978    344    Carty (4)      128    Mayberry (5)   108
1996    340    Olerud (6)     116    Delgado (3)    112

2004    339    Delgado (4)    129   Wells (3)      105 
1995    337    Green (7)      115    Olerud (5)     111
2005    331    Catalanotto (2)115   Hillenbrand (4) 108 
1979    314    Mayberry (5)   124    Woods (7)       95
1982    298    Upshaw (4)     102    Bonnell (3)     98

As it turns out... yup. Bautista-Lind, to this point in 2011, has been the best One_two punch in team history. Obviously that's largely on Bautista, having the greatest offensive season in team history. But as you saw if you give the above Your Intense Scrutiny, Lind has been one of the most productive second-best hitters the Blue Jays have ever had.

But special mention must be made of the 1993 team - the third-best hitter on that team (Alomar) had an OPS+ of 141.
Posted by Magpie on Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 03:20 PM EDT.
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Ryan Day - Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 03:40 PM EDT (#238336) #
Not to nitpick your quick-and-dirty list, but Olerud/Molitor wasn't really a one-two punch: Molitor spent most of 1993 batting third, and Olerud fifth.

The actual one-two punch of Alomar/Molitor still gets 425 points.
[ Reply to This ]
ayjackson - Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 03:42 PM EDT (#238338) #
Alomar didn't bat fourth either. (not to nitpick)
[ Reply to This ]
Ryan Day - Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 03:48 PM EDT (#238340) #
Ooh, good nitpick of my nitpick. I was thinking more of the back-to-back hitters (Alomar 2nd, Molitor 3rd), as opposed to the hitters occupying the 3-4 spots in the lineup.
[ Reply to This ]
Magpie - Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 03:58 PM EDT (#238341) #
The actual one-two punch of Alomar/Molitor still gets 425 points

The 4-5 punch of Carter-Olerud also clears 400. WAMCO!
[ Reply to This ]
Jonny German - Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 10:09 PM EDT (#238373) #
Remember when ol' Joey Bats signed his extension and we were all saying that we didn't expect him to hit 50 bombs again but that 30 was reasonable and it would still be a good deal at that?

Right.
[ Reply to This ]
92-93 - Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 10:24 PM EDT (#238376) #
Too bad we can't bank all this surplus value for 2015 when the payroll might approach league average.
[ Reply to This ]
greenfrog - Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 10:29 PM EDT (#238378) #
I predicted 38 HR for Jose (I think - gotta check the thread). I'm starting to feel a bit silly about that one. Is it too late for me to claim that I meant 38 HR in the first half?
[ Reply to This ]
Jonny German - Saturday, July 09 2011 @ 11:24 PM EDT (#238390) #
Here's the home run prediction thread:

http://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=2011031616314377

We actually predicted 40 home runs for Bautista (that was the average, and coincidentally, exactly the number I called).

His pace is currently 55 (assumes same amount of missed time as he's had in the first 91 games).
[ Reply to This ]
uglyone - Sunday, July 10 2011 @ 03:35 AM EDT (#238397) #
A fantastic 1-2 punch, and maybe the best in baseball.

It's annoying as anything, though, that at the same time we have these wonderful 3-4 hitters, we're deciding to go with the worst #5 hitter of all time.

I don't know why this guy has been hitting in the middle of the order all year, but it just has to stop.



OPS by Year: 2011 ----- 2010

1) 3B Bautista 1.169 --- RF Bautista .995
2) 1B Lind .881 -------- CF Wells .847
3) RF Thames .831 ------ C Buck .802
4) BC Molina .825 ------ 3B Encarnacion .787
5) SS Escobar .809 ----- LF Snider .767
6) C Arencibia .704 --- 1B Overbay .762
7) DH Encarnacion .688 - BH Lewis .745
8) BOF Patterson .684 --- BIFJmac .727
9) LF Snider .656 ------ DH Lind .712
10) BH McCoy .639 ------ SS Escobar .696
11) CF Davis .623 ------ BC Molina .681
12) 2B HILL .612 ------- BOF Wise .675
13) BIF Jmac .582 ------- 2B HILL .665
[ Reply to This ]
greenfrog - Sunday, July 10 2011 @ 05:12 AM EDT (#238398) #
I believe here is another thread (possibly in response to a poll question) in which some additional Bautista HR predictions were made.
[ Reply to This ]
bpoz - Sunday, July 10 2011 @ 09:47 AM EDT (#238405) #
WAMCO!!!!!!

Bludgeoning teams offensively is fun. Add T Fernandez & E Sprague as 2 more offensive threats. P Boarders offensively did not do much, but could easily be carried. The LF I am guessing was C Maldonado, if so, he was good. When that team got into the other teams pen, well we must have had a heyday.

Good old Henke & Ward. Was M Eichorn having one of his outstanding years in 1993.

Well back to the present, Bautista & Lind as mentioned are being great. We are not talking pitching But Romero is doing really well or better, 122IP, 3.09 Era.
My fingers are crossed that the recent young talent addition will develop fast and all holes will be dealt with fast for success, ie Young stud having difficulty (Drabek) demote him & use a hot filler (Carlos V), the kid can wait till next year.

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