Under-the-Radar Superstar

[Backtobanks]

The latest Sporting News has an article about Lance Berkman and some of the numbers comparing him to all-time greats were amazing:

 

Career OPS:

1. Babe Ruth 1.164

5. Albert Pujols 1.044

9. Todd Helton 1.007

10. Manny Ramirez 1.001

11. Lance Berkman .982

 

Career OPS, switch hitter:

1. Berkman .982

2. Mickey Mantle .977

3. Chipper Jones .957

 

Career ABs/RBI:

1. Babe Ruth 3.80

7. Manny Ramirez 4.41

25 Lance Berkman 4.96

 

Career OBP, active players:

1. Todd Helton .430

2. Albert Pujols .423

3. Frank Thomas .420

4. Lance Berkman .415

 

When you talk about superstars and future HOFers, I would venture that hardly anyone thinks of Berkman, but his numbers should put him in those discussions.

[imb]

Also, Todd Helton, apparently.

[CoolHandLuke]

I have been a big fan of Lance Berkman since 2002. I am not even sure why.

[CubbieBum]

he's a very good player that if he can produce later than most stars can make the HoF but as hard as it is to get in I would think some would down grade him because of that short porch that he has admitted to having a lot of extra homeruns due to.

[sneakypower]

and he puts his bat down more softly than any other player in history

[rocket]

#1 all time in faking getting hit in the head by a pitch, too.

[salukifudd]

#1 all time in faking getting hit in the head by a pitch, too.

 

I completely forgot about that. haha.

[javy knows my name]

he's a very good player that if he can produce later than most stars can make the HoF but as hard as it is to get in I would think some would down grade him because of that short porch that he has admitted to having a lot of extra homeruns due to.

This would shock me, given that he only hits from the right side for 25% of his PAs and doesn't exactly live in the opposite field.

[Mad Ducks]

#1 all time in faking getting hit in the head by a pitch, too.

 

 

And that is why I have zero respect for the turd.

[chuckywang]

#1 all time in faking getting hit in the head by a pitch, too.

 

What's the story on this?

[TruffleShuffle]

he's a very good player that if he can produce later than most stars can make the HoF but as hard as it is to get in I would think some would down grade him because of that short porch that he has admitted to having a lot of extra homeruns due to.

 

actually, minute maid/enron is a neutral park as far as offense. everyone thinks it's a hitter's park because of the crawford boxes, but CF and the power alleys are very deep.

[CubInOK]

he's a very good player that if he can produce later than most stars can make the HoF but as hard as it is to get in I would think some would down grade him because of that short porch that he has admitted to having a lot of extra homeruns due to.

 

actually, minute maid/enron is a neutral park as far as offense. everyone thinks it's a hitter's park because of the crawford boxes, but CF and the power alleys are very deep.

But how many balls hit to deep CF there get misplayed because of that stupid hill?

[TruffleShuffle]

he's a very good player that if he can produce later than most stars can make the HoF but as hard as it is to get in I would think some would down grade him because of that short porch that he has admitted to having a lot of extra homeruns due to.

 

actually, minute maid/enron is a neutral park as far as offense. everyone thinks it's a hitter's park because of the crawford boxes, but CF and the power alleys are very deep.

But how many balls hit to deep CF there get misplayed because of that stupid hill?

 

very few. plus it's 435 to dead center, so any ball that reaches the hill - whether it's caught or not - is probably a home run in most other parks in baseball.

[CubbieBum]

he's a very good player that if he can produce later than most stars can make the HoF but as hard as it is to get in I would think some would down grade him because of that short porch that he has admitted to having a lot of extra homeruns due to.

 

actually, minute maid/enron is a neutral park as far as offense. everyone thinks it's a hitter's park because of the crawford boxes, but CF and the power alleys are very deep.

 

I wasn't saying it was a hitter's park overall. I read an article two years ago when he was doing really well then too and he said about two out of three at bats he tries to hit it to LF because if he gets any kind of good contact it has a good shot at being a HR. He said the only time he doesn't is when he needs to SF, or just get a single to win or when a pitcher is particularly good at not allowing him to do that.

 

I remember seeing it once but can't remember which way it went but I would like to see how many HR's a year he gets in that porch.

[CubColtPacer]

he's a very good player that if he can produce later than most stars can make the HoF but as hard as it is to get in I would think some would down grade him because of that short porch that he has admitted to having a lot of extra homeruns due to.

 

actually, minute maid/enron is a neutral park as far as offense. everyone thinks it's a hitter's park because of the crawford boxes, but CF and the power alleys are very deep.

 

I wasn't saying it was a hitter's park overall. I read an article two years ago when he was doing really well then too and he said about two out of three at bats he tries to hit it to LF because if he gets any kind of good contact it has a good shot at being a HR. He said the only time he doesn't is when he needs to SF, or just get a single to win or when a pitcher is particularly good at not allowing him to do that.

 

I remember seeing it once but can't remember which way it went but I would like to see how many HR's a year he gets in that porch.

 

He hasn't exactly feasted on his home park with home runs though. Since 2000, when Minute Maid opened, Berkman has hit 121 home runs at home. He's hit 153 on the road. So he may be using the Crawford boxes when he's at home to get home runs, but that just balances out the fact that it's hard for him to hit home runs unless he hits it down either line. He isn't really a player who you can say that would have downgraded production if he moved out of Houston, because he's proved that he's just as good if not a little better on the road as at home.

 

BTW, here is his hit chart which does show him over the years going to the Crawford boxes a little more than you would expect for somebody who hits left-handed most of the time (click on all years and then hit go to get his full career at that park):

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_hitting_chart.jsp?playerID=204020&statType=1

 

But then you pull up his 19 triples, and you can really see why he gets more home runs on the road.

[Backtobanks]

he's a very good player that if he can produce later than most stars can make the HoF but as hard as it is to get in I would think some would down grade him because of that short porch that he has admitted to having a lot of extra homeruns due to.

 

Nobody ever downgraded Babe Ruth for the in Yankee Stadium with it's short RF fence.

[cubscausestress]

plus, him and hunter pence could qualify for the special olympics 200 meter relay.

[rocket]

#1 all time in faking getting hit in the head by a pitch, too.

 

What's the story on this?

 

a few years ago, with mike remlinger pitching, there was a pitch high and tight and you could hear a loud cracking noise, and berkman went down in a heep. he was holding his head and remlinger and others looked legitimitely concerned. well, after about 100 replays, it was obvious that the ball actually hit the bat, and it never struck berkman in the head.

[CubinNY]

The latest Sporting News has an article about Lance Berkman and some of the numbers comparing him to all-time greats were amazing:

 

Career OPS:

1. Babe Ruth 1.164

5. Albert Pujols 1.044

9. Todd Helton 1.007

10. Manny Ramirez 1.001

11. Lance Berkman .982

 

Career OPS, switch hitter:

1. Berkman .982

2. Mickey Mantle .977

3. Chipper Jones .957

 

Career ABs/RBI:

1. Babe Ruth 3.80

7. Manny Ramirez 4.41

25 Lance Berkman 4.96

 

Career OBP, active players:

1. Todd Helton .430

2. Albert Pujols .423

3. Frank Thomas .420

4. Lance Berkman .415

 

When you talk about superstars and future HOFers, I would venture that hardly anyone thinks of Berkman, but his numbers should put him in those discussions.

The Sporting News needs to pay more attention to baseball. Berkman has been a superstar in baseball for a number of years.

[weis21]

Found this on SportsIllustrated.com

 

"It hit me square. I was more stunned by the whole ... whenever you see a ball like that. I hit the ground real hard, too. To be honest with you, it was just kind of a confusing deal for me from the get-go," Berkman said. "I know in that instance he certainly wasn't trying to throw up and in like that, but when a ball gets away from a guy like that it's really. ... I mean that's a scary deal."

 

On the replay, the ball appeared to sail over Berkman's helmet and possibly hit him in the hand. Remlinger thought the whole thing was an act after he watched it again.

 

"I thought it was pretty chicken," Remlinger said. "You hit somebody and it turns out that you look at the tape and Berkman didn't even get hit. (He) was pretending he got hit in the face and thinking maybe you put somebody in the hospital and then you find out he's faking it. That speaks for itself, pretty poor."

 

I remember the mid 50's Remlinger had to be restrained, it was pretty funny.

[Backtobanks]

The latest Sporting News has an article about Lance Berkman and some of the numbers comparing him to all-time greats were amazing:

 

Career OPS:

1. Babe Ruth 1.164

5. Albert Pujols 1.044

9. Todd Helton 1.007

10. Manny Ramirez 1.001

11. Lance Berkman .982

 

Career OPS, switch hitter:

1. Berkman .982

2. Mickey Mantle .977

3. Chipper Jones .957

 

Career ABs/RBI:

1. Babe Ruth 3.80

7. Manny Ramirez 4.41

25 Lance Berkman 4.96

 

Career OBP, active players:

1. Todd Helton .430

2. Albert Pujols .423

3. Frank Thomas .420

4. Lance Berkman .415

 

When you talk about superstars and future HOFers, I would venture that hardly anyone thinks of Berkman, but his numbers should put him in those discussions.

The Sporting News needs to pay more attention to baseball. Berkman has been a superstar in baseball for a number of years.

 

I disagree with you on Berkman being a superstar for a number of years. My point was that he should be considered a superstar, but he's not. Part of the reason could be that he's not on either coast, but Bagwell and Biggio did get their share of publicity while playing in Houston.

[CubinNY]

The latest Sporting News has an article about Lance Berkman and some of the numbers comparing him to all-time greats were amazing:

 

Career OPS:

1. Babe Ruth 1.164

5. Albert Pujols 1.044

9. Todd Helton 1.007

10. Manny Ramirez 1.001

11. Lance Berkman .982

 

Career OPS, switch hitter:

1. Berkman .982

2. Mickey Mantle .977

3. Chipper Jones .957

 

Career ABs/RBI:

1. Babe Ruth 3.80

7. Manny Ramirez 4.41

25 Lance Berkman 4.96

 

Career OBP, active players:

1. Todd Helton .430

2. Albert Pujols .423

3. Frank Thomas .420

4. Lance Berkman .415

 

When you talk about superstars and future HOFers, I would venture that hardly anyone thinks of Berkman, but his numbers should put him in those discussions.

The Sporting News needs to pay more attention to baseball. Berkman has been a superstar in baseball for a number of years.

 

I disagree with you on Berkman being a superstar for a number of years. My point was that he should be considered a superstar, but he's not. Part of the reason could be that he's not on either coast, but Bagwell and Biggio did get their share of publicity while playing in Houston.

Who says he's not? You?

 

He's on every all-star team, he makes the most money on his team and just about anybody who follows baseball knows he one of the best players in baseball.

[Backtobanks]

The latest Sporting News has an article about Lance Berkman and some of the numbers comparing him to all-time greats were amazing:

 

Career OPS:

1. Babe Ruth 1.164

5. Albert Pujols 1.044

9. Todd Helton 1.007

10. Manny Ramirez 1.001

11. Lance Berkman .982

 

Career OPS, switch hitter:

1. Berkman .982

2. Mickey Mantle .977

3. Chipper Jones .957

 

Career ABs/RBI:

1. Babe Ruth 3.80

7. Manny Ramirez 4.41

25 Lance Berkman 4.96

 

Career OBP, active players:

1. Todd Helton .430

2. Albert Pujols .423

3. Frank Thomas .420

4. Lance Berkman .415

 

When you talk about superstars and future HOFers, I would venture that hardly anyone thinks of Berkman, but his numbers should put him in those discussions.

The Sporting News needs to pay more attention to baseball. Berkman has been a superstar in baseball for a number of years.

 

I disagree with you on Berkman being a superstar for a number of years. My point was that he should be considered a superstar, but he's not. Part of the reason could be that he's not on either coast, but Bagwell and Biggio did get their share of publicity while playing in Houston.

Who says he's not? You?

 

He's on every all-star team, he makes the most money on his team and just about anybody who follows baseball knows he one of the best players in baseball.

 

Calm down, I'm agreeing that he should be considered a superstar with a shot at the HOF, but he isn't given the recognition that he should get. He's been on 4 All-Star teams in 8 years and the list of comparable players includes some stars (Larry Walker, David Ortiz, etc.) and some others (Danny Tartabull, Mike Sweeny, etc.). Right now his numbers look a little short of HOF consideration at 40.3 (>50 = HOF probable) and 82.5 (>100 = HOF probable). There would be no doubt about his status if he played in NY, Boston, or LA.

[NCCubFan]

Berkman isn't a Cub last I checked, so off to General Baseball Discussion.

 

If the Cubs ever trade for him I'll move the thread back. :D

[brinoch]

TWINKIES!!