Saturday, November 28, 2015

The Weakest Bats in History (Part II--Active Players)

Completing my survey of guys most likely to keep the ball inside the park, here's a list of active players with virtually no power.  

Meunori Kawasaki
A good defensive infielder and energetic presence on the diamond, Kawasaki is popular among fans in Toronto. During his eleven seasons in the Japanese Pacific League, he averaged one homer per every 190 at-bats. Since signing with the Mariners in 2012, he has managed just 1 long ball in 612 plate appearances--among the lowest ratios in the majors. 

Ben Revere
Drafted in 2007 by the Twins, outfielder Ben Revere has worn three different major league uniforms. He led the National League in hits during the 2014 campaign and has maintained a .300 batting average for three straight seasons. But members of Revere's fan club shouldn't hold their breath waiting for him to hit one out. He has just 4 career homers in 2,497 at-bats. He went homerless in his first 384 major league games.

Brock Holt
Holt can play every position on the diamond except for pitcher and catcher. What the versatile Red Sox utility man can't do is hit for power. The left field foul pole at Fenway Park is a little over 300 feet from home plate. Even so, the lefty-swinging Holt went deep just twice in 509 plate appearances during the 2015 slate. 

Alcides Escobar
An All-Star, Gold-Glover and World Series champ, Escobar hasn't gained any acclaim for his power hitting ability over the past several years. He gathered just 3 homers in 662 plate appearances during the 2015 slate. In Game 1 of the World Series, he surprised everyone by going deep off of Mets right-hander Matt Harvey. To date, he has 2 postseason homers in 31 games.

Micheal Bourn
The thirty-two year old Bourn is a veteran of ten major league seasons. Though he reached a high of 9 long balls in 2012, he is currently riding a streak of more than 650 consecutive plate appearances without a homer. Known more for his base stealing ability (he has led the league three times in that category), Bourn's last circuit blast came in July of 2014. 

Eric Sogard
The slick fielding Sogard posted the highest range factor among AL second baseman in 2015. He also posted some of the weakest power numbers in the majors, generating just 16 extra-base hits in 401 plate appearances. The light-hitting infielder has gone deep just twice in the past two seasons. 

Cesar Herenandez
Promoted to the Phillies in 2013, Hernandez gradually emerged as the club's top second baseman. He didn't earn that distinction as a result of his ability to knock down fences. In 227 career games, Hernandez has hit just 2 homers. After going deep in game #43 of his career, he waited another 100 games to duplicate the feat.  

Delino DeShields
DeShields' father spent thirteen seasons in the majors, slamming 80 homers for five different clubs. Though it's way too early to tell whether the younger DeShields will surpass that number, he got off to a rather slow start in his 2015 rookie debut, managing just 2 long balls in 121 games. Those two homers were fewest among any Rangers player with at least 100 plate appearances. 

Brandon Barnes
Apparently, the air in Colorado doesn't affect Barnes the way it affects his teammates. Appearing most often in left field, Barnes hit just 2 homers in 106 games during the 2015 campaign. It was the lowest output among Rockies regulars.    


     

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