| 18 January 2010
With some time to kill before pitchers and catchers report in February, I thought we'd run a few simple, but fun, polls over the new few weeks.
First up... Who will be this year's leader in home runs?
With Jason Bay in New York, the Red Sox don't have a definitive homer run basher on the roster. Big Papi is the most likely candidate, but after last year's first half slump, Ortiz is a question mark for 2010. That said, he hit 16 ding dongs in 248 second-half ABs in 2009... a pace that would have resulted in 32 homers with 500 at-bats.
Kevin Youkilis, J.D. Drew and Victor Martinez are all capable of hitting 25 or more dingers, but all three players also offer solid OBP numbers, meaning they will take the walk as happily as they would swing for the fences. It's hard to see any of them hitting 30+ and only Drew has accomplished that feat in his career, hitting 31 homers in 2004 with Atlanta.
Mike Cameron might be the "sleeper" here. He hit 30 homers in 2004 and has consistently hvoered around 25 per year when logging more than 400 at-bats. Cameron hit 24 last season with the Brewers and since he won't be expected to hit for average, Tito and the Sox may give him the green light to swing for the fences when the opportunities arise.
Lastly, there's Adrian Beltre. Adrian averaged 25 ding dongs per season with Seattle from 2006 to 2008. He also hit 48 homers with the Dodgers in 2004, but we'll simply consider that an "aberration." If Beltre can hit 25 homers out of the expansive SAFECO Field, he could hit 30 with 81 games at Fenway Park...
Cast your vote on the POLL in the right-hand sidebar and leave your comments below!
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
