Categorized 2008 Offensive Value

Over at the BaseballAnalysts they've got an interesting article showing the best (& worst) hitters from 2008 (using linear weights - like in wOBA) based on where they hit the ball.

The most successful hitter when pulling the ball was Jorge Cantu (51.82 runs - that's 5 wins just from pulling the ball), and the top 10 where all right-handed (which makes sense, since a ball pulled to the left side of the infield (by righties) is more likely to be a hit than one pulled to the right side (by lefties)). New O's shortstop Cesar Izturis (-8.54) was second worst, but had some good company - Joe Mauer was easily in last place at -10.18 runs.

Manny Ramirez (22.21 runs) was tops at hitting the ball to center, with Nick Markakis rounding out the top 10 (14.41 runs).

Ryan Howard's prodigious opposite-field power puts him first at going the other way at 26.69 runs. Nick Markakis makes a second appearance at #7 (13.21 runs), and Jeremy Greenhouse had this to say:

"Nick Markakis, Matt Kemp, and Manny Ramirez all show up as top center and opposite field hitters. These guys are at times described as "pure" hitters, and there's why. I'd presume each one is quite talented at going with the pitch."

Nick pulled 6 HR in '08; hit 10 to center; and sent 4 to the opposite field. Three of his four longest home runs (by "true" distance, from HitTracker) were actually hit to left-center field. It's the kind of accross-the-board hitting talent that indicates that Markakis may still be improving as a player.

The article also had a link to a similar study done by Dave Studeman over at the HardballTimes. He categorized it by type of ball in play (Not In Play, Groundball, Line-Drive, or Fly Ball) instead of where it was hit.

"I was curious to see which other batters posted such an “even” profile. Here’s my list, in descending order of total runs above average, of the best all-around hitters in baseball last year:

Player	NIP	GB	LD	Fly	Tot
Pujols A	25	9	20	24	77
Jones C	19	4	18	15	56
Berkman L	17	2	6	27	52
Ramirez H	13	11	9	19	51
Wright D	12	3	23	11	48
Holliday M	9	14	12	11	46
Bradley M	12	7	9	17	46
Markakis N	14	7	12	8	42
Utley C	11	-2	16	16	41
Ramirez M	7	3	13	13	37
Ramirez A	11	1	10	10	31

Very few surprises here. Well, you might be surprised to see Nick Markakis here, but you shouldn’t be. He’s one of the best young hitters in baseball."

The M Ramirez was just from Manny's time in LA. He was 13-5-14-32-63 overall.

Being at least 7 runs above average in each category puts him in even more elite company:

Player	NIP	GB	LD	Fly	Tot
Pujols A	25	9	20	24	77
Ramirez H	13	11	9	19	51
Holliday M	9	14	12	11	46
Bradley M	12	7	9	17	46
Markakis N	14	7	12	8	42

I've said it before and (barring a sudden Ben Greive-ing) I'll say it again: $66 M was a steal.