With Spring Training just around the corner, it is time to resurrect a column that I used to write for Call to the Pen several months ago. The column was called Notable Numerals, and it focused on interesting statistics surrounding a player, team or event. This format allows me to uncover some interesting statistics and odd combinations of numbers to give you a new outlook on the player, team or event. Statistics can tell you a lot about a player’s career and my hope is that this series will give you a more comprehensive understanding of the 2011 Sox team. Every Monday, I will be devoting entire posts to individual players on the roster from now through Spring Training, and then throughout the season, I will periodically post on interesting events throughout the league and any other players worth noting as the season progresses. The easiest and most obvious place to begin is with the stat-machine himself, Carl Crawford. (more after the jump)
Stolen base success rate for Carl Crawford throughout his career. Crawford is one of the fastest and most well known speedsters in the game, so I would have been remiss if I hadn’t included at least one speed stat. He has attempted 499 stolen bases in 9 seasons, so his first attempt in a Red Sox uniform will be the 500th of his career (a fun way to begin his tenure in Boston, with a milestone). Of those attempts, Crawford has completed 409 of them, placing him 2nd on the career active list behind only Juan Pierre of the Chicago White Sox who has swiped 527 bases in 11 seasons. With the speed of Jacoby Ellsbury and Crawford in the Red Sox lineup, the record for team steals (215) could be in jeopardy over the next few seasons.
* Â * Â *
Crawford’s batting average against the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. Throughout his career, Crawford has posted an impressive .296 average against all teams, but has been even more impressive against his divisional foes. On top of the average, Crawford has stolen 135 bases and hit 151 extra base hits in 415 games against the AL East trio. Considering the Red Sox play the Yankees, Orioles and Blue Jays 54 times in 2011, Crawford’s numbers are not insignificant. Of the three teams, Crawford has been his best against the Blue Jays, lighting-them up to with a .317 batting average and 52 extra base hits in 136 games. The combination of not having Crawford on a divisional opponent and his numbers against the other AL East teams, make his signing look better and better for the Red Sox.
* Â * Â *
At-bats per RBI in 2010, 1 better than the league average of 7.7. Despite not having the type of home run power of the 2 bats the Sox lost this off-season, Adrian Beltre and Victor Martinez, Crawford still has an incredible ability to drive in runs. Throughout his career, Crawford is hitting .312 with runners on base and .396 with the bases loaded. In 2010, he hit a whopping .350 and had a slugging percentage of .555 with runners on base. When you place Crawford in a more impressive lineup amongst a series of stars like the Red Sox have, the pressure will be even lower and he should be able to maintain his great numbers in clutch situations. Being in a better lineup should also allow Crawford to see some better pitches in big game situations, giving him a better chance to come up with a big hit.
* Â * Â *
On the career triples list of any active player with 105. If there is 1 category the Red Sox have not been strong in over the past several decades, it is triples. Part of the reason is the configuration of Fenway Park and the other piece is the lack of speed on the roster. Jacoby Ellsbury has recently (when healthy) reinvigorated the club with speed, but Crawford is even stronger on the base paths. In his 9 seasons in the league, Crawford has finished 1st in triples four times and in the top 5 four other seasons, only finishing outside of the top 5 once, when he finished 6th in his rookie season because he played in only 63 games. His ability to disrupt games on the base paths is a skill Ellsbury can learn from and the 2 guys could put a ton of pressure on the opponent by stretching singles into doubles and doubles into triples.
* Â * Â *
Errors for Crawford in 9 seasons. Throughout his career, Crawford has been known for his defensive ability in the outfield. His ability to make stellar diving catches has always found him spots on the best plays list, but he ends up taking some risks due because of his inhuman ability in the field. What is amazing, is his lack of errors, given the number of risks he does take to track down balls. Overall, Crawford averages 2.78 errors per season, which is impressive compared to his 5.67 average assists per season (for an outfielder who catches most everything on the fly, his assist numbers are strong). Throughout his career, Crawford has averaged 298 putouts per season and from a Red Sox fan perspective, it seems at least half of those are spectacular dives and plays most other outfielders would not be able to make (maybe a slight exaggeration). It will be nice to finally have those eye-popping plays in the Fenway Park outfield by someone in a Red Sox uniform.
Add us as a preferred source on Google