2006 Position Analysis: DH

Yeah, yeah, I know. This one's somewhat pointless, but I'm gonna give all you naysayers out there the same line I give people who say that people who are primarily a DH during their career shouldn't be penalized for playing a position that is part of the rules of the American League. Sure, Charlie Finley was a crazy bastard and this rule is partly his love child, but it has given rise to some amazingly dramatic battles since it's inception in 1973. I mean cmon, are you trying to tell me you weren't the least bit interested when Boston's El Tiante walked New York's Ron Blomberg in the first plate appearance ever by a DH? The rule has extended careers of numerous big leaguers, and it has given men like Edgar Martinez and our very own David Artiz a comfortable home.

DAVID ORTIZ
Year Ag Tm Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG TB SH SF IBB HBP GDP
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
1997 21 MIN AL 15 49 10 16 3 0 1 6 0 0 2 19 .327 .353 .449 22 0 0 0 0 1
1998 22 MIN AL 86 278 47 77 20 0 9 46 1 0 39 72 .277 .371 .446 124 0 4 3 5 8
1999 23 MIN AL 10 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 12 .000 .200 .000 0 0 0 0 0 2
2000 24 MIN AL 130 415 59 117 36 1 10 63 1 0 57 81 .282 .364 .446 185 0 6 2 0 13
2001 25 MIN AL 89 303 46 71 17 1 18 48 1 0 40 68 .234 .324 .475 144 1 2 8 1 6
2002 26 MIN AL 125 412 52 112 32 1 20 75 1 2 43 87 .272 .339 .500 206 0 8 0 3 5
2003 27 BOS AL 128 448 79 129 39 2 31 101 0 0 58 83 .288 .369 .592 265 0 2 8 1 9
2004 28 BOS AL 150 582 94 175 47 3 41 139 0 0 75 133 .301 .380 .603 351 0 8 8 4 12
2005 29 BOS AL 159 601 119 180 40 1 47 148 1 0 102 124 .300 .397 .604 363 0 9 9 1 13
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
9 Seasons 892 3108 507 877 234 9 177 626 5 2 421 679 .282 .366 .534 1660 1 39 38 15 69
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
162 Game Avg 564 92 159 42 2 32 114 1 0 76 123 .282 .366 .534 301 0 7 7 3 13
Career High 159 601 119 180 47 3 47 148 1 2 102 133 .301 .397 .604 363 1 9 9 5 13

**PAO: 713 AB/17% K/14% BB/21% GB/28% OF/3% IF/15% LD/ 0% OTHER

The Red Sox have this lineup slot all filled up for this season and 2007 (Ortiz has an option year in '07), and Ortiz has been talking rather vocally to the media about his desire to finish his career in Boston. I, for one, hope the front office learned something from the Theo debacle and will give Ortiz a contract extension either before the season gets underway or work with him through the entirety of the 2006 season.

Ortiz is a monster. His emergence from the relative unknown of Minnesota onto the big stage in the Northeast has created a baseball superstar in the span of only a few years. In my mind, it was Ortiz who was the MVP of the AL last year, because without his bat in the lineup, the Sox would've been much farther down in the standings (that's not a homer vote, either, since the MVP of the Yankees was really Mariano Rivera, but you didn't see him get the recognition he deserved, did you?). Unlike the winner last year, Ortiz is not only a solid regular season performer, but he shines in the postseason as well. We all remember how he singlehandedly carried the Red Sox on his back during the 2004 postseason, and how in 2003 it was Ortiz's double off of Keith Foulke that helped keep the Sox alive. Look at these numbers:

Postseason Batting

Year Round Tm Opp WLser G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG SB CS SH SF HBP
+------------------+-----+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+--+--+--+--+--+
2002 ALDS MIN OAK W 4 13 0 3 2 0 0 2 0 5 .231 .231 .385 0 0 0 0 0
ALCS MIN ANA L 5 16 0 5 1 0 0 2 0 5 .312 .312 .375 0 0 0 0 0
2003 ALDS BOS OAK W 5 21 0 2 1 0 0 2 2 7 .095 .174 .143 0 0 0 0 0
ALCS BOS NYY L 7 26 4 7 1 0 2 6 3 8 .269 .367 .538 0 0 0 0 1
2004 ALDS BOS ANA W 3 11 4 6 2 0 1 4 5 2 .545 .688 1.000 0 0 0 0 0
ALCS BOS NYY W 7 31 6 12 0 1 3 11 4 7 .387 .457 .742 0 1 0 0 0
WS BOS STL W 4 13 3 4 1 0 1 4 4 1 .308 .471 .615 0 0 0 0 0
2005 ALDS BOS CHW L 3 12 2 4 2 0 1 1 0 3 .333 .333 .750 0 0
+------------------+-----+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+--+--+--+--+--+
4 Lg Div Series 3-1 15 57 6 15 7 0 2 9 7 17 .263 .344 .491 0 0 0 0 0
3 Lg Champ Series 1-2 19 73 10 24 2 1 5 19 7 20 .329 .395 .589 0 1 0 0 1
8 Postseason Ser 5-3 38 143 19 43 10 1 8 32 18 38 .301 .383 .552 0 1 0 0 1
+------------------+-----+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+--+--+--+--+--+

Anytime you have a batter who can post career postseason numbers that look like Papi's (.301/.383/.552) you hang onto him, because you know you've got a keeper. Of course, should David injure himself, the Sox would be hard-pressed to recover, as they don't really have any pure sluggers in their system. Roberto Petagine (who was dropped from the 40 man when Alex Gonzalez was signed) probably would've been the most logical choice as a fill-in. I guess now it could be George Lombard (.262/.357/.472 with 20 HR in 2005 at AAA Pawtucket) or maybe Justin Sherrod (.259/.331/.441 with 16 HR at AAA).

Why I wrote this, I don't even know. Really, I just wanted to tell you that David Ortiz is really freakin' good.

Final Prediction
STARTER: David Ortiz
BACKUPS: George Lombard, Justin Sherrod