We're going to do a simple exercise comparing Red Sox players from 2007-2009. Ready?
Out of these five players, how would you rank them from best to worst?:
PA HR RBI BA OBP OPS
A 611 24 97 .302 .397 .920
B 674 13 68 .313 .375 .838
C 535 18 89 .299 .354 .835
D 516 18 65 .276 .390 .875
E 595 29 102 .280 .385 .917
Let's find out which player is which, after the jump.
Before we find out which is which, I'm going to make my list which may or may not be similar to what you've put together.A is my No. 1. Good power numbers, solid average and gets on base. No. 2 is E, who shows even better power and gets on base at a good clip. My No. 3 is D -- the average is the lowest of the group, but this player has the second-highest OBP and third-highest OPS, with a limited number of average plate appearances.
B is my No. 4. Best average of the bunch and has a good OBP. C is my fifth-best player. The numbers are solid, just not as good as the rest. The OBP is a bit low, especially compared to the others.
So who are we looking at here?
PA HR RBI BA OBP OPS
A 611 24 97 .302 .397 .920 -- KEVIN YOUKILIS
B 674 13 68 .313 .375 .838 -- DUSTIN PEDROIA
C 535 18 89 .299 .354 .835 -- MIKE LOWELL
D 516 18 65 .276 .390 .875 -- J.D. DREW
E 595 29 102 .280 .385 .917 -- DAVID ORTIZ
Does anything pop out at you as being surprising?
A few things to factor in are some injured years. Lowell, Drew and Ortiz all missed some significant time over the past three seasons to drop some of their numbers.
My conclusions: yes, Kevin Youkilis is that good. Yes, J.D. Drew is underrated. And, oh man, I wish David Ortiz would pull those numbers this season...