Outfielder Ben Grieve of the Oakland Athletics has struggled in the first two months of the 1999 campaign. Going into Friday’s game, the 1998 American League Rookie of the Year was batting an anemic .168 (21-for-125) with three homers and 12 RBIs; he batted .288 in 1998. If Grieve doesn’t improve his batting mark, his second-year dip in average (.120) would be the largest for any Rookie of the Year. However, a drop-off in batting average is not uncommon for a reigning Rookie of the Year. Fifty-five of the 79 non-pitching award-winners experienced a drop in their sophomore season. Below are the 10 Rookies of the Year whose averages dropped the most the year after:
Player Award Year ROY Avg. Next Year Diff.
Willie McCovey 1959 .354 .238 .116
Bob Hamelin 1994 .282 .168 .114
Al Bumbry 1973 .337 .233 .104
Walt Dropo 1950 .322 .239 .083
Joe Charboneau 1980 .289 .210 .079
Sandy Alomar Jr. 1990 .290 .217 .073
Roy Sievers 1949 .306 .238 .068
Albie Pearson 1958 .275 .216 .059
Benito Santiago 1987 .300 .248 .052
Thurman Munson 1970 .302 .251 .051
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AROUND THE HORN
The Phillies, Indians and Mariners are the only teams in the majors to have eight batters who have 18 or more RBIs each. . . . Mike Cameron of the Reds became the fifth major-leaguer to garner eight plate appearances in a nine-inning game when the Reds defeated the Rockies 24-12 on May 19. . . . In that same game, Reds reliever Ron Villone earned a save by pitching the final three innings even though he was spotted a 12-run lead. . . . Manny Ramirez of the Indians is 7 for 8 with 14 RBIs this season with the bases loaded this season. . . . The last time the Red Sox were in first place this late in the season was 1995 when they won the American League East. . . . The Mariners have won just one game this season when they didn’t hit a home run. . . . The Tigers are scoring 5.32 runs a game when Frank Catalanotto starts in the field and 3.75 when he doesn’t.
HOME RUN CONFIDENTIAL
Major-league batters hit home runs at a record pace over the first quarter of the 1999 season. One home run has been hit every 29.96 at bats on average this year. The record for home run production over a full season was set in 1996 when one was hit every 31.60 at bats. Below is a comparison of this season’s homer output and those of the eight most productive years for the long ball as provided by David Vincent of the Home Run Encyclopedia (1999 numbers through Thursday):
Year At Bats HRs Average
1999 47,421 1,584 29.94
1996 156,801 4,962 31.60
1987 144,095 4,458 32.32
1998 167,116 5,064 33.00
1994 110,266 3,306 33.35
1997 155,438 4,640 33.50
1995 138,571 4,081 33.96
1961 97,032 2,730 35.54
1956 83,856 2,294 36.55
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HIT PARADE
Greg Maddux of the Braves is the only pitcher this season who has given up home runs to both Sammy Sosa of the Cubs and Mark McGwire of the Cardinals; last season 17 pitchers were tagged by the duo.
ON THE WRONG FOOT
Tampa Bay Devil Rays pitcher Alan Newman had a major-league debut that he might wish to forget. Newman came in to face first baseman Mo Vaughn of the Anaheim Angels with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh inning of a game in which the Rays trailed 5-2. Before throwing a pitch, the rookie was called for a balk that scored one run, then, with his first delivery to the plate, he served up a two-run single to Vaughn.
