The Kelly Identity

Meanwhile…

In a just baseball world, Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt would be leading the voting race to start at first base for the NL in the All-Star game. Don’t get me wrong, Joey Votto’s having another terrific year, but Goldschmidt is the offensive catalyst behind Arizona’s surge to first place.

Still, it seems most people outside of St. Louis are overlooking the contributions Allen Craig has been making. Yes, he’s third in the voting (don’t get me started on All-Star voting; I’m not a fan of the system), but it’s unlikely he’ll make his way to the top, nor do I necessarily think he’s earned it), but he hasn’t gotten much recognition outside of the Midwest.

Perhaps it’s because home runs are considered sexy and he has only hit six this year, although I still think he’s got a shot to hit 18-20 by the end of the year. Regardless, his numbers with runners on are pretty incredible.

Among hitters with a minimum of 25 plate appearances in the following situations, Craig ranks pretty close to the top in all of them.

Runners in scoring position: 33 for 74, 51 RBI, .446 average (2nd in MLB to Miguel Cabrera)

Runners in scoring position, 2 outs: 18 for 37, 27 RBI, .486 avg (3rd in MLB)

In bases loaded situations, he’s tied for fifth with 5 hits, despite having just 8 at-bats in this situation.

I predicted after last season he’d be an All-Star by next year; while it’s unlikely he’ll be a starter this year, he could make a strong push to be a reserve.

Behind the plate, it’s pretty hard for me to validate anyone over Yadier Molina. In years past, people have lamented Buster Posey’s offensive contributions over Yadi’s, but Yadi has had a better offensive season thus far. He trails Posey in HR (by 3) and RBI (by just 1, despite the fact that Buster hits 3rd or 4th in the lineup, far better RBI spots than the 5th spot Yadier typically hits in), but he has him edged in average, on-base, and slugging. Defensively…yeah, there’s not much comparison.

Yadi will almost certainly make the All-Star team; the only question remains whether it will be as starter or sub.

If you’d like to vote for the starters for the All-Star game, go here. You can vote up to 25 times online, 35 if you have an MLB.com account.

Fun Notes and Anecdotes

This one’s actually a two-parter. Twice the fun for your money!

1. The Cardinals recently wrapped up a four-game series with their nemeses, the Chicago Cubs, taking three out of four games.

I was fortunate enough to go to the game Monday evening with my lovely friend Christine, albeit wearing a Cubs shirt (I lost a bet; don’t hate). I could feel the looks of simultaneous despair and condolences over wearing the merchandise of such a downtrodden franchise.

Of course, those who are Cubs stalwarts will always bring up the head-to-head record between the two teams, which favors Chicago, 1105-1068. They might also bring up the fact that Chicago has done something St. Louis never has: won two consecutive World Series, which the Cubs did in 1907 and 1908.

Few people know, though, that before the Cardinals franchise joined the National League in 1892, they were a member of the American Association, which played the National League in a post-season exhibition. Although these records are not officially counted as part of the post-season records by the MLB (the official post-season did not begin until 1903), the Cardinals (known then as the Browns) played the Cubs (known then as the Chicago White Stockings) in two World Series: in 1885 (which ended as a tie, 3-3-1) and in 1886, in which St. Louis defeated Chicago 4 games to 2.

2. In that series, St. Louis was led by Tip O’Neill, who a season later set the professional record for the highest single-season batting average when he hit a ridiculous .435 (he actually led the league in pretty much every hitting category: runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs, RBI, on-base, slugging, and total bases). What made this season stand out, though, was a rule change that lasted just for that season. In 1887, the rules were modified so that walks counted as hits, which would have inflated his average to either .485 or .492, depending on the source. After the season, the rules were revamped, and his average was later changed back to .435.