The Ideal # 2 Hitter

(The original version of this post can be found at Productive Outs and Crackerjack.)

I've written before that Luis Castillo is ideally suited for the #8 spot in the Mets lineup and is painfully miscast batting second. This opinion elicits a wide range of sentiment and often leads to spirited debate among my peers. Some people are relieved to find that they are not the only ones who think that, especially since it goes against established baseball orthodoxy. Others are shocked that more value isn't put on the traditional tasks a #2 hitter is expected to be adept at.

Forget about guys who "put the ball in play" or "know how to move the runner over." That's a nice way of saying, "he makes a lot of outs, but at least he does it in a way that some fans can be deluded into thinking is meaningful." If I could choose one player as the embodiment of the ideal #2 hitter, it would be Bobby Abreu.

I consider Abreu a borderline Hall of Famer, who has probably reached the stage of his career where he simply needs 3 or 4 average seasons to place himself squarely in the argument. Consider this - if Abreu plays three more seasons and his numbers do not plummet, he will finish with an approximate line of .290/.395/.480 with over 2,500 hits, close to 1,500 runs scored and RBI and nearly 400 stolen bases. (I don't care much about runs scored and the RBI, but Hall of Fame voters tend to consider them.)

In an era where ever-increasing home run totals cheapened their meaning and became the subject of suspicion, Bobby Abreu did everything else offensively at a very high level. He hit for average. He stole bases. He piled up walks. He hit 35-40 doubles a year like clockwork. He has been Paul O'Neill with speed on the basepaths and without the maturity issues.

The attributes I've listed above are almost exactly the attributes that the ideal #2 hitter should have. I want a #2 hitter who can give me a .300/.400/.500 season. I want a #2 hitter who hits 40 doubles and steals 30 bases. I want a #2 hitter who walks 80 to 100 times a year. Those guys are stars - and I want to bat those guys as high in the order as possible.

In the past, Luis Castillo could give his team a .300 batting average and a .400 OBP - but he has never had a slugging percentage over .400. Castillo had a four-year run as a dangerous base stealer - but that was from 1999 to 2002. He has never hit more than 25 doubles in a season. Castillo is very patient at the plate, but pitchers aren't afraid to throw him strikes. Even though he has established himself as a player willing to take pitches, Castillo has never walked more than 80 times in a season.

Luis Castillo was not an ideal #2 hitter when he was in the prime of his career. Now, he is a good #8 hitter who Jerry Manuel continually bats at the wrong spot in the order.