Hamstrung Howie?
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Howie Kendrick may have been the goat in Wednesday night’s Angel game, but he’s already a marvelous young hitter at the age of 24, with a lifetime average of .306, a double every 13.3 at bats, and a ‘future batting title’ awarded by literally every sportscaster to work an Angels game. First, though, he’ll need to keep his hamstrings healthy enough to rack up more than 340 at bats in a season. And more urgently, he needs to regain his batting stroke after coming back from injury, something he’s been mostly terrible at throughout his career.
On May 30 this year, after a six-week layoff, Kendrick came back from injury and put up a brutal .154/.215/.205 (batting average/on base percentage/slugging percentage) over his first 10 games, yanking his batting average down from .500 (!) to a mere-mortal .320. Last year he missed five weeks in April and May, then came off the disabled list to hit .125/.238/.200 his first 11 games back before rediscovering his stroke. He did better that August after a six-week stint on the disabled list, going .353/.389/.441 his first nine games back, but so far this fall, after missing more than a month, Howie’s hitting just .211/.250/.211 after seven games. Whether Howie gets his groove back might mean the difference in another early exit at the hands of the Red Sox, or another happy march to the World Series.
The Angels were able to heal nearly all their injuries before the playoffs; Kendrick -- or perhaps more accurately, Kendrick’s timing -- might be the one walking wounded left.
Speaking of young American League second basemen threatening to win future batting crowns, that market’s looking crowded. Kendrick’s 24-year-old counterpart from Bahstin finished second in the league this year with a .326 average, 26-year-old Texan Ian Kinsler finished fourth at .319, and the Yankees have a 25-year-old who hit .342 in 2006. A little longer in the tooth, Placido Polanco has cracked the top 10 the past two years (.341 and .307), and Brian Roberts is a real fine hitter, too. Even Jose Lopez (quick -- name that team!) put up a .297 average this year at age 24, and White Sox rookie Alexei Ramirez has been doing his best Alfonso Soriano impersonation.
Like shortstop in the late ‘90s, second base is becoming a talent-stacked position in the American League, in a way not seen since the glory days of Paul Molitor, Lou Whitaker, Willie Randolph, Frank White, and the most deserving second baseman not currently in the Hall of Fame, former Angel great Bobby Grich. Which is an argument for another day!
-- Matt Welch
Welch is editor-in-chief of Reason.