Roberts record
Congratulations to Brian Roberts for breaking his own Orioles record for doubles in a single season. Brian is among a very elite group of players who have ever had three 50-double seasons, and he clearly is one of the best doubles hitters in the sport, but he'll have to grind out several more big seasons like this to make a real dent in the all-time career list.
Brian has 314 career doubles, which ties him for 347th on the all-time list. He's 31 years old, so he's got a significant chunk of his career ahead of him, but he'd have to average 40 doubles a season through his 40th birthday to crack the top five. Not out of the question if he stays healthy and motivated.
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Comments
Pete:
Although I never remember seeing an announcement, it appears that the Orioles shut down Troy Patton after Aug. 5th. Was he having arm troubles, or were they just resting him?
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Pete's reply: Apparently, some arm fatigue.
Posted by: Deke | September 16, 2009 12:47 PM
Pete:
Although I never remember seeing an announcement, it appears that the Orioles shut down Troy Patton after Aug. 5th. Was he having arm troubles, or were they just resting him?
Posted by: Deke | September 16, 2009 12:47 PM
Deke:
I remember reading something about that but don't recall exactly what was said. I think he started to struggle and get fatigued, and since he didn't pitch at all last year they were happy with the number of innings he had. I don't think it was any particular injury.
Posted by: jeffChill | September 16, 2009 1:18 PM
Deke;
I do not know about Pattons health. They shut him down and at the time he was getting whacked all over the lot at AAA. He pitched really well earlier in the year at AA. It does not sound good. What else other than an injury could it be. A huge question mark is hanging over him at this point.
Posted by: bob c | September 16, 2009 1:56 PM
The other players on that list also hit HRs. I'm not urinating on the accomplishment but it is also enough of an anomaly to make one wonder how much significance it really has.
Posted by: waspman | September 16, 2009 2:21 PM
I seem to remember that Pattons' shoulder started acting up again. I don't think it required surgery but it did require rest.
Posted by: Matt P | September 16, 2009 3:04 PM
Fair point waspman, but of the top 10 doubles guys, I'd say only Musial, Yaz and Aaron were "home run hitters".
And you could also point to the fact that, of those top 10, Roberts steals more bags per year than all of them aside from Honus Wagner.
Either way, it's a damn fine accomplishment.
Posted by: b | September 16, 2009 3:12 PM
"Not out of the question if he stays healthy and motivated."
Oh, come ON. Brian Roberts is probably my favorite player in the game, but the chances of him remaining an every day player to age 40 are nil. It's not like he can slide over to fist base or DH when he loses a few steps....
Posted by: Tim S. | September 16, 2009 5:59 PM
Tim -
Why doesn't Roberts have a chance to be an every day player at 40?
His game is speed with a bit of pop. And it's not like its unprecedented for those types of guys to stick around as solid ballplayers in their twilight years.
I'm not going to say there's a even a good chance that Roberts will hit 40 doubles a year through his 40-year-old season, but I will say that it's pretty ignorant to say that his chances are "nil".
Posted by: b | September 16, 2009 7:02 PM