O's top of the order among tops in the league?
There will be plenty of time to talk about the Orioles' pitching this year, but the one thing that really struck me from the Orioles' season-opening homestand is the top of the batting order: Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis. Through six games, those three account for more than 50 percent of the Orioles runs.
It might be too early for us to suggest that the Orioles will go as far as the top of the lineup takes them, but through their first six games, how could we ignore this: In their four wins, the top three in the order hit .479 (23-for-48) and scored 18 runs; in the two losses, they hit .143 (3-for-21) with one run.
Manager Dave Trembley was asked about his top three hitters after Saturday night's win, and while he thinks he has depth in his lineup, he did acknowledge that the Orioles need to get on base early and rattle opposing teams' starters. It falls on guys like Roberts, Jones and Markakis to get this done.
I've said a couple of times now that we should be cautious making too many big-picture projections based on a small sampling of early April games. But don't you get the feeling that the top of the Orioles lineup is among the best the team has put forth in recent years? I mean, you have to go back a few years to find better 1-2-3 hitters in Baltimore.
I went back and looked at the Opening Day lineups for the past 40 years or so. Below you can see the top three hitters in the order each year. Particularly in recent years, how many would you put above this season's Roberts-Jones-Markakis trio.
From the recent teams, the 2005 offering of Roberts, Melvin Mora and Miguel Tejada probably had a lot of fans drooling. But you might have to go back to the 1996 lineup that featured Brady Anderson (50 HRs), Roberto Alomar (.328, 22 HR, 94 RBIs) and Rafael Palmeiro (39 HR, 142 RBIs) to find a more exciting trio of hitters atop the order. Roberts, Jones and Markakis won't match those power numbers (uhm, not many hitters, uhm, hit like that any more), but these three will get on base and should put themselves in position to score.
But what should really have Orioles' fans excited: As good as the top of the order might seem this year, it should only get better. Roberts, Jones and Markakis aren't going anywhere, and while historically, the top of the lineup has featured a lot of turnover from season to season, what you're seeing right now should be only a preview of things to come.
For the sake of comparison, here's the Orioles' recent 1-2-3 hitters on Opening Day:
2009: Roberts, Jones, Markakis
2008: Roberts, Mora, Markakis
2007: Roberts, Mora, Markakis
2006: Roberts, Matos, Mora
2005: Roberts, Mora, Tejada
2004: Roberts, Mora, Tejada
2003: Hairston, Matthews, Surhoff
2002: Hairston, Singleton, Segui
2001: Anderson, Bordick, DeSheilds
2000: Anderson, DeShields, Surhoff
1999: Anderson, Bordick, W. Clark
1998: Anderson, Alomar, E. Davis
1997: Anderson, Bordick, Palmeiro
1996: Anderson, Alomar, Palmeiro
1995: Anderson, Barberie, Palmeiro
1994: Anderson, Devereaux, Palmeiro
1993: Anderson, Devereaux, C. Ripken
1992: Anderson, Orsulak, C. Ripken
1991: Devereaux, Milligan, C. Ripken
1990: Bradley, Orsulak, C. Ripken
1989: Anderson, Bradley, Finley
1988: Stone, B. Ripken, C. Ripken
1987: Wiggins, Burleson, C. Ripken
1986: Wiggins, Lacy, C. Ripken
1985: Young, Sheets, C. Ripken
1984: Shelby, Ford, C. Ripken
1983: Shelby, Ford, C. Ripken
1982: Bumbry, Dempsey, Ford
1981: Bumbry, Dauer, Singleton
1980: Bumbry, Belanger, Singleton
1979: Bumbry, Belanger, Singleton
1978: Bumbry, Dauer, Murray
1977: Bumbry, Dauer, Singleton
1976: Bumbry, Blair, Singleton
1975: Singleton, Blair, T. Davis
1974: Bumbry, Coggins, Grich
1973: Rettenmund, Grich, Powell
1972: Buford, Rettenmund, Powell
1971: Blair, D. Johnson, Powell
1970: Buford, Belanger, F. Robinson
1969: Buford, Blair, F. Robinson
Comments
Buford, Blair, and Frank will always be tops.
Brady, Alomar, and Raffy (1996) 2nd place
The current trio may flip Markakis to 2 and Jones to 3 eventually. It makes sense to have a left hander w/ higher on base avg batting 2nd. Maybe they should alternate now. Nick 2nd against lefties, and Adam 2nd against righthanders
Posted by: onceawarrior | April 13, 2009 3:56 PM
Wow! Belanger was great with the glove, but can't believe he batted second for two world series teams ('70, '79).
Posted by: bumblebee | April 13, 2009 5:37 PM
Hey, I'm at least as nostalgic as the average fan. The first time I kept a score sheet at Memorial "all by myself," the top of our order was Marv Breeding, Russ Snyder, and Brooks (no last name needed!) So I've seen a few. I don't want to get into ranking lineups from such different eras and circumstances, but nostalgia aside, I will say that our three guys right now look awfully damn GOOD! There aren't many out there today I'd trade them for, esp. considering their ages and the fact we really need them here two or three or five years down the road more than we do right now. (BTW: We beat the Yankees 3-1, HR by Brooks, and a 2B from the skinny young outfielder John Wesley Powell. June 19, 1962. I still have the score sheet, all smudged from my nine-year-old southpaw hand dragging across the pencil marks.)
Posted by: Danny in WV | April 13, 2009 8:53 PM