May 04, 2003
Young Teams
In today's Reds Notebook, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer points out that the Reds offense is very young:
With Barry Larkin and Ken Griffey Jr. out, the Reds have been using the second-youngest starting eight in the majors.
The average age of Sean Casey, Ryan Freel, Felipe Lopez, Aaron Boone, Adam Dunn, Austin Kearns, Jose Guillen and Jason LaRue is 26.3 years.
Only the Detroit Tigers, at 25.9, have a younger lineup.
The Giants have the oldest at 33.4.
I like to measure offensive age with a weighted average based on plate appearance by non-pitchers. Someone who's old and plays half time should not count as much as someone who's old and playing all the time. By this measure, the Reds actually have the youngest offense in the majors:
| Offense | Weighted Age |
|---|
| Reds | 27.4 |
| Twins | 27.5 |
| Expos | 27.9 |
| Devil Rays | 27.9 |
| Tigers | 28.2 |
And in case you are interested, here are the oldest teams:
| Offense | Weighted Age |
|---|
| Giants | 33.1 |
| Diamondbacks | 32.6 |
| Astros | 32.5 |
| Mariners | 32.5 |
| Mets | 32.1 |
Only the Mariners and Reds from these two lists are in the top five in their respective leagues in runs scored per game, and both are fifth.
