August 01, 2004
Eric's Eye
All those years of talking to Eric Chavez about process appear to have finally paid off. Chavez has a .406 OBA this year, after a double, HR and a walk today. His batting average, .272, is just a hair below his lifetme mark. But his OBA is 50 points higher. Chavez has found the sweet spot where he's still producing power and hits, but making a lot fewer outs doing so. He's made the jump from star to super star.
Posted by David Pinto at
05:09 PM
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What's weird is that Eric's splits have completely flopped. He's regressed slightly against righties (.845 OPS compared to a career mark of .916), but has gone Frank Thomas on lefties: .333/.431/.600.
That's insane, considering he's a career .235/.295/.403 hitter against southpaws.
In other words, I'm skeptical.
No matter, it also a shame he's improved (so far) in a year when he can no longer claim to be the best all-around 3B in the AL.
Chavez: .277/.402/.517 (.320 EqA)
Rodriguez .285/.374/.533 (.317 EqA)
And A-Rod has shown a great glove at 3B.
Chavez showed incremental improvement vs lefties in 2003 vs. 2002, followed by a huge jump this year. While I expect him to regress from his current levels vs. lhp, there's certainly good reason to believe that his increased ability to hit lefties is real.
