Each Friday or thereabout, we hope to recap some highlights from the previous week. This is all a part of our efforts to be the Internet’s number one source of grit-related baseball information as well as baseball-related grit information.
Well, the leader boards have been updated (players | teams) for the week of August 1-7, so let’s get right to it.
Biggest Gainers
2.87: Marlon Byrd
2.50: Paul Konerko
Although he’s at the top of our list, Marlon Byrd put together a fairly average week, most things considered. Sporting a line of .308/.367/.385, Byrd’s OPS was right around league average at .750. While his OMS of .018 was on the gritty side of things, his jump in GRIT3 was largely the cause of his 3 HBP and limited run production (1 run and 2 RBI). Like Byrd, Konerko also experienced a spike in GRIT3 during the past week due to 3 aberrant plunkings. Long term, look for the GRIT3 of both Byrd and Konerko to stay on the negative end of the spectrum as their HBP numbers return to norm.
2.42: Chase Utley
Another surprising name at the top of the TWIG Leaderboard, Utley’s ongoing slump caused him to register a pretty substantial gain in GRIT3. Since the beginning of the month, Utley’s production has stalled with a line of .150/.250/.200. He’s managed to reach base safely six times, two of which were due to the always gritty HBP. Over his career, Utley’s a bit of a strange case. Since debuting in 2003, his GRIT3 has fluctuated quite a bit. Generally, he’s proven to be non-gritty, although his consistently high HBP totals have prevented him from straying too far away from the Bob Johnson Bifurcation. Nonetheless, his 2007 campaign registered as the seventh grittiest of the year. Considering Utley posted an OPS+ of 145 that year, this is solid evidence that GRIT is due for a revision.
2.17: David DeJesus
Among the week’s biggest gainers, DeJesus is the only true gritster of the bunch. Oddly enough, DeJesus’ week of production was actually a lot better than his season-to-date. His numbers of .280/.387/.520 were all above what he’s posted thus far. While his TLNT score no doubt jumped, DeJesus can thank two HBP (he had only four prior to August 1) for his sizeable bump in GRIT. As Jason Kendall dropped .09 points, DeJesus finds himself in second place and only a half of a point back of David Eckstein.
3.04: Kansas City Royals
Kansas City benefited from DeJesus and Mark Teahen (+1.20) to make a move up the leader board. Thanks to the jump, the Royals find themselves in third place, having overtaken the Pirates.
Slippin’ and Slidin’
6.68: Adam Dunn
The Big Donkey had a big donkin’ week, going 8 for 21 with 3 decidedly non-gritty dingers and intentional passes. Dunn went down on strikes 10 out of the 13 times he didn’t reach base safely. While he’s not a strong contender to best Albert Pujols (-1.81 this week), Dunn is currently second to Uncle Albert and is a lock to remain among the ranks of the non-gritty elite.
5.63: Mark Reynolds
Reynolds continued his torrid pace and further validated his claim to throne of all-or-nothing slugger vacated by Dunn. Reynolds slugged a five home runs (35 on the year) and struck out 10 times (a league-leading 151 on the year). According to HitTracker data, the five home runs Reynolds jacked over the first week of August had an average standard distance (corrected for wind and field level) of 429 feet. While power may be impressive to some, it’s narcissistic at best and most definitely not gritty. With this week’s drop, Reynolds’ GRIT3 passed the -25 threshold. Barring an accident, Reynolds is a safe bet to remain among the lowest GRIT scorers for years to come.
10.02: Arizona Diamondbacks
Reynolds’ non-gritty performance almost single-handedly propelled the Diamondbacks’ drop in GRIT3. Arizona retained their position as fifth from the bottom among Major League teams–thanks to Albert Pujols’ continued display of tangible talent, only St. Louis is less gritty in the National League.
8.37: New York Yankees
The Yankee’s drop in GRIT was more of a team effort than that of Arizona. Johnny Damon (-2.34), Mark Teixeira (-2.21), Alex Rodriguez (-1.86), and Melky Cabrera (-1.35) were the teams biggest contributors.
Other News
We added the beginnings of a “Glossary” section to help provide some clarification for confused readers. We’ll continue to expand on it as time allows. We love to hear from our readers. So, if you come across some term that you think needs a definition and you don’t see it in the glossary, feel free to drop us a line and we’ll be glad to set it straight.
In fact, get in touch with us for all of your grit-related questions. Have a burning desire to know who had the grittiest careers among players named “Terry”? Drop us a line and we’ll let you know that it’s Terry Puhl (17.08), Terry Harmon (14.52), and Terry Humphrey (12.35). Need to know the grittiest player on the 1986 Royals to settle a drunken bet with your cousin Roy? No problem, just drop us a line and you’ll know that Roy is correct: Lonnie Smith (9.47).
