The Bizarre stat of the day belongs to Ken Griffey Jr.:Griffey has batted in the third spot in the order in each of the games he has started this season (he pinch hit once in the first spot in the order). Here's his stat line:.256 batting average, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 8 runs, 0 SB.6 HR, 8 RGriffey has scored a whopping 2 runs where he was driven in by someone other than himself. Those two occasions: a grand slam by Edwin Encarnacion on April 11; and a single by Rich Aurilia just three days ago. This is batting in the third spot in the lineup, where he should be getting driven in on a regular basis.
Let's compare him to the #3 batter of the woefully deficient Kansas City Royals. Doug Mientkiewicz: 1 HR, 13 RBI, 16 R. 15 times he was driven in by someone else.
How about the Pirates? Freddy Sanchez: 4 HR, 23 RBI, 18 runs. 14 times he was driven in by someone else.
While one could point out that the comparison is inapt because Griffey was injured for a fair period of time -- first, so was Mientkiewicz, secondly, he still has more RBIs than either of those players, there's a huge disparity that's unmatched. The disparity is far more appropriate for a leadoff man (for instance, Scott Podsednik with 13 RBIs, 35 runs; Joey Gathright 7 RBIs, 23 runs) than a guy who's supposed to be in the middle of an order, especially one that is nominally potent.
