Baseball Chatter
  • 01:45 PM ET  07.04
Views
33056
Comments
9

Sometime during today's Phillies-Astros game, Houston phenom Hunter Pence is likely to qualify for the National League batting race. He nearly qualified after Tuesday's game against Philly, which he won with a walk-off home run in the 13th inning, but as he awoke this morning he had 260 plate appearances, just shy of the 260.4 he needed (3.1 PAs per every team game played) to show up in your hometown paper's hit parade table.

Upon reaching the number of PAs necessary, Pence is likely to debut in the No. 2 slot in the batting race with a .345 average. Colorado's Matt Holliday (.349) with Chicago's Derrek Lee (.339) in second.

Just how rare is it for a rookie to win a league batting crown?

It's only happened twice in baseball history and never in the National League: Ichiro in 2001 and Minnesota's Tony Oliva in 1964. (Oliva would win again in '65. The guy could hit a little.)

The competition is stiff, but it would be unwise to discount Pence's chances. Though he doesn't have the vastness of the Coors Field outfield working for him the way Holliday does, or the friendly confines of Wrigley Field as Lee does, Pence has a right-handed hitter's haven of his own in Minute Maid Park, where he is hitting .372 in 137 at-bats this season.

And despite his lack of walks so far (only 10), Pence's minor-league track record -- he walked 60 times in 523 Double-A at-bats last year -- shows he does have the ability to be patient at the plate. He's just too busy raking right now to bother.

With the Craig Biggio 3,000 march over and the Rocket no longer on the club, at least Astros fans will have Pence to root for the rest of the season as he pursues the batting crown and the Rookie of the Year award, for which he is currently the runaway leader ahead of Milwaukee's Ryan Braun and Cincinnati's Josh Hamilton.

UPDATE

Pence went 2-for-5 with a solo home run on Wednesday against the Phillies, raising his average to .346.

July 4, 2007  03:31 PM ET

The kid is a joy to watch at the plate and in the field - and in the dugout, for that matter. He can't figure out Tal's Hill yet - when he caught that ball next to the flagpole the other night, I don't know who was more surprised - Pence or anybody watching the game. I hope he's around for years to come.

July 4, 2007  05:18 PM ET

I traded for Pence in my fantasy league ... I am so smart, S-M-R-T.

July 5, 2007  12:01 AM ET

This guy is amazing. I hope he continues to improve and mature. If so, it will be amazing to watch him in five years.

July 5, 2007  12:24 AM ET

There is a common misperception that it is easier to hit in Wrigley Field because of the small dimensions. While the power alleys may be fairly short, the distances down each of the lines is very long (355 ft. to left field and 368 ft. to right field). Furthermore, the wind blows towards home plate more than it blows out, making the stadium more favorable to pitchers. And, Derrek Lee only has 6 home runs. So please don't say that Wrigley Field is what is contributing to Derrek Lee's high batting average.

July 5, 2007  12:09 PM ET

Pence's BABIP is a preposterous .393. While hitters do exert much more influence on their BABIP than pitchers, a figure that extreme shows an enormous amount of luck. Over the larger sample of a full season, Pence's average will come down dramatically. He'll likely end the season in the .290-.310 range, which is still more than respectable for a rookie.

July 5, 2007  12:51 PM ET

Ryan Braun is the best. If he started from the beginning of the year he'd be rookie of the year easily.

July 6, 2007  02:08 AM ET

Ryan Braun? Psssh, Pence has only played about 50 games, if he started from the beginning of the year, he'd prolly had made All-Star team.

July 6, 2007  10:43 AM ET

If you think yuo are so S-M-A-R-T, I must be the reincarnation of Albert Einstein. I picked up Hamilton, Pence, AND Braun in my fantasy league. I am a run away leader in my division and tops in nearly all offensive categories thanks to some shrewd trades to open up slots for these young studs. Because of their hitting, I was able to trade Derek Lee for Jose Reyes.

 
July 9, 2007  11:14 AM ET

You guys think you're S-M-A-R-T? I just saved a bunch of money by switching to Geico!

(PS - Shout out on the Simpsons reference!)

Comment

Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.


Coming soon: Log in with your Facebook account, send comments and Throwdowns to Facebook and more.

Start Your Own Blog

Start Now

The Si.com Cover Hub Go to the Cover Hub

Stub Hub

The 2009 schedule has been released. Search for tickets!

Truth & Rumors

MOST POPULAR

  1. 1
    Sources: Big Ben having second thoughts
    Views
    7391
    Comments
    1009
  2. 2
    Report: Halladay would welcome Yankees trade
    Views
    28778
    Comments
    478
  3. 3
    Have Irish already offered Kelly job?
    Views
    37795
    Comments
    77
  4. 4
    Report: Tiger's injuries inflicted by wife
    Views
    1844
    Comments
    63
  5. 5
    Stoops to take Notre Dame job?
    Views
    4090
    Comments
    61

Most Active Users

Comments + Blog Posts + Throwdowns

  1. 1
    Chico 2.0
  2. 2
    BBK - Now it's all football
  3. 3
    rstowe
  4. 4
    gigi_iv
  5. 5
    Never NDing Struggle

Message Boards

  1. NCAAF > General NCAAF

    Is Bob Stoops being paid under…
    Views
    173
    Replies
    13
  2. NCAAF > General NCAAF

    tim tebow finally GONE!!!!!!!
    Views
    108
    Replies
    8
  3. NFL > General NFL

    Tiger Woods???? Wife smashes…
    Views
    104
    Replies
    29

Blogs

SI.com

Swimsuit

SI Photos