Whadd'ya mean Barq's has bite? | Thoughts on Balls

Johnny?

For some reason, I keep thinking about that commercial for Barq's root beer whilst I contemplate something I never thought I would do when he left Boston.... and that is praise Johnny Damon. This year all the talk in NY surrounds Sabathia, Jeter and Tex. Hell, even though half the world hates him and his numbers are very low (for him), even A-Rod got a brief consideration for MVP at one point this season.

But where is the love for Johnny? Surrounded by all the big names, the glory hogs and power pitchers/hitters... Johnny is having a phenomenal season and isn't getting his due. As of Saturday, here is where Johnny ranks in some key stats for NY:

1st in Runs

3rd in Doubles

2nd in Triples

2nd* in HR (3 way tie)

14 more RBI than Jeter!!!

10 SB, with 0 caught

The dude doesn't make headlines like Tex or Jeter, but you can see that his production is very high. This great season got me thinking about other guys who are doing well this year and getting little to no credit. How about Adam Lind. Half the people reading this probably know nothing about "this Lind guy."

Well let's look at where he ranks in the entire MLB for some stats:

2nd in the league in Doubles

19th* in HR (2 behind the 9th ranked HR hitter. Big logjam there)

12th in RBI (Tied with Lee)

7th in Total Bases

.302 Batting Avg

Not too bad considering this is a guy that gets no press. Of course, he does play for a terrible team (Blue Jays) and his "supporting cast" are guys like Rios (let walk away from the team for nothign), Vernon Wells (most overpaid player in the game?) and a hodgepodge of crap. He really only has Scutaro and Hill over there to drive in, yet still manages to be on the leaderboard for most stats. Hell, if he hits 2 HR and gets a few RBI in his next game, he would be in the top 10 for most of his offensive numbers.

So in closing, I would like to say congrats to Johnny and Lind for their fine seasons. Congrats to all the unsung heroes out there. Some people DO notice.