Colorado Rockies: Charlie Blackmon An Underrated Player?
Colorado Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is enjoying one of the best season seasons of his career. He is hitting 323. so far this season with an impressive .383 on-base percentage. He has shown the ability steal twenty bases (15 currently) while hitting twenty homers (21) while maintaining a high average, and those are attributes that not every player has.
Even with these numbers he is putting up no one is talking about Charlie Blackmon. Is there a reason for this or is Charlie Blackmon one of the most underrated players in baseball?
Blackmon first came up with the Colorado Rockies in 2011 and became an important part of the team in 2013. He stole a career high 43 bases last season and as a follow up is posting a career high in homers. No question Blackmon is one of the Rockies best players. The question remains though why isn’t Blackmon talked about outside of Colorado?
The answer is a simple one, Coors Field. Any player posting the numbers that Blackmon is putting up and wearing a Rockies uniform must be benefiting from the thin air, right? While that is a more than fair assessment for a number of hitters, for Blackmon it doesn’t quite cover it.
Sure, when he is at home he may have benefited from the hitter’s park but that cannot be held against him. What is truly impressive about Blackmon is his hitting ability away from home. At Coors, Blackmon has hit ten homers while batting .319. In away games he has hit 11 bombs while hitting .326. Charlie Blackmon is a legitimately good hitter not just a product of a hitter’s park.
Very few hitters could boast better numbers outside of Coors. Blackmon has that ability and it proves his ability both as a player on the road and as a hitter in general.
Another reason Blackmon is often overlooked is the numbers that fellow Rockies hitter Nolan Arenado puts up. According to FanGraphs, Arenado hold a WAR of 3.6, while Blackmon is right behind him at 3.5. Interestingly enough Arenado appears to be more of a product of Coors field than Blackmon. While he may produce elite production very little of it is in away games. He is hitting .246 on the road and has managed 21 extra base hits, compared to the 39 he has gotten while hitting at Coors.
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Even with the above splits Nolan Arenado is treated like a star hitter. While he should be with the overall numbers he puts up the question remains why isn’t Blackmon given the same accolades? The answer is a mixed one. While Arenado and Coors field does play a part in Blackmon’s lack of recognition the answer is he does not hit enough home runs.
We are in an age in baseball where the majority of fans are not impressed with anything more than the long ball. Never mind the player who can hit .300 and save defensive runs. They’d much rather watch the home run king who is a liability on the field and strikes out 200 times. While this isn’t true for all fans it applies to the vast majority. Blackmon doesn’t have the power that fans and baseball commentators associate with a star player.
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Because of that and the bias against Coors field the answer is yes, Charlie Blackmon is a very underrated player. Any player that can put up the numbers outside of Coors that Blackmon has should be paid a bit more attention to. He has quickly establishing himself as a good hitter and the best pure hitter that the Rockies roster currently possesses.