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MLB: The Evolution of the Lead-off Hitter

By s.a. rose

Mar 15, 2016; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics special instructor Rickey Henderson talks with fans prior to the game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 15, 2016; Salt River Pima-Maricopa, AZ, USA; Oakland Athletics special instructor Rickey Henderson talks with fans prior to the game against the Colorado Rockies at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
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MLB: Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
MLB: Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays /

Leading off in the 2010s 

The 2010s have been about the same with typical leadoff hitters getting on-base, stealing bases and among the league leaders in runs scored.  MVP runner-up in 2011 Jacoby Ellsbury, Jose Reyes in his first go-around with the Mets, and even Derek Jeter with the Yankees made sense as traditional hitters at the top of the order but there have been some temporary experiments with players you would not expect to bat first in the line-up – Alex Gordon in Kansas City, slugger Jose Bautista in Toronto and DH Carlos Santana last season in Cleveland.   Will more managers look to OBP as the only statistic that matters in line-up construction or will we continue to see managers looking for that traditional lead-off hitter?

Mookie Betts – Setting the table for one of the best line-ups in baseball, is Mookie Betts the successor to Rickey and Raines?  The 2016 AL MVP runner-up led the league in total bases last season and was second in hits.  Betts also hit 31 home runs and stole 26 bases in 30 attempts to show the power-speed combination that Rickey and Raines displayed from the lead-off spot.  It is scary that Betts accomplished all of this during his Age-23 season and should improve – the only thing that might keep him from joining Rickey, Tim Raines and Ichiro in the conversation of ‘who is the best lead-off hitter?’ of all-time is if Boston decides he’s too good to be hitting first in the line-up and needs to bat third.

George Springer – Batting third for Houston is a 5’6 165 lb second baseman (Jose Altuve) and batting first is a 6’3 215lb corner outfielder (George Springer) who was caught stealing more often than he was successful in 2016.  While it may look strange to traditionalists, it seems to work for the Astros.  Springer sported a .356 OBP in his three years in Houston, which coincides with Altuve’s three straight 200 hit seasons.  Getting on-base for Altuve and clean-up hitter Carlos Correa should benefit Springer this season and for years to come in the young Astros lineup.

Kyle Schwarber – Manager Joe Maddon, who is synonymous with unconventional, is telling anyone who will listen that Kyle Schwarber will be his lead-off guy.  Sacriligious to traditionalists because Schwarber does not steal bases or spring to mind as an elite base-runner like most of the players who lead off.  Maddon’s decision to replace a traditional lead-off hitter like Dexter Fowler with Schwarber would be based on his OBP of .355 in 2015 and needing to get his bat into the line-up.  It would be unconventional but as mentioned with Gordon, Bautista and Santana, there are creative solutions for the lead off hitter emerging that don’t fit into the mold established by Hall of Famers Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines over thirty years ago.

Next: Bagwell, Raines, Pudge Inducted into Hall

The leadoff role was once the provence of speedsters who would swipe bases and do little else. Now, the role has become redefined, with a focus toward getting on base. It is fascinating to see how much that spot in the lineup has changed over the years.

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