We really don't talk about George Brett enough around here.
The following are interesting, purely random splits from Brett's career:
- Was terrible leading off a game. Hit .232/.273/.392 starting the game, which he did 132 times. To start an inning, he was better, hitting .302/.346/.492.
- OPS by outs. 0- .869, 1-.864, 2-.839. I guess he just wasn't clutch.
- Scratch that, his best inning offensively was extra innings, where he had a 1.019 OPS. Second best inning? The third - .887. Worst inning? The 9th - .774 OPS.
- Brett hit really well against the Blue Jays (didn't they have good pitching in the 1980s?) posting a .953 OPS against those Canadians. His worst opponent was, weirdly, the Indians (.753)
He batted leadoff
only for Herzog, once on the final day of the 1975 season and the other times from 1977-1979. I had totally forgotten that.
The first time he hit leadoff, the #3 batter was (I’m not even going to bother to make it a guessing game) Jamie Quirk. Brett went 0-5. Quirk went 2-4. As they say, that’s beisbol.
Brett was Herzog’s leadoff hitter from the start of the 1977 season until the start of June, when Herzog moved Amos Otis, who was having an off year, down in the order. Brett regularly hit #2 or #3 for about a month but became primarily a leadoff hitter again in mid-July. He stayed there most of the time until mid-August, when Herzog apparently decided to bat him leadoff only against lefties and #3 against righties. Herzog wrote him into the lineup at #3 for 18 of the last 19 regular season games and did so again for all five games of the ALCS.
Overall, 58% of Brett’s regular season plate appearances in 1977 occurred in the leadoff spot in the order, 30% in 1978, and 11% in 1979.
And that’s about all there is to say about that.
2X2L - February 11, 2012
I thought only speedster, no-power centerfielders led off in the 70s and 80s
RoyalsRetro - February 11, 2012
Exactly.
The Yankees had Mickey Rivers.
The Royals countered with this Brett guy.
The results speak for themselves.
No wonder Herzog was fired.
2X2L - February 12, 2012
Rivers Interviews Were
Hilarious.
philofthenorth - February 12, 2012
Brett was one ugly lady
conorjay - February 11, 2012
Brett was great, but can you imagine how much greater he would have been if he had worn an Ionic Necklace (TM)?
Matt Klaassen - February 11, 2012
I think researchers discovered in the 1970s that Preparation H is a PED
But #5 was the only player willing to weather the embarassment of claiming to have hemorrhoids to legitimize its use.
thelaundry - February 11, 2012
He was always itching to get an edge
buddyball - February 11, 2012
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