A Diamond in the Rough

A 6-8 start that has featured less than clutch hitting, inconsistent pitching and plenty of key injuries has made the start of the 2011 season less than pleasing for most Dodgers’ fans.  We are having the chance, however, to witness what appears to be the start of something very big for Dodgers’ centerfielder Matt Kemp.

With the caveat in place that judging Kemp’s 2011 performance on 14 games is patently ridiculous, the talented outfielder has started the season in exemplary fashion. Kemp’s .449 average, nine RBI and eight stolen bases (in nine attempts) lead the team, and he’s behind only Rod Barajas in home runs (Barajas has three to Kemp’s two).

Kemp has the chance to become the first player in Los Angeles Dodgers’ history to lead the team in the three Triple Crown categories and in stolen bases in a season.  Nine Dodgers’ have led the team outright in three of the four categories since 1958:

1982-  Pedro Guerrero led in avg (.304), HR (23) and RBI (100).  Steve Sax led in steals with 49.

1983-  Guerrero again led in the Triple Crown categories (.304, 32, 103) while Sax’s 56 steals paced the team.

1987-  Guerrero led in the Triple Crown categories (.338, 27, 89) with Sax leading in steals with 37.

1988-  League MVP Kirk Gibson led the team in average (.290), homers (25) and RBI (76) with Sax’s 42 steals pacing the Dodgers.

1993-  Mike Piazza’s Triple Crown category numbers led the way (.318, 35, 112) with Brett Butler leading in steals with 39.

1994-  Piazza led the way with a .319 average, 24 homers and 92 RBI,with Delino Deshields and Butler leading in steals with 27 during the strike-shortened season.

1997-  In his finest year, Piazza’s .362 average, 40 homers and 124 RBI led the Dodgers, with Raul Mondesi capturing the team stolen base title with 32.

2001-  Shawn Green led in homers (49), RBI (125) and steals (20), but lost out to Paul Loduca (.320) in batting average.

2004-  Adrian Beltre’s monster season included a team leading .334 average, 48 homers and 121 RBI. Cesar Izturis led in steals with 25.

Two other Dodgers deserve mention in this discussion. In 1979, Steve Garvey tied for the team lead with 28 homers and paced the team with a .315 average and 110 RBI.  The top base stealer in 1979 was Davey Lopes with 48.  In 1972, Willie Davis tied Frank Robinson with a team-high 19 homers and led the team with 79 RBI and 20 steals, but Manny Mota led the way in batting average with .323 (in 371 at bats).

One aspect of Kemp’s game that appears to be vastly improved in 2011 is his base running, with much of the credit being given to new Dodgers’ first base coach Davey Lopes.  Kemp’s current career stolen base success percentage is 74%, but there’s evidence that the number will get much better under Lopes’ leadership. 

Lopes not only preaches efficent and effective use of the stolen base, he practiced it as well.  Lopes is second in all-time stolen bases for the Dodgers with 418, but he leads the way in success rate among the top team LA Dodger base stealers:

Maury Wills     490 steals    74% success rate

Davey Lopes    418/83.1%

Willie Davis     335/74%

Steve Sax        290/69%

Brett Butler      179/65%

Bill Russell      167/71%

Raul Mondesi   140/72%

Juan Pierre       134/77%

Ken Landreaux   119/68% 

Dave Roberts     118/82.5% 

 

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