There’s always the talk of who’s the best hitter in baseball. The names of Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout are always part of the conversation, but both have been displaced in 2016 by a veteran who’s taking his final swings at the MLB level in 2016.
Others might have more home runs, a higher batting average, or even more RBI. But the reality is that there hasn’t been a more consistent, productive, and decisive hitter in baseball this season than David Ortiz.
The numbers don’t lie, and they are the best proof to show that Ortiz remains one of the best hitters in all of baseball. Of course, it also helps that he’s the one anchoring one of the deepest lineups this year like the Boston Red Sox’s one. His individual stats are absolutely incredible:
Ortiz currently leads the Majors in several offensive caterogies, as he tops the league in doubles (23), extra-base hits (39), RBI (48), slugging percentage (.728) and OPS (1.148), while sitting in the Top 10 in others like home runs (fourth with 15), batting average (sixth with .339), on-base percentage (eighth with .420), and intentional walks (third with six).
Those numbers make him worthy of a spot in the race for the AL MVP, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up winning the award. Even though the AL is not short on talented ballplayers like Mike Trout, Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson, it’s hard to argue with any of them being more decisive – and more productive – than Ortiz in 2016.
Furthermore, one could easily classify this as Ortiz’ best individual season ever. If the season ended today, he would have career-high marks in battiing average, slugging and OPS. He’s also projected to finish the year with 35 home runs, 113 RBI and a slash line of .303/.388/.598. Even if he regresses a bit, he would be worthy of being included in the discussion for the AL MVP award.
Baseball fans need to enjoy what’s left of David Ortiz. He’s stated on repeated occasions that he’s not going to extend his contract for another year, so he’s decided to retire once the 2016 season ends.
Even if he still has a few more years left in the tank.