June 25, 2012

BP Unfiltered

Casey Kotchman and Mike Napoli Chase History

by R.J. Anderson

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Are you a fan of witnessing baseball history? If so then start rooting against Casey Kotchman and Mike Napoli getting hits. That’s because Kotchman and Napoli would become the first players since 2002 to sandwich a season of hitting .300 between two seasons with sub-.250 batting averages. To date, 14 players have accomplished the feat:

You might expect no-names to pepper a list like this. Instead, Hall of Famers (Henderson, Campanella), a near-Hall of Famer (Trammell), and one-time All-Stars (May, Brosius, and Gaston) salt a list that looks better than anticipated. No, it isn’t the same class of company as the 500 home run club, but it could be worse. After all, the entrance criteria calls for the player to have two ostensibly down seasons within a three-year stretch.

Think of it this way: You aren’t rooting against Kotchman and Napoli to get hits. You’re rooting for them to join an exclusive club* with decent company.

*of players with at least two lousy seasons

Special thanks to Bradley Ankrom for research  assistance

R.J. Anderson is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @r_j_anderson
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