Elvis Andrus Hit a Home Run
Elvis Andrus hit a home run. Elvis Andrus hit a home run!
He hadn’t hit one in 178 games.
It’s all good of course. His defense and speed make him a valuable part of the team, especially while he’s cost-controlled. But 178 games is kind of a long time.
Except it isn’t! The longest anyone has gone without a home run since 1993 is 328 games. Someone congratulate Jason Tyner for ending that streak. Otis Nixon also went 300+ games without. Miguel Cairo and Jason Kendall grace the list. Juan Pierre is on the list twice before Andrus comes in at 22nd longest between home runs in the ‘modern age.’ Rey Sanchez is on the list three times in the top ten alone. Andrus’ streak is just a blip on the radar.
On the other hand, as Dave Cameron noted on twitter recently, Andrus has 22% of his 2010 extra-base hit total so far. In 13 PAs, which seems pretty impressive.
Of course this is all sample size, but imagine if Albert Pujols had managed 22% of his 2010 extra base hit output in the first weekend this year. He would have somehow needed to turn out 18 extra base hits in his first four games. That’s not possible, right?
We know ISO doesn’t really even stabilize over a full season, so Andrus could return to swinging the light stick as soon as tomorrow. But he’s almost a quarter of the way to 2010 already, so he’s got a head start on the year.
With a phone full of pictures of pitchers' fingers, strange beers, and his two toddler sons, Eno Sarris can be found at the ballpark or a brewery most days. Read him here, writing about the A's or Giants at The Athletic, or about beer at October. Follow him on Twitter @enosarris if you can handle the sandwiches and inanity.
I am a Rays and Marlins fan, but the 2011 Texas Rangers have been the most fun team to watch so far. I cannot get enough of them.
Maybe he’ll hit well enough this year to win a gold glove.
Fantastic post
Nice…
Is that really a requirement? Last year’s AL Gold Glove shortstop was more of a no-hit, no-glove type.
comment of the year!!!!
AHEM
What about Reggie Willits?
He’s on the list, fourth on the list, 250 games.
Ryan Theriot? He has got to be on that list.
Theriot actually hits a few homers a year.
Just perusing data from B-R, but it looks like, on the surface, none of those players with similar streaks were nearly as young as Elvis during their run.
Can we factor in that anyone can hit a HR in texas?
http://www.hittrackeronline.com/hrdetail.php?id=2011_117
Not a cheapie. 390 feet that close to the line is out anywhere.
Sounds like a title of a kid’s book.
Other than the HR, does anyone know if the XBH were true gappers or stretched singles?
One double was maybe a bad angle to a ball, but he has been ripping the ball.
Yep. Ellsbury might have taken a better route, but that one also appeared to be hit a little deeper in the right-center hole than Andrus’s typical opposite field fliner last year.
When I saw the headline, I expected the story to read like “Curious George Goes To School.”
“The longest anyone has gone without a home run since 1993 is 328 games. ”
I’m assuming that this applies to players who were regular starters? Reading this, I immediately thought of Rafael Belliard, who hit two home runs in his career 10 years apart. Without taking the time to nail down the number precisely, he had over 1800 plate appearances between the two home runs.
Belliard is ninth on the list, 225 games, but the 1993 cut off hurt him, since his streak started in 1987. Good memory.
“We know ISO doesn’t really even stabilize over a full season, so Andrus could return to swinging the light stick as soon as tomorrow.”
And you just assume his ’10 was the norm, as opposed to the .100+ ISO he displayed in ’09?
Well he never had an ISO above .100 in the minors… but I think ‘could’ leaves the door open either way.
anybody have a link to a video of the homerun?
http://mlb.mlb.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=13465345
thanks!
Year of the Pitcher, immediately followed by 1987 Redux, immediately followed by episodes of ALF and NIght Court.
Did ALF ever appear on NC or were they different networks?
He could return to his 2010 power production, or he could also be growing in to some of his projected potential pop.
I mean, he’s 22. Developing power shouldn’t be out of the question.
Not that I think he’s going to keep getting an XBH every game, but I think the right answer is somewhere between fluke and development.
From my vantage point, three rows above the on-deck circle, he does look like he has put on a little bit of weight this year, particularly in the hips and butt…not that I was looking…not that there would be any problem with it if I was looking…anyway, yeah, he’s got a little bit of power potential.
“projected potential pop”
Nice unintentional illiteration.
Thank you, but it was intentional. 🙂