Even in this day and time when the home run reigns supreme, most leadoff hitters are fast. They may not steal bases as much as leadoff men in the past. Unfortunately, for us who play Fantasy Baseball.
Major League teams still prefer not to clog bases with a top of the lineup guy who .....clogs bases.
Joc Pederson, Charlie Blackmon, Lorenzo Cain, Francisco Lindor, George Springer, Andrew McCutchen, Whit Merrifield, Trea Turner, to name a few.
Still, today's game is starting to forego the quickness at the top a bit.
Kyle Schwarber is leading off. Even Mitch Garver will lead off.
Lineup construction is factoring speed as a small asset. The hitting gene, now the thing.
In the past, leadoff hitters who could hit for power were GOLD.
Rickey Henderson is arguably the greatest fantasy player of all time. His mix of power and speed over a long period of time...legendary.
Great as Rickey was, he never hit 30 home runs from the leadoff spot.
It has actually been done 20 times. Alfonso Soriano four times.
39 Alfonso Soriano
38 Alfonso Soriano
37 Francisco Lindor
37 Charlie Blackmon
35 Brady Anderson
35 Alfonso Soriano
35 Bobby Bonds
34 Brian Dozier
34 George Springer
33 Alfonso Soriano
33 Grady Sizemore
32 Hanley Ramirez
32 Ian Kinsler
32 Mookie Betts
31 Rick Monday
31 Tommy Harper
30 Matt Carpenter
30 Mike Trout
30 Nomar Garciaparra
30 Jimmy Rollins
There is not a Hall of Famer on this list. However, if Fantasy Baseball had a wing in the Hall, Soriano and Bonds would certainly have a place in Cooperstown. Trout and Betts, a chance in the future.
More and more current players make this list. Now comprising half the list.
Tommy Harper was the first leadoff hitter to slug 30 homers in 1970. He also stole 38 bases that year.
I'd forgotten that Rick Monday and Nomar Garciaparra had season long leadoff spots.
There are few dyed-in-the-wool leadoff hitters any longer.
We wouldn't be surprised to see Betts, Lindor, Carpenter, or just about any leadoff hitter batting elsewhere in the lineup.
There is no formula for a lineup any longer.
Back in the day, a team's best hitter would mostly bat third.
That has changed to Batting second for some teams.
It wouldn't be surprising to see the best hitter batting leadoff in the future.
Team's want to see their best players get the most plate appearances
Batting first, would guarantee that. It's already happening a bit.
Trout, Betts, Lindor, have lead off and can be considered their team's best hitters.
The future is getting here quickly.
It looks like the list above will keep expanding.