How Good Is Jason Giambi?
Earlier this morning, WasWatching.com reader “AndrewYF” left this comment to an entry posted yesterday (on this blog):
[Jason] Giambi is currently the best-hitting Yankee, and the second-best hitting first baseman in the AL (and fourth in baseball). There’s really no denying those facts.
Well, first, it looks like “AndrewYF” has fogotten about Hideki Matsui (in terms of who is “the best-hitting Yankee” as of this moment). See these current Yankees stats via the Complete Baseball Encyclopedia:
Batter RCAA OWP OPS PA Hideki Matsui 10 .656 .873 190 Jason Giambi 8 .651 .900 159 Alex Rodriguez 5 .622 .881 119 Johnny Damon 3 .546 .783 197 Bobby Abreu 2 .529 .814 200 Wilson Betemit 0 .545 .758 27 Chris Stewart -1 .000 .000 3 Chad Moeller -1 .452 .675 51 Jorge Posada -1 .440 .810 66 Derek Jeter -3 .446 .727 186 Alberto Gonzalez -4 .173 .545 48 Shelley Duncan -4 .235 .564 55 Melky Cabrera -5 .407 .712 181 Morgan Ensberg -8 .125 .506 80 Robinson Cano -10 .300 .640 190 Jose Molina -11 .111 .520 98
Still, it’s pretty close there between the Big G and Godzilla.
How about Jason Giambi compared to all other first baseman in baseball? Here’s the top ten as of this morning:
Batter RCAA OWP OPS PA Lance Berkman 45 .877 1.241 216 Albert Pujols 30 .827 1.069 223 Kevin Youkilis 15 .707 .936 213 Justin Morneau 12 .701 .878 205 Jason Giambi 8 .651 .900 159 Casey Kotchman 8 .635 .863 187 Adrian Gonzalez 7 .603 .865 218 Derrek Lee 6 .571 .902 226 Lyle Overbay 5 .603 .818 194 Sean Casey 5 .714 .888 69 Nick Johnson 5 .605 .846 147
Again, “AndrewYF” is not 100% correct when he claims Giambi is the “second-best hitting first baseman in the AL” – since Kevin Youkilis and Justin Morneau have better numbers. But, Giambi is knocking on the door, just behind, the top two.
So, whaddaya say Yankees fans? Based on Giambi’s greatness, so far, should the Yankees run out and pick-up the 2009 option on his contract for $22 million? Should Yankees fans be stuffing the All-Star game ballot boxes to ensure that Giambi represents the team at this year’s All-Star game? The numbers suggest that Jason Giambi is great. So, just how much love should “G” be getting in Yankeeland right now?