Oh, Matt.
Similar to the exercise with Lou Marson from this morning—who is Matt LaPorta similarly to historically? We're looking for players with very little defensive value who have really struggled to hit in their young careers. This list is players who:
- Have played since integration (Matt LaPorta does)
- In their first five seasons posted OBP's under .310 (LaPorta is .304), SLG under .400 (LaPorta is .397), and OPS+ under 100 (LaPorta is 93).
- In their first five seasons played at least 250 games (LaPorta has played 269) and recorded those first 250 games between the ages of 23 and 28 (LaPorta was 24-26). I've intentionally left out younger players.
- Played 60% of their games at 1B or DH (LaPorta has played 200/246 at 1B).
| Rk | Player | G | From | To | Age | PA | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | Pos | Tm | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Todd Benzinger | 601 | .302 | .383 | 87 | 1987 | 1991 | 24-28 | 2234 | 99 | 12 | 46 | 134 | 376 | .255 | .685 | *3/978D | BOS-CIN-TOT |
| 2 | Tommy McCraw | 534 | .301 | .351 | 92 | 1964 | 1967 | 23-26 | 1647 | 57 | 13 | 27 | 119 | 208 | .241 | .653 | *3/789 | CHW |
| 3 | Dan Meyer | 387 | .295 | .377 | 87 | 1976 | 1978 | 23-25 | 1431 | 50 | 9 | 32 | 84 | 112 | .253 | .673 | *3/7D | DET-SEA |
| 4 | Jim Spencer | 376 | .299 | .372 | 94 | 1970 | 1972 | 23-25 | 1347 | 46 | 6 | 31 | 88 | 149 | .250 | .671 | *3/7 | CAL |
| 5 | Dick Nen | 361 | .289 | .336 | 82 | 1963 | 1968 | 23-28 | 913 | 23 | 3 | 21 | 77 | 152 | .224 | .625 | *3/7 | LAD-WSA-CHC |
| 6 | Carlos Martinez | 342 | .300 | .379 | 91 | 1989 | 1992 | 23-26 | 1178 | 51 | 6 | 19 | 48 | 161 | .270 | .679 | *3/5D7 | CHW-CLE |
| 7 | Kevin Young | 321 | .292 | .368 | 73 | 1992 | 1996 | 23-27 | 989 | 46 | 5 | 21 | 65 | 201 | .235 | .660 | *3/59D7 | PIT-KCR |
| 8 | Rick Leach | 316 | .306 | .336 | 78 | 1981 | 1985 | 24-28 | 743 | 33 | 6 | 7 | 67 | 88 | .237 | .643 | *3/9D781 | DET-TOR |
| 9 | Rocky Nelson | 281 | .297 | .336 | 67 | 1949 | 1952 | 24-27 | 803 | 27 | 12 | 6 | 56 | 32 | .242 | .633 | *3/7 | STL-TOT-BRO |
| 10 | Chuck Harrison | 279 | .302 | .352 | 87 | 1965 | 1969 | 24-28 | 958 | 39 | 6 | 15 | 74 | 128 | .242 | .654 | *3 | HOU-KCR |
| 11 | Matt LaPorta | 269 | .304 | .397 | 93 | 2009 | 2011 | 24-26 | 1008 | 51 | 2 | 30 | 81 | 206 | .238 | .701 | *3/7D9 | CLE |
| 12 | Jim Traber | 254 | .279 | .355 | 78 | 1986 | 1989 | 24-27 | 873 | 21 | 0 | 27 | 56 | 114 | .227 | .634 | *3/D79 | BAL |
As with Lou, the news is not great. This entire list went on to produce, charitably, less than 10 quality major league seasons as hitters. Many of the players on this list had essentially no career after that first exposure. What stands out to you? Can anybody make a compelling argument for handing LaPorta another pile of ABs?
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