A Meaningless Statistical Inquiry

Something has been bothering me all summer.

No. Not Jamie Walker's ERA, WHIP, or HR:IP ratio. More here

No. Not the fact that my Red Sox fan roommate could watch her team thrice weekly thanks to ESPN's decision to become the State TV network of "Red Sox Nation"

No. Not the fact that the Reds traded Ken Griffey Jr to Chicago ONE DAY BEFORE they came to Washington for a 4-game series.

No. The thing that has bothered me all summer is the strangely low RBI total of Orioles left-fielder Luke Scott. Don't get me wrong, Luuuuuuuuuuuke has been having a fine season and I contend that the Orioles got the better end of the trade last december which brought him to Charm City. But, for a man with 21 homeruns to his name, his current RBI total of 58 seems small.

It's a meaningless stat, but, Scott's RBI:HR ratio is 2.762. I did some checking, and, I was shocked to find that his ratio is actually far from the lowest in baseball.

Several notables have much lower numbers such as:

Pat Burrell of Phillidelphia: 2.567
Adam Dunn of Arizona: 2.514
Marcus Thames of Detroit: 2.136
Hanley Ramirez of Florida: 2.103

And the lowest of anyone with at least 15 homers to their name...

Scott Hairston of San Diego: 1.824 (17 Homeruns and 31 RBI)


By comparison, Bobby Abreu of New York has a 5.600 ratio (15 HR and 84 RBI). Next highest is Justin Morneau who with 21 dingers and 109 RBI is rocking a 5.190 ratio.

Obviously alot of things contribute to the huge gap between Abreu and Hairston. When he starts, Hairston often bats leadoff on a bad National League team. His chances of coming up in good RBI situations with men on base are much lower than someone like Abreu who bats near the middle of a very potent Yankee lineup. Batting behind Derek Jeter and in front of A-Rod certainly boosts Abreu's RBI totals while not forcing him to hit alot of homers.

Its the place in the lineup/quality of lineup argument which caused me to ponder Luke Scott's totals. The 2008 Orioles, for all of their well-documented flaws, are an offensively potent team. Scott has spent much of the season batting behind players such as Aubrey Huff, Nick Markakis, and Melvin Mora who are enjoying excellent 2008 campaigns. However, having seen that Luke Scott compares closely to noted run producers such as the aforementioned Dunn and Burrell, I will leave the matter alone.