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Hawpe has been hitting all season - start voting for him!
(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Calling all Colorado Rockies fans! Hear ye! Hear ye! We need to start voting more often, Brad Hawpe isn’t one of the top 15 vote getters in the National League among outfielders.
You know what? Even if you are not a Rockies fan but you are a baseball fan, you should be voting for Hawpe to play in the All Star game in July. He certainly deserves the recognition this year.
As of June 1st here are the current top vote getters:
1. Ryan Braun, Brewers, 908,745
2. Raul Ibanez, Phillies, 817,849
3. Alfonso Soriano, Cubs, 775,319
4. Carlos Beltran, Mets, 741,875
5. Manny Ramirez, Dodgers, 635,530
6. Mike Cameron, Brewers, 533,923
7. Shane Victorino, Phillies, 517,760
8. Corey Hart, Brewers, 475,809
9. Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals, 463,350
10. Rick Ankiel, Cardinals, 455,525
11. Jayson Werth, Phillies, 389,275
12. Matt Kemp, Dodgers, 307,724
13. Andre Ethier, Dodgers, 307,003
14. Adam Dunn, Nationals, 305,831
15. Kosuke Fukudome, Cubs, 281,337
The fans are trying to tell me that Ankiel, Cameron and Ethier are all better than Hawpe? I scoff at that ridiculous statement.
- Hawpe leads all NL outfielders in batting average with runners in scoring position (min 25 ABs)
- Hawpe trails only Carlos Beltran in batting average
- Hawpe trails only Raul Ibanez in slugging percentage and OPS
- Hawpe trails only Ibanez and Adam Dunn in RBIs
- Hawpe trails only Beltran and Aaron Rowand in doubles
- Hawpe trails only Beltran, Kosuke Fukudome and Ryan Braun in on-base percentage
The only stat that Hawpe isn’t in the top 10 among NL outfielders is home runs. Of course, that is a pretty popular stat but it is hard to ignore all the stats listed above.
Names like Victorino, Ankiel, Ludwick, Cameron, Ethier and Hart shouldn’t be anywhere near the top of this list.
- Without Manny in the lineup Ethier just plain sucks and is only hitting .255 on the season
- Ludwick missed time on the DL and is only hitting .254 and has a lower on-base percentage than Hawpe has batting average
- While Cameron has four more HRs than Hawpe he also has 12 less RBIs and slugging 60 points less
- Don’t even get me started on Victorino, the only thing he has better than Hawpe is a cool nick name (Flyin’ Hawaiin’)
- Ankiel isn’t even the best center fielder in St. Louis as he is losing playing time to rook Colby Rasmus
- Lastly, Hart is having a hard time keeping his average above .250 and is slugging over 200 points less than Hawpe
- Don't even get me started on a player suspended for cheating being on any list for the All Star game
The only players who legitimately have an argument to be ahead of Hawpe in votes are Ibanez, Beltran and maybe Dunn. If Beltran continues to miss games due to injury then Hawpe should pass him and Dunn will probably slip back to hitting under .250 by the time the All Star game rolls around. Hawpe needs to be starting in St Louis for the Mid-Summer Classic.
Vote now. Vote often. Get Hawpe into the game as a starter.
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