up to this point, Michael hasn't played this much in one season. and
unfortunately in September, the injury bug began to bite. first, he
developed a sore left pectoral muscle one day during batting practice.
10 days later, he suffered a left groin injury when trying to avoid a
tag in a game. unlike last year where his injury was season ending,
Michael has not yet been shut down. he was able to pinch hit for the
first time all season this month in a couple of games. however, he did
not play in 7 full games because of his ailments.
i was sad to find out about Michael's injuries. his pec was not that big of a problem and he didn't miss much time because of it. but this groin injury is a more pressing issue, and bringing him back before he's ready could do more harm than good. i wanted him to finish his season strong, get as many plate appearances as possible, and have as high a batting average as possible. plus i know he doesn't want to end his season sitting on the bench and being out hurt, and i didn't want this to be déjà vu for him. but, if it's in his best interest for him to sit out the final games in October, then that's what must be done. no point in pushing him now, especially since this team will not be going to the playoffs.
in spite of missing out on what could have been approximately 25 more at bats this month, Michael managed to keep a respectable batting average. he hit very well for the month. he had a hit in 15 of the 19 games he played and reached base in 16 games. he also had a modest 5-game hitting streak to start September and finishes the month on a 7-game hitting streak. out of all the players who got regular at bats all season, he still maintains the highest batting average on the team.
while Michael did manage to surpass his father's career high RBI total in a season this month, he did not have many RBIs in September due to a few different reasons. one being that a lot of times when Michael went to bat and got a hit, nobody was on base or in scoring position. but the main reason is that Michael was intentionally walked a total of 9 times, purposely taking away his opportunities to get an RBI hit. and considering he did only play in 19 games this month, that's an extremely high intentional walk ratio. does this make me sad? absolutely. so many times i wanted to see Michael get the big hit and be the hero of the game, and so many times the other team denied me this desire. Michael can take that as a compliment though, knowing he is beginning to be respected in the league as a good hitter in the clutch. that's certainly better than the alternative of knowing a weaker hitter was batting behind him and the opposing pitcher would rather face that guy instead... which brings me back to missing Michael leading off. maybe the new manager will put him back there next year.
as usual, Michael's center field defense continues to be highlighted by spectacular catches and numerous putouts. i was a bit surprised that he has not played in left field at all this season, but finally the Indians see how great and legitimate a CF he is, and don't want to move him from there. i know he prefers center field, and i'm glad that's worked out for him.
once again, Michael mainly batted in the 4th and 5th spots in the lineup. but coming in to pinch hit put him in other/abnormal spots, and that in turn extended my break downs of his September blog #s.
so let's break down those numbers. i am going to document his September #s, the September 4th spot/overall 4th spot #s, the September 5th spot/overall 5th spot #s, the September 2nd spot/overall 2nd spots #s, the September 7th spot/overall 7th spot #s, the September 6th spot/overall 6th spot #s, the September 8th spot/overall 8th spot #s, his September PH/overall PH #s, his September center/overall center #s, and the overall #s of everything other than leadoff. i will include his overall #s so far here as well.
September batting average: .313 (20-64)
OBP: .421
SLG: .344
OPS: .765
Michael played in 19 (of 27) games in September. he started and played center in 16 games, and he came in in late innings to PH in 3 games. he had 1 plate appearance in 2 of the games that he did not start, and 4 plate appearances in the 3rd game that he did not start. he missed 7 games due to injury.
Michael bat 4th in 6 games.
Michael bat 5th in 9 games.
Michael bat 2nd in 1 game.
Michael bat 7th in 1 game.
Michael bat 6th in 1 game.
Michael bat 8th in 1 game.
Michael played center in 18 games.
Michael was the PH in 3 games.
in September, Michael had a total of 76 plate appearances and 64 at bats. here is how he fared:
20 hits
18 singles
2 doubles
0 triples
0 home runs
5 RBIs
11 runs scored
12 walks (9 intentional)
2 strikeouts
0 stolen bases
4 first at bat hits
September batting average: .313 (20-64) (19 games)
now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.
when Michael bat 4th in September, he had a total of 26 plate appearances and 24 at bats in 6 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
7 hits
7 singles
3 runs scored
2 walks (1 intentional)
0 strikeouts
2 first at bat hits
September batting average in the 4th spot: .292 (7-24) (6 games)
overall batting average so far in the 4th spot: .225 (20-89) (24 games)
overall batting average so far in the 4th spot while playing center: .241 (20-83) (22 games)
overall batting average so far in the 4th spot as the DH: .000 (0-6) (2 games)
when Michael bat 5th in September, he had a total of 40 plate appearances and 31 at bats in 9 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
10 hits
8 singles
2 doubles
5 RBIs
7 runs scored
9 walks (7 intentional)
1 strikeout
1 first at bat hit
September batting average in the 5th spot: .323 (10-31) (9 games)
overall batting average so far in the 5th spot: .308 (73-237) (65 games)
overall batting average so far in the 5th spot while playing center: .309 (72-233) (64 games)
overall batting average so far in the 5th spot as the DH: .250 (1-4) (1 game)
when Michael bat 2nd in September, he had a total of 4 plate appearances and 4 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 single
September batting average in the 2nd spot: .250 (1-4)
overall batting average so far in the 2nd spot: .278 (5-18) (5 games)
when Michael bat 7th, he was the PH in September for 1 game. he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 strikeout
September batting average in the 7th spot: .000 (0-1)
overall batting average in the 7th spot: .333 (14-42) (11 games)
September/overall batting average so far in the 7th spot as the PH: .000 (0-1) (1 game)
when Michael bat 6th, he was the PH in September for 1 game. he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
0 hits
0 strikeouts
September batting average in the 6th spot: .000 (0-1)
overall batting average so far in the 6th spot: .362 (21-58) (18 games)
overall batting average so far in the 6th spot while playing center: .368 (21-57) (17 games)
September/overall batting average so far in the 6th spot as the PH: .000 (0-1) (1 game)
when Michael bat 8th, he was the PH in September for 1 game. he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 hit
1 single
1 run scored
1 first at bat hit
September/overall batting average so far in the 8th spot as the PH: 1.000 (1-1) (1 game)
also when Michael bat 8th in this 1 game, he had 3 more plate appearances and 2 more at bats, for an overall total of 4 plate appearances and 3 at bats. including his 1 PA and 1 AB as a PH, breaking down the numbers for the 8th spot are as follows:
2 hits
2 singles
1 run scored
1 walk (1 intentional)
1 first at bat hit
September/overall batting average so far in the 8th spot: .667 (2-3) (1 game)
September/overall batting average so far as a PH: .333 (1-3) (3 games)
September batting average while playing center: .311 (19-61) (18 games)
overall batting average so far while playing center: .291 (156-536) (143 games)
September batting average everywhere other than leadoff: .313 (20-64) (19 games)
overall batting average so far everywhere other than leadoff: .301 (136-452) (125 games)
overall batting average so far in the leadoff spot: .227 (22-97) (22 games)
overall batting average so far as the DH: .100 (1-10) (3 games)
other overall #s so far while playing center: 336 putouts, 5 assists, 1 error, .997 fielding percentage (143 games)
now my game-by-game numbers and notes.
Game 129/Game 1, September 1: 1-4, single, run scored. AVG: .284
(batting 4th)
September 2: not in lineup (day off)
Game 130/Game 2, September 3: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .284
(batting 4th)
Game 131/Game 3, September 4: 1-2, RBI double (first at bat), run scored, intentional walk, walk. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)
Game 132/Game 4, September 5: 1-3, RBI single. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)
Game 133/Game 5, September 7: 2-3, single, run scored, intentional walk, RBI single, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .287
(batting 5th)
Game 134/Game 6, September 8: 0-3. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)
Game 135/Game 7, September 9: 1-4, walk, run scored, single, run scored. AVG: .285
(batting 4th)
Game 136/Game 8, September 10: 1-4, single. AVG: .285
(batting 2nd)
Game 137/Game 9, September 11: 0-1. AVG: .285
(PH, batting 7th)
^^Michael did not start this game because he was supposed to have a day off. but he came in in the top of the 8th inning to pinch hit, and then played defense in center in the bottom of the 8th.^^
Game 138/Game 10, September 12: 1-4, single. AVG: .284
(batting 4th)
September 13: not in lineup
^^Michael was originally in the lineup batting 4th, but was a late scratch due to left pectoral soreness he suffered during batting practice.^^
September 14: not in lineup
Game 139/Game 11, September 15: 0-1. AVG: .284
(PH, batting 6th)
^^Michael did not start this game because of his left pec injury, but came in in the bottom of the 9th inning to pinch hit.^^
Game 140/Game 12, September 16: 0-3, walk (first at bat), reached on force out, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .282
(batting 5th)
Game 141/Game 13, September 18: 1-5, single, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .281
(batting 5th)
Game 142/Game 14, September 19: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .281
(batting 5th)
Game 143/Game 15, September 20: 2-4, single (first at bat), single, intentional walk. AVG: .283
(batting 4th)
Game 144/Game 16, September 21: 1-3, intentional walk (first at bat), RBI single. AVG: .283
(batting 5th)
Game 145/Game 17, September 22: 1-4, single, reached on fielding error. AVG: .283
(batting 4th)
Game 146/Game 18, September 23: 3-5, single, intentional walk, run scored, double, run scored, single. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)
September 24: not in lineup
^^Michael will miss the next couple games because of a sore left groin according to Acta. he injured his groin during a rundown in the 6th inning of the September 23 game.^^
September 25: not in lineup
September 26: not in lineup
September 28: not in lineup
Game 147/Game 19, September 29: 2-3, single (first at bat), run scored, intentional walk, single. AVG: .288
(PH, batting 8th)
^^Michael did not start this game because of his left groin injury, but came in in the bottom of the 8th inning to pinch hit, and then played defense in center in the top of the 9th inning. because the game went 14 innings, Michael came to the plate 3 more times and remained in center through the 14th.^^
September 30: not in lineup
^^Michael also finishes the month on a 7-game hitting streak.^^
so far in 2012, Michael has a total of 605 plate appearances and 549 at bats in 147 games. in total, he has 158 hits, 111 singles, 37 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, 60 RBIs (4 sac flies), 63 runs scored, 52 walks (12 intentional), 56 strikeouts, and 12 stolen bases (9 caught stealing).
season batting average: .288 (158-549)
OBP: .347
SLG: .403
OPS: .750
**one thing to note: because October only contains 3 games, it would be silly for me to do an October #s blog. what i will do instead is add in Michael's October #s, assuming he plays in any of the final 3 games, to his September #s in a new blog. i just wanted to make sure i had all his September #s documented separately.**
i was sad to find out about Michael's injuries. his pec was not that big of a problem and he didn't miss much time because of it. but this groin injury is a more pressing issue, and bringing him back before he's ready could do more harm than good. i wanted him to finish his season strong, get as many plate appearances as possible, and have as high a batting average as possible. plus i know he doesn't want to end his season sitting on the bench and being out hurt, and i didn't want this to be déjà vu for him. but, if it's in his best interest for him to sit out the final games in October, then that's what must be done. no point in pushing him now, especially since this team will not be going to the playoffs.
in spite of missing out on what could have been approximately 25 more at bats this month, Michael managed to keep a respectable batting average. he hit very well for the month. he had a hit in 15 of the 19 games he played and reached base in 16 games. he also had a modest 5-game hitting streak to start September and finishes the month on a 7-game hitting streak. out of all the players who got regular at bats all season, he still maintains the highest batting average on the team.
while Michael did manage to surpass his father's career high RBI total in a season this month, he did not have many RBIs in September due to a few different reasons. one being that a lot of times when Michael went to bat and got a hit, nobody was on base or in scoring position. but the main reason is that Michael was intentionally walked a total of 9 times, purposely taking away his opportunities to get an RBI hit. and considering he did only play in 19 games this month, that's an extremely high intentional walk ratio. does this make me sad? absolutely. so many times i wanted to see Michael get the big hit and be the hero of the game, and so many times the other team denied me this desire. Michael can take that as a compliment though, knowing he is beginning to be respected in the league as a good hitter in the clutch. that's certainly better than the alternative of knowing a weaker hitter was batting behind him and the opposing pitcher would rather face that guy instead... which brings me back to missing Michael leading off. maybe the new manager will put him back there next year.
as usual, Michael's center field defense continues to be highlighted by spectacular catches and numerous putouts. i was a bit surprised that he has not played in left field at all this season, but finally the Indians see how great and legitimate a CF he is, and don't want to move him from there. i know he prefers center field, and i'm glad that's worked out for him.
once again, Michael mainly batted in the 4th and 5th spots in the lineup. but coming in to pinch hit put him in other/abnormal spots, and that in turn extended my break downs of his September blog #s.
so let's break down those numbers. i am going to document his September #s, the September 4th spot/overall 4th spot #s, the September 5th spot/overall 5th spot #s, the September 2nd spot/overall 2nd spots #s, the September 7th spot/overall 7th spot #s, the September 6th spot/overall 6th spot #s, the September 8th spot/overall 8th spot #s, his September PH/overall PH #s, his September center/overall center #s, and the overall #s of everything other than leadoff. i will include his overall #s so far here as well.
September batting average: .313 (20-64)
OBP: .421
SLG: .344
OPS: .765
Michael played in 19 (of 27) games in September. he started and played center in 16 games, and he came in in late innings to PH in 3 games. he had 1 plate appearance in 2 of the games that he did not start, and 4 plate appearances in the 3rd game that he did not start. he missed 7 games due to injury.
Michael bat 4th in 6 games.
Michael bat 5th in 9 games.
Michael bat 2nd in 1 game.
Michael bat 7th in 1 game.
Michael bat 6th in 1 game.
Michael bat 8th in 1 game.
Michael played center in 18 games.
Michael was the PH in 3 games.
in September, Michael had a total of 76 plate appearances and 64 at bats. here is how he fared:
20 hits
18 singles
2 doubles
0 triples
0 home runs
5 RBIs
11 runs scored
12 walks (9 intentional)
2 strikeouts
0 stolen bases
4 first at bat hits
September batting average: .313 (20-64) (19 games)
now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.
when Michael bat 4th in September, he had a total of 26 plate appearances and 24 at bats in 6 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
7 hits
7 singles
3 runs scored
2 walks (1 intentional)
0 strikeouts
2 first at bat hits
September batting average in the 4th spot: .292 (7-24) (6 games)
overall batting average so far in the 4th spot: .225 (20-89) (24 games)
overall batting average so far in the 4th spot while playing center: .241 (20-83) (22 games)
overall batting average so far in the 4th spot as the DH: .000 (0-6) (2 games)
when Michael bat 5th in September, he had a total of 40 plate appearances and 31 at bats in 9 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
10 hits
8 singles
2 doubles
5 RBIs
7 runs scored
9 walks (7 intentional)
1 strikeout
1 first at bat hit
September batting average in the 5th spot: .323 (10-31) (9 games)
overall batting average so far in the 5th spot: .308 (73-237) (65 games)
overall batting average so far in the 5th spot while playing center: .309 (72-233) (64 games)
overall batting average so far in the 5th spot as the DH: .250 (1-4) (1 game)
when Michael bat 2nd in September, he had a total of 4 plate appearances and 4 at bats in 1 game. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 single
September batting average in the 2nd spot: .250 (1-4)
overall batting average so far in the 2nd spot: .278 (5-18) (5 games)
when Michael bat 7th, he was the PH in September for 1 game. he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 strikeout
September batting average in the 7th spot: .000 (0-1)
overall batting average in the 7th spot: .333 (14-42) (11 games)
September/overall batting average so far in the 7th spot as the PH: .000 (0-1) (1 game)
when Michael bat 6th, he was the PH in September for 1 game. he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
0 hits
0 strikeouts
September batting average in the 6th spot: .000 (0-1)
overall batting average so far in the 6th spot: .362 (21-58) (18 games)
overall batting average so far in the 6th spot while playing center: .368 (21-57) (17 games)
September/overall batting average so far in the 6th spot as the PH: .000 (0-1) (1 game)
when Michael bat 8th, he was the PH in September for 1 game. he had a total of 1 plate appearance and 1 at bat. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
1 hit
1 single
1 run scored
1 first at bat hit
September/overall batting average so far in the 8th spot as the PH: 1.000 (1-1) (1 game)
also when Michael bat 8th in this 1 game, he had 3 more plate appearances and 2 more at bats, for an overall total of 4 plate appearances and 3 at bats. including his 1 PA and 1 AB as a PH, breaking down the numbers for the 8th spot are as follows:
2 hits
2 singles
1 run scored
1 walk (1 intentional)
1 first at bat hit
September/overall batting average so far in the 8th spot: .667 (2-3) (1 game)
September/overall batting average so far as a PH: .333 (1-3) (3 games)
September batting average while playing center: .311 (19-61) (18 games)
overall batting average so far while playing center: .291 (156-536) (143 games)
September batting average everywhere other than leadoff: .313 (20-64) (19 games)
overall batting average so far everywhere other than leadoff: .301 (136-452) (125 games)
overall batting average so far in the leadoff spot: .227 (22-97) (22 games)
overall batting average so far as the DH: .100 (1-10) (3 games)
other overall #s so far while playing center: 336 putouts, 5 assists, 1 error, .997 fielding percentage (143 games)
now my game-by-game numbers and notes.
Game 129/Game 1, September 1: 1-4, single, run scored. AVG: .284
(batting 4th)
September 2: not in lineup (day off)
Game 130/Game 2, September 3: 1-4, single (first at bat). AVG: .284
(batting 4th)
Game 131/Game 3, September 4: 1-2, RBI double (first at bat), run scored, intentional walk, walk. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)
Game 132/Game 4, September 5: 1-3, RBI single. AVG: .285
(batting 5th)
Game 133/Game 5, September 7: 2-3, single, run scored, intentional walk, RBI single, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .287
(batting 5th)
Game 134/Game 6, September 8: 0-3. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)
Game 135/Game 7, September 9: 1-4, walk, run scored, single, run scored. AVG: .285
(batting 4th)
Game 136/Game 8, September 10: 1-4, single. AVG: .285
(batting 2nd)
Game 137/Game 9, September 11: 0-1. AVG: .285
(PH, batting 7th)
^^Michael did not start this game because he was supposed to have a day off. but he came in in the top of the 8th inning to pinch hit, and then played defense in center in the bottom of the 8th.^^
Game 138/Game 10, September 12: 1-4, single. AVG: .284
(batting 4th)
September 13: not in lineup
^^Michael was originally in the lineup batting 4th, but was a late scratch due to left pectoral soreness he suffered during batting practice.^^
September 14: not in lineup
Game 139/Game 11, September 15: 0-1. AVG: .284
(PH, batting 6th)
^^Michael did not start this game because of his left pec injury, but came in in the bottom of the 9th inning to pinch hit.^^
Game 140/Game 12, September 16: 0-3, walk (first at bat), reached on force out, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .282
(batting 5th)
Game 141/Game 13, September 18: 1-5, single, run scored, intentional walk. AVG: .281
(batting 5th)
Game 142/Game 14, September 19: 1-4, RBI single. AVG: .281
(batting 5th)
Game 143/Game 15, September 20: 2-4, single (first at bat), single, intentional walk. AVG: .283
(batting 4th)
Game 144/Game 16, September 21: 1-3, intentional walk (first at bat), RBI single. AVG: .283
(batting 5th)
Game 145/Game 17, September 22: 1-4, single, reached on fielding error. AVG: .283
(batting 4th)
Game 146/Game 18, September 23: 3-5, single, intentional walk, run scored, double, run scored, single. AVG: .286
(batting 5th)
September 24: not in lineup
^^Michael will miss the next couple games because of a sore left groin according to Acta. he injured his groin during a rundown in the 6th inning of the September 23 game.^^
September 25: not in lineup
September 26: not in lineup
September 28: not in lineup
Game 147/Game 19, September 29: 2-3, single (first at bat), run scored, intentional walk, single. AVG: .288
(PH, batting 8th)
^^Michael did not start this game because of his left groin injury, but came in in the bottom of the 8th inning to pinch hit, and then played defense in center in the top of the 9th inning. because the game went 14 innings, Michael came to the plate 3 more times and remained in center through the 14th.^^
September 30: not in lineup
^^Michael also finishes the month on a 7-game hitting streak.^^
so far in 2012, Michael has a total of 605 plate appearances and 549 at bats in 147 games. in total, he has 158 hits, 111 singles, 37 doubles, 4 triples, 6 home runs, 60 RBIs (4 sac flies), 63 runs scored, 52 walks (12 intentional), 56 strikeouts, and 12 stolen bases (9 caught stealing).
season batting average: .288 (158-549)
OBP: .347
SLG: .403
OPS: .750
**one thing to note: because October only contains 3 games, it would be silly for me to do an October #s blog. what i will do instead is add in Michael's October #s, assuming he plays in any of the final 3 games, to his September #s in a new blog. i just wanted to make sure i had all his September #s documented separately.**
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