Julio Borbon
Posted by Andy on August 20, 2009
The other day, Julio Borbon became the only player since 1954 to have 4+ stolen bases in one of his first 6 career major league games:
Cnt CarGm Player Date Tm Opp GmReslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions +----+-----+-----------------+-------------+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+ 1 6 Julio Borbon 2009-08-15 TEX BOS W 7-2 5 5 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1st LF
Here are all the guys in the last 10 seasons to have a game with at least 2 stolen bases among his first 6 career games:
Cnt CarGm Player Date Tm Opp GmReslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions +----+-----+-----------------+-------------+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+ 1 6 Julio Borbon 2009-08-15 TEX BOS W 7-2 5 5 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1st LF 2 1 Trent Oeltjen 2009-08-06 ARI @PIT W 11-6 6 6 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 7th LF 3 6 Fernando Martinez 2009-06-01 NYM @PIT L 5-8 5 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2nd LF 4 2 Fernando Perez 2008-09-06 TBR @TOR L 4-7 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 5th PR LF 5 5 Brian Bocock 2008-04-05 SFG @MIL L 4-5 4 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 8th SS 6 6 Cameron Maybin 2007-08-24 DET NYY W 9-6 5 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 9th LF 7 6 Freddy Guzman 2004-08-23 SDP @NYM W 9-4 6 5 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1st CF 8 3 Ryan Freel 2001-04-06 TOR @NYY W 13-4 5 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 9th 2B 9 5 Rafael Furcal 2000-04-09 ATL SFG W 9-3 5 3 3 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1st SS
That's a pretty mixed bunch there.
And finally, here are all the guys to have at least 4 stolen bases in a game sometime in his first 100 career games:
Cnt CarGm Player Date Tm Opp GmReslt PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF ROE GDP SB CS BOr Positions +----+-----+-----------------+-------------+---+----+-------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+---+--+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---------+ 1 6 Julio Borbon 2009-08-15 TEX BOS W 7-2 5 5 2 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1st LF 2 65 Elvis Andrus 2009-06-30 TEX LAA W 9-5 4 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 9th SS 3 29 Dexter Fowler 2009-04-27 COL SDP W 12-7 6 4 3 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 1st CF 4 25 Luis Matos 2000-07-30 BAL CLE W 10-7 4 4 2 2 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 9th CF 5 27 Chris Stynes 1996-05-12 KCR @SEA L 5-8 5 5 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2nd LF 6 82 Brian Hunter 1995-09-28 HOU @CHC L 11-12 6 6 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 6th CF 7 47 David Hulse 1993-05-01 TEX MIL L 3-4 5 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1st CF 8 38 John Jaha 1992-09-12 MIL @BAL W 5-0 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 6th 1B 9 24 Kenny Lofton 1992-04-12(1) CLE BOS W 2-1 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1st CF 10 55 Ced Landrum 1991-10-05(2) CHC STL W 7-5 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 2nd CF RF LF 11 8 Alex Cole 1990-08-01 CLE KCR W 4-1 4 2 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 0 1st CF 12 32 Jerome Walton 1989-06-18 CHC @MON W 5-4 5 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 1st CF 13 96 Roberto Kelly 1989-05-15 NYY @CAL L 3-4 5 5 2 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 9th CF 14 58 Gerald Young 1987-09-14 HOU @LAD W 8-1 6 6 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4 0 1st CF 15 45 Tim Raines 1981-05-08 MON SFG L 3-4 5 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1st LF 16 30 Tim Raines 1981-04-21 MON PHI W 10-3 5 5 2 4 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1st LF 17 38 Rudy Law 1980-05-12 LAD CHC W 2-1 4 3 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 4 0 2nd CF 18 52 Pat Kelly 1969-05-30(2) KCR NYY L 4-5 8 7 1 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 2nd CF 19 37 Wally Moon 1954-05-25 STL CHC W 9-4 5 4 2 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1st CF
Wow, three guys have already done it this year and future HOFer Timmy Raines did it twice. This list is also a fairly mixed bag.
Note that the only guys to have at least 4 hits in the same game were Borbon, Gerald Young, Tim Raines on one occasion, and Pat Kelly. The only guys to have 5 stolen bases were Dexter Fowler and Alex Cole. I guess you need to have an "x" in your first name for that one.
And while this is slightly off-topic, have you noticed how bad the Red Sox defense has been against the stolen base this year? At the moment they have allowed both the most stolen bases (118) and the highest rate of success (86%) in all of baseball.
August 20th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Interesting, it's basically Lofton, Raines and a bunch of other guys 🙂
BTW do you think Raines is a slam dunk Hall of Famer? His vote percentage was in the 20's this year, and he's got Dawson, Blyleven and John (among others ahead of him). New eligibles Alomar, McGriff, Larkin and Edgar Martinez are on the way in 2004, with Palmeiro and Bagwell behind them in 2005. I suppose Raines will benefit from never being named as a 'roids user, although I thought he had a coke problem at one point? Then again who didn't in the 80s....
August 20th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Steroids and cocaine are very, very different in my book. Steroids are used to cheat. Cocaine is used for "recreation" in the same way as alcohol and other drugs. Raines came clean about his use, got help, and has helped many other people facing drug addiction issues.
I do think that Raines will be in the HOF. It's true that there are a bunch of good names coming up. Dawson and Blyleven will get in ahead of him. I think that Raines had the kind of career that simply looks better and better as time goes on as so few players are able to have the same type of impact.
August 21st, 2009 at 8:41 am
I agree that Raines should be a HoFer when you look at his career numbers (23 seasons, 1571 RS, 2605 H, 808 SB, 123 OPS+, 7x All-Star). He was probably the second-best lead off hitter of his era. His main disadvantages are having played most of his career (including his best years) in the media vacuum known as Montreal, and having played the exact same years as the best leadoff hitter ever, Rickey Henderson.
I also agree with Andy's comments about cocaine vs. steroids. There are many HoFers with personal off-field vices. The fact that Rock conquered his demon and helped others should be a plus, not a minus in the voters' eyes.
August 21st, 2009 at 8:49 am
I have to admit that it really bugs me when someone describes abuse of drugs or alcohol as a negative against the user's reputation. Nobody ever wakes up one day and decides to make themselves dependent on any substance, controlled or otherwise. Nobody wants to be an addict to anything. True, some people make bad decisions about the friends they keep, the substances they put in their body, and whether to be honest and/or seek help about it. But you know what? Everybody makes mistakes. Welcome to the human race. The issue is not whether you've made mistakes--it's whether you take responsibility and rectify them or not. In Raines' case, he made mistakes, and then took full responsibility, taking care not only of himself but working to help others with similar problems. What could possibly be more noble?
The attitude that drug addicts are bad simply serves to reinforce this idea within others and make it more shameful for people with addiction problems. That makes it more embarrassing and difficult to get help, and that makes people with such attitudes part of the problem. People with such attitudes have probably never had a loved one who suffers from addiction. It's pretty easy to cast stones at ballplayers and other celebrities. It's a lot harder when it's your partner, child, or best friend.
August 21st, 2009 at 10:44 am
I'm not sure if you guys are insinuating this, but I don't think Raines is falling short so far because of the cocaine issue. That might matter a little bit to a handful of voters, but I don't believe it's been dispositive. I think the much larger issue is that his HOF-quality seasons were in the '80s, and then he spent a looooong time as "only" a pretty good player, and then a 4th OF.
August 24th, 2009 at 10:37 pm
Perhaps so, but there are many players in the Hall with a few (or no) great seasons, followed by long careers of pretty good seasons. His career OPS+ (123) compares favorably with many HoFers - and OPS+ doesn't even consider his greatest asset, his base stealing ability. His 808 SB ranks 5th all-time (behind Rickey, Lou Brock, Billy Hamilton*, and Ty Cobb), and his 84.7% ranks second in SB% for those with 250+ SB. (Carlos Beltran's 88.3% ranks higher, but SB% tends to drop later in the career as the wheels slow down.)
But back to his OPS+; it was over 100 in 16 of the 18 seasons in which he had at least 300 PA, and 10 of the 11 seasons in which he had at least 500 PA - that's consistency. He posted a 125 or higher OPS+ eight times (6 of those 8 seasons having at least 600 PA, the other two having over 350 PA each), and a 145 or higher OPS+ three times, including a personal high of 151 (in 665 PA). In the decade in his prime (1982 - 1991, he averaged 145 GP/season with an OPS+ of 128 - and that figure doesn't factor in his 607 SB (in 717 attempts) during that time.
He may not be an upper-eschelon HoFer, but he clearly belongs there in my book.
*Footnote: Billy Hamilton played virtually hi entire career before the mmodern era" (1888-1901)