In baseball circles, guys who hit way more singles than they do extra-base hits are called “banjo” or “Punch and Judy” hitters. Well, that’s mostly sluggers talking, and who are those guys to complain when they come to bat with more teammates on base? Anyway, you won’t notice anyone calling anyone on this list a wimpy hitter—not when they have this many singles. This is a Top 10 of active players in that category, and there are some potential Hall of Famers to be sure:
1. Omar Vizquel, San Francisco Giants (2068)—In addition to being one of the game’s greatest defensive shortstops of all-time, Omar Vizquel is a damn good hitter. That’s a fact that everyone tends to forget. But in 20 seasons, Omar is hitting .272 and in addition to all of these hits, has stolen 384 bases.
2 Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (1844)—A prototypical #2 hitter, Jeter is an absolute pest to opposing pitchers. And he’s a really tough out in the playoffs, though it looks like the guy will be watching the entire postseason from his couch for the first time ever.
3 Ivan Rodriguez, New York Yankees (1734)—I’m not accusing anyone of anything, but Pudge looks a lot leaner these days than he did a few seasons ago. Regardless, you can’t chemically enhance bat speed, and to hit this many singles you just have to be a talented hitter.
4. Gary Sheffield, Detroit Tigers (1630)—For a guy closing in on 500 home runs, you just wouldn’t really expect to find him on this list. But there it is—another guy who just makes contact. In fact, Sheff has never struck out more than 83 times in a season over his 21-year career.
5. Johnny Damon, New York Yankees (1570)—What? Another Yankee? Just goes to show the Steinbrenners don’t shell out the big bucks solely for home runs.
6. Luis Gonzalez, Florida Marlins (1570)—In addition to all of those base hits, Gonzalez has 596 doubles, 68 triples, 353 homers and 1436 runs batted in. Whether or not he’s a Hall of Famer is borderline, but Gonzo is surely in the conversation.
7. Garrett Anderson, Los Angeles Angels (1550)—Okay, so I read recently where Mark Teixeira, after being traded from the Braves to the Angels, said that he grew up watching Anderson play for the Angels. It amazed me that Anderson has been playing since 1994, and all with the Angels. And he’s been one of the best under the radar players in the game that whole time.
8 Ken Griffey, Chicago White Sox (1521)—Griffey has 609 home runs and 1144 extra base hits in all, but a guy has to mix in a few singles, too. The Hall of Fame waits.
9 Edgar Renteria, Detroit Tigers (1519)—Renteria is still only 32, and has over 2000 hits. Here’s another guy who just quietly produces, every single (no pun intended) year. Well, most every year.
10. Jason Kendall, Milwaukee Brewers (1504)—And this guy is only 34? That’s 104 in catcher years, but Kendall stays in great shape and still hits the crap out of the ball. He’s lost most of his power stroke, but still has a lifetime .294 batting average.
Source: Baseball Reference
Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez tied a Major League Baseball record Thursday night by recording his 57th save of the season in the Halos’ 7-4 win over the Seattle Mariners.
