Mike Morse is in a League of His Own

It would be an understatement to say that Nationals 1B/OF Michael Morse was the team's offensive MVP for this season.

He led the team in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in, capturing the team's triple crown.  Only six other players (Matt Kemp, Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Lee, Miguel Cabrera, Jose Bautista, and Paul Konerko) led their ball club in all three categories. And for those who think Morse only did this because he was on a poor offensive team, you're wrong.  He was one of only three National League players (along with Kemp and Ryan Braun ) who finished in the top ten in all three triple crown categories. 

Nationals slugger Michael Morse

But anybody who follows baseball knows that Morse had a great season.  What makes Morse so interesting compared to other sluggers are his peripheral statistics, specifically his walk to strikeout ratio. 



Sluggers generally strike out a lot,  and Morse is no exception.  He struck out 126 times last year, more than Bautista (111), Mark Teixeira (110), Prince Fielder (106), and Nelson Cruz (116).



However, most power hitters also draw plenty of walks, which the Nationals cleanup hitter rarely does.  Of the league's 20 leading home run hitters this season who had at least 500 at bats, the fewest number of free passes taken besides the National's leading man was Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury, with 52.   Morse walked only 36 times.  This works out to a K/BB ratio of 3.50. 



For context, here are a few K/BB ratios from some of baseball's ERA leaders this year: Tim Lincecum - 2.56 K/BB ratio, Cole Hamels - 2.90 K/BB ratio, Josh Beckett - 3.39 K/BB ratio, and Ricky Romero - 2.23 K/BB ratio.



Yes, this is a small sample, and every pitcher has his own unique style, but the numbers are still fascinating.  Pitchers who earn a living by making hitters look foolish are not owning the strike zone the way the strike zone seems to be owning Mike Morse.

The OPS against averages of the pitchers mentioned above: Lincecum .646, Hamels .596, Beckett .608 and Romero .662.

Morse finished the year with an OPS average of .910. 

This is what makes baseball such a beautiful game.  Morse's batting eye  belies the offensive numbers he put up this season. 

Maybe his year was a fluke.  Only time will tell, but give the man some credit.  He has 1,140 career at bats and has been putting up numbers with terrible plate discipline his whole career.  Keep doing what you do Mike.  Forget all those sabermetricians who say you're bound to fall off your pace. 

It might be the offseason for the Nats, but it's never to early to start getting into beast mode.