Chipper’s in left field, for now. There’s been some talk of him moving to first base, with Robert Fick presumably playing left field. I don’t know about that. Detroit fans report that Fick is a terrible outfielder, and Chipper really wasn’t that bad once he got his legs under him.
Offensively, Chipper is coming off of a stealthily good season. Some people had visions of an offensive breakout year removed from the defensive pressure of third base, and that didn’t happen. His home run, runs scored, and RBI totals were all the lowest in years. But his BA and OBP were each the second-highest of his career, and he hit .353/.483/.647 in the second half. The perception of an off year was probably due largely to (a) a prolonged HR slump in early summer, and (b) his numbers simply not looking as impressive compared to outfielders as they did next to third basemen.
Chipper needs about eight years at his current pace to hit 500 homers, a little less than nine to get 3000 hits.
Mac-
Love the new look.
David
Well, tell Merv. It’s almost all his doing. Well, I tinkered a little.
No, not that one.
Merv Rettenmund?
Mac’s website is too disciplined for Merv.