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OAKLAND - Eric Chavez 25 L/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 OAK 153 501 139 23 4 26 89 86 62 94 277 355 495 2 2
2001 OAK 151 552 159 43 0 32 91 114 41 99 288 338 540 8 2
2002 OAK 153 585 161 31 3 34 87 109 65 119 275 348 513 8 3
      A very good hitter and fielder, Chavez has only one problem that is keeping him from being a great player: he can't hit left-handers. Last year he hit just .209 against lefties. But the Athletics aren't complaining with what they've got, and, at age 25, he still figures to get better. If he ever solves left-handers he will be an MVP candidate.
ANAHEIM - Troy Glaus 27 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 ANA 159 563 160 37 1 47 120 102 112 163 284 404 604 14 11
2001 ANA 161 588 147 38 2 41 100 108 107 158 250 367 531 10 3
2002 ANA 156 569 142 24 1 30 99 111 88 144 250 352 453 10 3
      Glaus had a very disappointing regular season. I mean, there's nothing wrong with 30 homers and 111 RBI, but this is a guy who hit 47 home runs when he was 24 years old. The Angels want him to be Mike Schmidt, not Mike Pagliarulio.
      He was, of course, the World Series MVP; hopefully, the great finish to his season will be a sign of things to come. He is big and very strong, has a good eye, and a great power swing. But he's also prone to long, deep slumps.
MINNESOTA - Corey Koskie 30 L/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 MIN 146 474 142 32 4 9 79 65 77 104 300 400 441 5 4
2001 MIN 153 562 155 37 2 26 100 103 68 118 276 362 488 27 6
2002 MIN 140 490 131 37 3 15 71 69 72 127 267 368 447 10 11
      Koskie hit .253 in April, .353 in May, .225 in June, .355 in July, .180 in August, then settled down for a (yawn) .274 average in September. On the whole, it was a solid season; Koskie has no obvious positives, nor glaring negatives. He won't get much better than he was last year, should have a couple of decent seasons left.
TORONTO - Eric Hinske 26 L/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 AA 131 436 113 21 9 20 76 73 78 133 259 373 486 14 5
2001 AAA 121 436 123 27 1 25 71 79 54 113 282 373 521 20 7
2002 TOR 151 566 158 38 2 24 99 84 77 138 279 365 481 13 1
      The Rookie Of The Year is a good young hitter with power and speed and good plate discipline. Early in the season, Hinske's defense at third base was so bad that there didn't seem to be any way that the Jays could play him there. He got better as the year wore on; not good, but adequate enough that he will be Toronto's third sacker for at least a few seasons.
      Whether or not he gets much better depends on whether he can improve that ugly .202 batting average against left-handers. I will be surprised if Hinske is able to consistently hit for a good batting average, but I do expect 30 homers and a good on-base percentage in 2003.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX - Joe Crede 25 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 AA 138 533 163 35 0 21 84 94 56 111 306 384 490 3 4
2001 AAA 124 463 128 34 1 17 67 65 46 88 276 349 464 2 1
2002 AAA 95 359 112 21 0 24 57 65 26 48 312 359 571 0 1
2002 CHW 53 200 57 10 0 12 28 35 8 40 285 311 515 0 2
      After dicking around for three years, the White Sox finally put Crede in the lineup, where he bashed the heck out of major pitchers for two months. I presume that he will stick with the team this year (though perhaps I presume too much); he needs to be more selective at the plate but has a real chance at hitting 35 home runs.
NEW YORK YANKEES - Robin Ventura 36 L/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 NYM 141 469 109 23 1 24 61 84 75 91 232 338 439 3 5
2001 NYM 142 456 108 20 0 21 70 61 88 101 237 359 419 2 5
2002 NYY 141 465 115 17 0 27 68 93 90 101 247 368 458 3 1
      Ventura gave the Yankees a good year with both the bat and glove, though his season had some dramatic splits. He hit .263 with 19 home runs before the All-Star break, only .227 afterwards. Surprisingly, he hit only .233 with 9 homers at Yankee Stadium, .260 with 18 dingers on the road. He hit just .218 against left-handed pitching. He probably has one more solid season in him before he can't hit a fastball.
TEXAS - Hank Blalock 22 L/R or Mike Lamb 28 L/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
BLALOCK
2000 A 139 512 153 32 2 10 66 77 62 53 299 373 428 31 8
2001 A 63 237 90 19 1 7 46 47 26 31 380 437 557 7 4
2001 AA 68 272 89 18 4 11 50 61 39 38 327 413 544 3 3
2002 AAA 95 387 119 32 1 8 63 62 34 61 307 363 457 2 1
2002 TEX 49 147 31 8 0 3 16 17 20 43 211 306 327 0 0
LAMB
2000 TEX 138 493 137 25 2 6 65 47 34 60 278 328 373 0 2
2001 TEX 76 284 87 18 0 4 42 35 14 27 306 348 412 2 1
2002 TEX 115 314 89 13 0 9 54 33 33 48 283 354 411 0 0
      The Rangers have a number of options at this position. The first is Blalock, who was the third baseman on opening day last year, but struggled and was demoted early in the season. Blalock was a super prospect a year ago, and is still only 22 years old; I expect he will get another chance to play, and will perform much better than he did last season.
      Blalock is an outstanding young hitter, but the Rangers think that Mark Teixeira is even better. Teixeira is a switch-hitting power hitter who has played only one year of pro ball. He ate up pitching in the lower minors, and has a chance ot make the Rangers' roster this spring. If Teixeira is the third baseman of the future, then Blalock needs to find another position.
      There is also the possibility that Blalock will move to second, but Teixeira will remain in the minors for at least a few more months. Last year's regular third baseman was Herbert Perry, who did a solid job and is still on the roster. Perry has bad knees and will be used as a DH, but could also play some more third. And don't forget Mike Lamb, who plays all over the place and even caught a few games last year. Lamb's a decent hitter, but he never developed as much power as he should have.
      The Rangers have a nice problem, trying to make room for two young players as talented as Blalock and Teixeira. My guess is that Blalock starts the year at third, while Teixeira goes to Oklahoma. Teixeira will get called up sometime during the summer, by which time someone will have played themselves out of the lineup.
BALTIMORE - Tony Batista 29 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 TOR 154 620 163 32 2 41 96 114 35 121 263 307 519 5 4
2001 TOR-BAL 156 579 138 27 6 25 70 87 32 113 238 280 435 5 2
2002 BAL 161 615 150 36 1 31 90 87 50 107 244 309 457 5 4
      At the break, Batista was hitting .269 with 19 homers, good enough to get him into the All-Star Game. After the break he hit just .217 with 12 homers. Batista is an adequate player, a power hitting third baseman with a solid glove, but he gets messed up at the plate and is prone to long, disastrous slumps.
BOSTON - Shea Hillenbrand 28 R/R or Bill Mueller 32 S/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
HILLENBRAND
2000 AA 135 529 171 35 3 11 77 79 19 39 323 355 463 3 3
2001 BOS 139 468 123 20 2 12 52 49 13 61 263 291 391 3 4
2002 BOS 156 634 186 43 4 18 94 83 25 95 293 330 459 4 2
MUELLER
2000 SF 153 560 150 29 4 10 97 55 52 62 268 333 388 4 2
2001 CHC 70 210 62 12 1 6 38 23 37 19 295 403 448 1 1
2002 CHC-SF 111 366 96 19 4 7 51 38 52 42 262 350 393 0 0
      Hillenbrand had a great start to the season, batting .341 with 23 RBI in April, and carried those numbers to a surprisingly good season. I'm not sold on him as a quality player; his plate discipline is poor, and he really doesn't have a lot of power. He has to hit close to .300 to be effective, and I don't think he will in the future.
      The Red Sox, apparently, agree with me, or why would they get Bill Mueller? Mueller is the opposite of Hillenbrand, a guy who doesn't swing the bat much and doesn't hit the ball very far but does a good job of getting base. Who gets the most playing time may depend on the philosophy of the new management team in Boston.
KANSAS CITY - Joe Randa 32 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 KC 158 612 186 29 4 15 88 106 36 66 304 343 438 6 3
2001 KC 151 581 147 34 2 13 59 83 42 80 253 307 386 3 2
2002 KC 151 549 155 36 5 11 63 80 46 69 282 341 426 2 1
      Randa recovered from his poor 2001 season to have a nice little year for the Royals. I don't expect him to hit .300 again, but he will hang around his career average, .285, for another couple of seasons.
      Randa's career stats, per 154 games:

 GM  AB  HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS 
154 553 158 31  5 11  68  77 44 74 285 340 423  6  4

      Talk about having a "career year".
CLEVELAND - Ricky Gutierrez 33 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
2000 CHC 125 449 124 19 2 11 73 56 66 58 276 375 401 8 2
2001 CHC 147 528 153 23 3 10 76 66 40 56 290 345 402 4 3
2002 CLE 94 353 97 13 0 4 38 38 20 48 275 325 346 0 1
      Gutierrez was signed by the Indians to be their second baseman. He was OK, but he strained his groin in June, and was put out for the season in August with an upper neck strain. He had surgery after the season, and began rehab after spending six weeks in a neck brace.
      Gutierrez doesn't really hit enough to be a third baseman, but at least he can contribute with the bat. I have no idea whether he'll actually be able to play in April, but I also don't know who else the Indians might use at this position.
TAMPA BAY - Jared Sandberg 25 R/R or Chris Truby 29 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
SANDBERG
2000 AA 67 244 63 15 1 5 30 35 33 55 258 348 389 5 3
2001 AAA 93 322 77 16 0 16 39 50 38 81 239 331 438 0 1
2001 TAM 39 136 28 7 0 1 13 15 10 45 206 265 279 1 0
2002 TAM 102 358 82 21 1 18 55 54 39 139 229 305 444 3 2
TRUBY
2000 HOU 78 258 67 15 4 11 28 59 10 56 260 295 477 2 1
2001 HOU 48 136 28 6 1 8 11 23 13 38 206 276 441 1 2
2002 MON-DET 124 382 82 18 4 4 35 22 10 98 215 238 314 2 2
      I have to be honest, and admit that I really have no idea where anyone is going to play this year in Tampa Bay. I'm guessing that their lineup is going to be completely different from what I have listed here, but so be it. At third base, they might use Aubrey Huff, but Sandberg is a better defensive player, so I am guessing that he will get a chance to play.
      The good news about Sandberg is that he is young, a good defensive player, and he has the potential to hit 30 home runs. The bad news is that his strikeout last year was one of the highest in baseball history. But heck, it's not as if the Rays have anything to lose by giving him another opportunity to play; I'd rather take a chance on Sandberg than I would Greg Vaughn.
      Chris Truby is also around if things don't work out with Sandberg. Truby's hitting record is just awful; in 776 career at bats, his on-base percentage is .264. But I guess that's why he's in Tampa Bay.
SEATTLE - Jeff Cirillo 34 R/R and John Mabry 32 L/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
CIRILLO
2000 COL 157 598 195 53 2 11 111 115 67 72 326 392 477 3 4
2001 COL 138 528 165 26 4 17 72 83 43 63 312 364 473 12 2
2002 SEA 146 485 121 20 0 6 51 54 31 67 249 301 328 8 4
MABRY
2000 SEA-SD 95 226 53 13 0 8 35 32 15 69 235 287 398 0 1
2001 STL-FLO 87 154 32 7 0 6 14 20 13 46 208 287 370 1 0
2002 PHI-OAK 110 214 59 13 1 11 28 43 15 42 276 321 500 1 1
      Cirillo had, by any measure, a dreadful season. During the winter, he accused departed manager Lou Pinella of giving him a rough time; after all, how you we expect a professional athlete to perform when his manager doesn't like him? He's almost done; apart from a .304 against left-handers, there is nothing to like about his record.
      Mabry's career appeared to be on death's doorstep, but a trade to the Athletics and a hot June gave him new life. He's not really a good hitter, and he's not really a third baseman. But there's no room for him to play anywhere else, and third base is where the Mariners need the most help.
DETROIT - Dean Palmer 33 R/R or Shane Halter 33 R/R
YEAR TM GM AB HT DB TP HR RUN RBI BB SO AVG OBA SLU SB CS
PALMER
2000 DET 145 524 134 22 2 29 73 102 66 146 256 338 471 4 2
2001 DET 57 216 48 11 0 11 34 40 27 59 222 317 426 4 1
2002 INJURED
HALTER
2000 DET 105 238 62 12 2 3 26 27 14 49 261 302 366 5 2
2001 DET 136 450 128 32 7 12 53 65 37 100 284 344 467 3 3
2002 DET 122 410 98 22 6 10 46 39 39 92 239 309 395 0 4
      Palmer lost all of last season to back surgery, after missing the second half of 2001 with shoulder surgery. He's still hoping to make a comeback; given his injury problems and his concrete glove at third base, it would make sense to use him as the DH. But the Tigers also have to get Eric Munson and Dmitri Young in the lineup, so Palmer returns to third. After missing a season and a half, a successful comeback seems extremely unlikely; the only good news is that the Tigers are pulling in the left field fences.
      If Palmer gets hurt again, then Halter might get some regular playing time. Halter had a career year in 2001, wasn't so good last season. He's a decent utility infielder; the Tigers might also try Munson at third, or maybe Alan Trammell will just pencil himself into the lineup.


THIRD BASE - BOTH LEAGUES
1 Scott Rolen11 Joe Crede21 Craig Counsell
2 Eric Chavez12 Robin Ventura22 Ricky Gutierrez
3 Edgardo Alfonso13 Adrian Beltre23 Ty Wigginton
4 Troy Glaus14 Hank Blalock24 Jared Sandberg
5 Corey Koskie15 David Bell25 Mark DeRosa
6 Mike Lowell16 Tony Batista26 Brandon Larson
7 Eric Hinske17 Sean Burroughs27 Wes Helms
8 Jose Hernandez18 Shea Hillenbrand28 Jeff Cirillo
9 Mark Bellhorn19 Joe Randa29 Dean Palmer
10 Aramis Ramirez20 Geoff Blum30 Fernando Tatis