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Ranking the Lineup Positions 2006

Last year, I ranked the MLB lineup positions by OBP and found it quite interesting, so I figured I'd try it again for 2006.  Yes, we're in 2007 now, but these numbers give us a good insight into where the Phils' offensive strengths and weaknesses lay last year.  With that info, we can better evaluate the team's moves so far (and those forthcoming) for 2007.

So, to describe this again, these charts are a very simple ranking by OPS (if tied, then by OBP) of every team's lineup position for 2006.  For example, reading the first line of the chart below indicates that the best lineup position in all of baseball last year was the Cardinals' number 3 spot.  It's pretty obvious why:  unlike Ryan Howard, Albert Pujols didn't shift in the Cardinals lineup, so other than the time Pujols spent on the DL, the Cardinals had his amazing production almost every time the third spot in the lineup came to the plate.

How'd the Phils fare?  As you'd expect from the NL's top scoring offense, very nicely.  The Phils (highlighted in bold in the charts below) had 4 of the top 45 offensive lineup spots and 6 of the top 104.  The problem, as with 2005, is that the three other spots were pretty bad.  But, unlike 2005, the three other spots were 6-8-9, not 7-8-9. Thanks to the surprising second-half from the Phils' catchers, the number 7 spot in their lineup was pretty good.

The other thing to note about the Phils is how atrocious their 9-hole hitting was again in 2006.  In 2005, it was the second worst in baseball.  Last year, the team did 2005 one better, taking the trophy for the worst lineup spot in the majors with a .419 OPS.  Imagine what the Phils offense could do with league-average hitting pitchers and pinch hitters.

Here's the beginning of the list, numbers 1 through 100. 101-200 and 201-270 are listed in separate stories.

Rank TEAM Position BA OBP SLG OPS
1 St. Louis 3 0.333 0.429 0.662 1.091
2 Boston 3 0.278 0.404 0.607 1.010
3 Chicago Sox 5 0.334 0.391 0.610 1.002
4 Boston 4 0.308 0.416 0.567 0.984
5 Houston 3 0.296 0.403 0.580 0.983
6 Philadelphia 4 0.287 0.418 0.561 0.979
7 Florida 3 0.327 0.402 0.575 0.978
8 Chicago Sox 3 0.300 0.403 0.573 0.976
9 Chicago Sox 4 0.315 0.398 0.573 0.971
10 NY Mets 4 0.300 0.386 0.580 0.966
11 Colorado 3 0.315 0.415 0.550 0.964
12 Cleveland 4 0.319 0.411 0.545 0.956
13 NY Mets 3 0.265 0.376 0.577 0.953
14 Colorado 4 0.325 0.396 0.549 0.946
15 San Francisco 4 0.272 0.414 0.528 0.942
16 NY Yankees 5 0.290 0.402 0.532 0.934
17 LA Dodgers 5 0.311 0.385 0.537 0.921
18 Philadelphia 2 0.332 0.396 0.524 0.920
19 Minnesota 5 0.315 0.375 0.545 0.920
20 Atlanta 5 0.301 0.356 0.562 0.919
21 Colorado 5 0.313 0.382 0.534 0.916
22 Cleveland 1 0.294 0.378 0.538 0.916
23 Milwaukee 4 0.293 0.370 0.546 0.916
24 Minnesota 3 0.350 0.423 0.491 0.914
25 St. Louis 4 0.308 0.389 0.521 0.910
26 Cincinnati 6 0.313 0.383 0.527 0.910
27 LA Angels 4 0.314 0.373 0.528 0.902
28 Philadelphia 5 0.266 0.356 0.544 0.900
29 Pittsburgh 4 0.280 0.376 0.522 0.898
30 Chicago Cubs 3 0.306 0.377 0.520 0.897
31 Toronto 4 0.270 0.368 0.528 0.896
32 Atlanta 4 0.263 0.364 0.529 0.893
33 NY Yankees 4 0.277 0.389 0.501 0.890
34 Washington 1 0.277 0.357 0.530 0.887
35 Arizona 7 0.319 0.357 0.529 0.886
36 Toronto 5 0.295 0.354 0.532 0.886
37 NY Yankees 3 0.294 0.393 0.491 0.884
38 Toronto 3 0.301 0.355 0.527 0.882
39 Cleveland 6 0.317 0.365 0.515 0.880
40 Oakland 4 0.265 0.372 0.506 0.878
41 Atlanta 3 0.291 0.364 0.512 0.876
42 Detroit 5 0.309 0.382 0.487 0.869
43 Chicago Cubs 6 0.320 0.365 0.504 0.869
44 Oakland 7 0.300 0.368 0.500 0.868
45 Philadelphia 3 0.284 0.395 0.467 0.862
46 Florida 4 0.287 0.379 0.484 0.862
47 Kansas City 5 0.293 0.365 0.498 0.862
48 LA Dodgers 4 0.278 0.382 0.478 0.860
49 NY Yankees 7 0.310 0.368 0.489 0.858
50 San Francisco 5 0.284 0.345 0.514 0.858
51 Washington 4 0.269 0.390 0.467 0.857
52 Toronto 2 0.310 0.372 0.482 0.853
53 Chicago Cubs 4 0.278 0.349 0.504 0.853
54 Toronto 1 0.305 0.374 0.478 0.852
55 Atlanta 7 0.292 0.351 0.500 0.851
56 LA Angels 5 0.301 0.372 0.476 0.849
57 Texas 1 0.304 0.361 0.489 0.849
58 NY Mets 1 0.305 0.358 0.491 0.849
59 NY Yankees 1 0.294 0.365 0.483 0.848
60 St. Louis 5 0.287 0.335 0.511 0.846
61 Houston 4 0.241 0.358 0.484 0.842
62 Seattle 4 0.275 0.344 0.497 0.841
63 Toronto 8 0.309 0.382 0.455 0.837
64 Texas 4 0.273 0.360 0.477 0.837
65 San Diego 6 0.285 0.355 0.482 0.837
66 San Diego 5 0.280 0.359 0.475 0.834
67 Baltimore 4 0.313 0.364 0.468 0.832
68 Texas 3 0.283 0.351 0.481 0.832
69 Baltimore 6 0.285 0.358 0.472 0.830
70 Toronto 7 0.294 0.352 0.478 0.830
71 Pittsburgh 3 0.315 0.380 0.450 0.829
72 LA Dodgers 3 0.282 0.365 0.465 0.829
73 NY Yankees 2 0.309 0.381 0.445 0.826
74 Cincinnati 4 0.259 0.344 0.482 0.826
75 Cincinnati 7 0.286 0.348 0.477 0.824
76 Tampa Bay 4 0.274 0.344 0.480 0.824
77 NY Mets 6 0.270 0.341 0.480 0.821
78 Cleveland 3 0.261 0.359 0.461 0.820
79 NY Yankees 6 0.280 0.342 0.477 0.819
80 Arizona 2 0.281 0.351 0.466 0.817
81 Tampa Bay 1 0.288 0.341 0.475 0.816
82 Milwaukee 7 0.290 0.354 0.459 0.813
83 LA Dodgers 7 0.296 0.348 0.462 0.810
84 Detroit 8 0.276 0.332 0.476 0.809
85 Houston 6 0.274 0.355 0.452 0.808
86 Florida 2 0.279 0.332 0.476 0.808
87 LA Dodgers 1 0.297 0.366 0.441 0.807
88 Cleveland 5 0.284 0.350 0.456 0.806
89 Philadelphia 7 0.284 0.345 0.461 0.806
90 Minnesota 6 0.273 0.325 0.482 0.806
91 Detroit 4 0.289 0.341 0.464 0.805
92 Boston 7 0.286 0.346 0.458 0.804
93 Atlanta 2 0.290 0.361 0.441 0.803
94 Colorado 2 0.295 0.347 0.456 0.803
95 NY Mets 5 0.282 0.346 0.456 0.802
96 San Diego 4 0.275 0.342 0.459 0.802
97 Milwaukee 5 0.269 0.341 0.462 0.802
98 Seattle 5 0.264 0.335 0.466 0.801
99 Cincinnati 3 0.254 0.326 0.476 0.801
100 Milwaukee 6 0.261 0.334 0.465 0.800