Five Numbers That Sum Up The Season
OPS+ |
K/AB |
BB/AB |
’10 UZR/150 |
CAR UZR/150 |
94 |
.261 |
.105 |
3.5 |
5.8 |
What It All Means
Brandon Inge continued to be what most expect him to be in 2010, a player that puts up slightly below average offensive numbers, but takes walks, strikes out a lot, and plays good defense. The pop in his bat seemed to deteriorate a bit, as he hit 28 doubles and only 13 home runs, an almost reverse of 2009 when he belted 27 home runs and 16 doubles, a sign likely indicative of him slowly passing his prime age-wise. One other concern that also is likely related to Inge’s age is his UZR/150. He had a career metric of over 6.0 coming into the year, but posted just a 3.5 in 2010, good for middle of the road at third base in the AL in 2010. It’s not that it’s a bad score, it’s just no longer as a good as he once was, and continues a slow downward trend from Inge since he peaked defensively in 2006.
What Does the Future Hold
Inge recently came to terms on a new two-year deal with the Tigers for $11 million, ensuring he’ll be the team’s starting third baseman for the next couple years, as they likely hope that one of their prized third base prospects develops enough over the next two years to inherit the job. Until then, the Tigers will have Inge, a reliable, hard-working player who loves playing for the Tigers, but whose skill-set is slowly declining and will likely continue to do so in the next couple seasons.