Since the Brewers have a day off and are 14 games into the season, we feel enough games have been played that we can start to look at league leaders and pull some meaning from them.
At 8-6, the Brewers are in third place and still within striking distance of the division lead in the AL East. Since the team as a whole hasn’t hit like they did last season, you can’t say that hitting has carried the team. And other than their current five game winning streak, it’s tough to say that pitching has carried them either. They’ve simply had enough of both to be above .500.
The one bright and shining offensive star for the Brewers early in the season has been Cecil Cooper. No surprise, really. What is a surprise, though, is that with a .443 batting average and 27 hits in 14 games, he doesn’t lead the American League. Eddie Murray (.509 and 28) leads both categories.
As you look through the American League and Brewers leaders, you’ll note that Cooper is really the only Brewer playing at a high level. No other member of the Crew is hitting above .300 (with enough at bats to qualify), and the Brewer with the second most hits (Charlie Moore) has 11 fewer than Cooper.
Two other offensive deficiencies come off as big surprises. While Ben Oglivie has four homers, only Don Money joins him with more than one round tripper (he has two). Gorman Thomas, who hit 21 last year and 38 in 1980, has yet to hit one out. For a team built on the home run ball, these are some startling numbers.
Is it possible, though, that the complete lack of stolen bases is more surprising than the power outage? Rickey Henderson leads the American League with 17 stolen bases. Granted, that’s a ridiculous number, but no member of the Milwaukee Brewers has more than one. No one. Paul Molitor, who stole 30-plus in each of his first three seasons, is one of the players with only a single swipe.
AL Batting Leaders 1. Eddie Murray (BAL) – .509 *2. Cecil Cooper (MIL) – .443 3. Toby Harrah (CLE) – .426 4. Randy Johnson (MIN) – .385 |
Brewers Batting Leaders 1. Cecil Cooper – .443 2. Charlie Moore – .296 3. Paul Molitor – .292 4. Gorman Thomas – .275 |
AL Hits Leaders 1. Eddie Murray (BAL) – 28 *2. Cecil Cooper (MIL) – 27 3. Enos Cabell (DET) – 26 4. Richie Zisk (SEA) – 25 |
Brewers Hits Leaders 1. Cecil Cooper – 27 2. Charlie Moore – 16 3. Paul Molitor – 14 4. Ben Oglivie – 14 |
AL Home Run Leaders 1. Kent Hrbek (MIN) – 8 2. Brian Downing (CAL) – 7 3. Toby Harrah (CLE) – 5 4. Andre Thornton (CLE) – 5 |
Brewers Home Run Leaders 1. Ben Oglivie – 4 2. Don Money – 2 3. Cecil Cooper – 1 4. Jim Gantner – 1 |
AL On Base Leaders 1. Eddie Murray (BAL) – .542 2. Toby Harrah (CLE) – .523 3. Rod Carew (CAL) – .487 *4. Cecil Cooper (MIL) – .462 |
Brewers On Base Leaders 1. Cecil Cooper – .462 2. Paul Molitor – .435 3. Gorman Thomas – .393 4. Charlie Moore – .345 |
AL RBI Leaders 1. Kent Hrbek (MIN) – 20 *2. Ben Oglivie (MIL) – 16 3. Eddie Murray (BAL) – 15 4. Amos Otis (KCR) – 15 |
Brewers RBI Leaders 1. Ben Oglivie – 16 2. Cecil Cooper – 12 3. Robin Yount – 9 4. Charlie Moore – 8 |
AL Runs Scored Leaders 1. Rickey Henderson (OAK) – 16 2. Kent Hrbek (MIN) – 16 3. Toby Harrah (CLE) – 15 4. Julio Cruz (SEA) – 14 |
Brewers Runs Scored Leaders 1. Paul Molitor – 13 2. Charlie Moore – 12 3. Gorman Thomas – 9 4. Cecil Cooper – 8 |
AL Slugging Leaders 1. Eddie Murray (BAL) – .891 2. Toby Harrah (CLE) – .722 3. Carl Yastrzemski (BOS) – .720 4. Andre Thornton (CLE) – .691 |
Brewers Slugging Leaders 1. Cecil Cooper – .590 2. Ben Oglivie – .517 3. Paul Molitor – .417 4. Charlie Moore – .389 |
AL Stolen Base Leaders 1. Rickey Henderson (OAK) – 17 2. Julio Cruz (SEA) – 6 3. Davey Lopes (OAK) – 6 4. Rod Carew (CAL) – 5 |
Brewers Stolen Base Leaders 1. Paul Molitor – 1 2. Ben Oglivie – 1 3. Ned Yost – 1 4. Robin Yount – 1 |