Ludwick 2011 vs Gonzalez 2010

On Wednesday Ryan Ludwick drove in his 51st run of the year.  I got to thinking - how does his 2011 compare with Adrian Gonzalez's 2010?

Ludwick has appeared in 78 of the Padres 82 games this season.  His current stats:  .258/.324/.405, 109 OPS+, 10 HR, 51 RBI, 28 walks (1 intentionally), 61 strikeouts.  His total run production (wRC+) is 110.

Gonzalez through 78 games last season:  .297/.389/.518, 16 HR, 51 RBI, 57 walks (13 intentionally), 58 strikeouts.  Adrian's OPS+ is not displayed by Baseball-Reference, however they do have a stat called tOPS+, which measures how he did during the first half of the season relative to his average production during the first half.  Gonzalez tOPS+ was 105, so it's safe to assume his OPS+ exceeded 109.  Likely his wRC+ too.

I did not post these numbers to depress you.  I posted them because the RBI number jumped out at me.  RBIs, as you probably know, are more a reflection of how good the lineup is in getting folks on ahead of a hitter vice how good that hitter is.  But, for all of Ludwick's faults, he is driving runs at the same rate Gonzalez did in 2010.

Believe it or not, from an RBI perspective the Padres did manage to replace Gonzalez's production with Ludwick.  That despite the awful first 3 weeks of the season Ludwick threw up.

There likely will not be any posts this weekend, so until next Tuesday have yourselves an enjoyable, and safe, Fourth of July weekend.  See you then.