According to Stats Inc., center fielder Hunter Pence's .346 batting average entering Thursday was the fourth-highest (minimum 250 at-bats) for a rookie since 1940.
The top three rookie batting averages during that span: San Francisco's Dan Gladden (.351 in 1984), Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (.350 in 2001) and Boston's Wade Boggs (.349 in 1982).
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=NHLsubheadingStats style="COLOR: #ffffff; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #95322c" noWrap colSpan=18>Current Season Stats</TD></TR><TR class=bsubcontentStats style="COLOR: #ffffff; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #8e8d8c"><TD>G</TD><TD>AB</TD><TD>H</TD><TD>2B</TD><TD>3B</TD><TD>HR</TD><TD>RBI</TD><TD>R</TD><TD>BB</TD><TD>K</TD><TD>SB</TD><TD>CS</TD><TD>AVG</TD><TD>OBP</TD><TD>SLG</TD><TD>OPS</TD></TR><TR class=tro><TD>61 </TD><TD>258</TD><TD>89</TD><TD>21 </TD><TD>5</TD><TD>11</TD><TD>40</TD><TD>36</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>49</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>.345 </TD><TD>.372</TD><TD>.593</TD><TD>.965</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
July 6, 2007, 1:41PM
Pence enjoying sensational rookie season with Astros
The outfielder has been so incredible that observers as diverse as young female fans and an old-school manager are gushing with admiration
By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
As Hunter Pence returned from batting practice Thursday afternoon, a host of media surrounded his locker stall at Minute Maid Park, spilling over to the stall belonging to franchise icon Craig Biggio.
"Hunter," Biggio jokingly told his protégé, "I'll move out for you."
Just a week after Biggio became the 27th player in history to collect 3,000 hits, Astros reliever Dave Borkowski couldn't pass up a dig as Biggio sought refuge.
"Bidge," Borkowski exclaimed, "you're old news."
Since Biggio broke into the majors in 1988 and Jeff Bagwell joined him in 1991, Houston baseball has been identified with that twosome. Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt and Carlos Lee are now the high-priced leaders of the club. In Pence, the Astros have their future and a reason for optimism.
Pence, 24, is the latest matinee idol at Minute Maid Park, where even guys show up with the signs their girlfriends made declaring their love for the rookie center fielder from Arlington.
"Hunter, Feed the Masses," has become a popular theme on signs at Minute Maid Park.
One creative woman recently even vowed to dump her boyfriend for Pence, showing up at the stadium with a sign that read: "I'll dump this guy for you, Hunter."
"I'm kind of like, 'Come on, that's kind of mean for your boyfriend,' " Pence said. "I just saw the guy holding it up. I'm like, 'Why is he holding that up?' He was all pumped about
it. I don't know if I signed that one or not."
For the first time this season, Pence has enough plate appearances to qualify among the league leaders and his .345 batting average places him second in the National League.
That's why baseball men love him. With home runs in three consecutive games this week, he became just the fifth Astros rookie to accomplish that feat. The NL Rookie of the Month in May, he started July with four consecutive multi-hit games.
Lofty company
Only Matt Holliday (.352) of the Colorado Rockies has a higher batting average in the NL than Pence among the hitters who qualify. Since 1940, San Francisco's Dan Gladden (.351 in 1984), Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (.350, 2001), Boston's Wade Boggs (.349, 1982), Pence (.345) and Cincinnati's Hal Morris (.340, 1990) are the only rookies with at least 250 at-bats to have an average of at least .340.
Pence tries to downplay all the headlines he's making. Still, he's the newest young darling of Houston sports.
"I've seen some rookies kind of come on the scene like that," the Astros' Mark Loretta said. "He's made adjustments quicker than any other rookie I've seen, meaning they've kind of tried to pitch him every which way — all curveballs, fastballs in — and he seems to make the adjustment. Just when you think, OK, this guy, they've kind of figured him out or the scouting report is out on him a little bit, he seems to find a way to keep going."
Pence, who made his major league debut April 28, is still learning. He's more likely to point out his mistakes than his successes. He credits third base coach Doug Mansolino and manager Phil Garner for getting on him when he misses signs or fails to understand the nuances of the game.
"You're always going to give 100 percent, but you've also got to pay attention to the situation," he said. "There's one time I got thrown out at third. I felt like I could stretch a double into a triple with Adam Dunn (making the throw). I was wrong. I think there were two outs. And at second, you're already in scoring position.
"Unless I was 100 percent (certain), you can't go right there. You still hustle. In case you can make it and it's 100 percent, you go. But if not, you just shut it down and get back to the bag. As long as you're running hard and doing everything you can, there's nothing you can do different."
Running and effort haven't been a problem. Respecting the game and its past also haven't been an issue.
"He's been very respectful," Garner said of Pence. "It's refreshing in a lot of ways. There's nothing wrong with being cocky. But what you do appreciate, being in the game a long time, is that he appreciates the order of the game. There's a hierarchy. Craig Biggio should command a little bit of respect from younger players. The same would be true for Woody Williams. There's a certain amount of respect you pay to the guys who played the game and have played it a long time.
The next caretaker
"There's a few times when kids come to the game today they don't even know who Jeff Bagwell is. ... There's not this sense of fitting into a game and its history and its place and how important it is to respect the game and carry on our good traditions. There's a certain respect you pay to the game because you're kind of a caretaker of the game. You're picking it up from the way Bagwell left it and Willie Stargell or those other guys."
In Pence, the Astros have a young player who can carry on what Bagwell and Biggio have built.
The top three rookie batting averages during that span: San Francisco's Dan Gladden (.351 in 1984), Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (.350 in 2001) and Boston's Wade Boggs (.349 in 1982).
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=2 width="100%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=NHLsubheadingStats style="COLOR: #ffffff; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #95322c" noWrap colSpan=18>Current Season Stats</TD></TR><TR class=bsubcontentStats style="COLOR: #ffffff; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #8e8d8c"><TD>G</TD><TD>AB</TD><TD>H</TD><TD>2B</TD><TD>3B</TD><TD>HR</TD><TD>RBI</TD><TD>R</TD><TD>BB</TD><TD>K</TD><TD>SB</TD><TD>CS</TD><TD>AVG</TD><TD>OBP</TD><TD>SLG</TD><TD>OPS</TD></TR><TR class=tro><TD>61 </TD><TD>258</TD><TD>89</TD><TD>21 </TD><TD>5</TD><TD>11</TD><TD>40</TD><TD>36</TD><TD>10</TD><TD>49</TD><TD>7</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>.345 </TD><TD>.372</TD><TD>.593</TD><TD>.965</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
July 6, 2007, 1:41PM
Pence enjoying sensational rookie season with Astros
The outfielder has been so incredible that observers as diverse as young female fans and an old-school manager are gushing with admiration
By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
As Hunter Pence returned from batting practice Thursday afternoon, a host of media surrounded his locker stall at Minute Maid Park, spilling over to the stall belonging to franchise icon Craig Biggio.
"Hunter," Biggio jokingly told his protégé, "I'll move out for you."
Just a week after Biggio became the 27th player in history to collect 3,000 hits, Astros reliever Dave Borkowski couldn't pass up a dig as Biggio sought refuge.
"Bidge," Borkowski exclaimed, "you're old news."
Since Biggio broke into the majors in 1988 and Jeff Bagwell joined him in 1991, Houston baseball has been identified with that twosome. Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt and Carlos Lee are now the high-priced leaders of the club. In Pence, the Astros have their future and a reason for optimism.
Pence, 24, is the latest matinee idol at Minute Maid Park, where even guys show up with the signs their girlfriends made declaring their love for the rookie center fielder from Arlington.
"Hunter, Feed the Masses," has become a popular theme on signs at Minute Maid Park.
One creative woman recently even vowed to dump her boyfriend for Pence, showing up at the stadium with a sign that read: "I'll dump this guy for you, Hunter."
"I'm kind of like, 'Come on, that's kind of mean for your boyfriend,' " Pence said. "I just saw the guy holding it up. I'm like, 'Why is he holding that up?' He was all pumped about
it. I don't know if I signed that one or not."
For the first time this season, Pence has enough plate appearances to qualify among the league leaders and his .345 batting average places him second in the National League.
That's why baseball men love him. With home runs in three consecutive games this week, he became just the fifth Astros rookie to accomplish that feat. The NL Rookie of the Month in May, he started July with four consecutive multi-hit games.
Lofty company
Only Matt Holliday (.352) of the Colorado Rockies has a higher batting average in the NL than Pence among the hitters who qualify. Since 1940, San Francisco's Dan Gladden (.351 in 1984), Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (.350, 2001), Boston's Wade Boggs (.349, 1982), Pence (.345) and Cincinnati's Hal Morris (.340, 1990) are the only rookies with at least 250 at-bats to have an average of at least .340.
Pence tries to downplay all the headlines he's making. Still, he's the newest young darling of Houston sports.
"I've seen some rookies kind of come on the scene like that," the Astros' Mark Loretta said. "He's made adjustments quicker than any other rookie I've seen, meaning they've kind of tried to pitch him every which way — all curveballs, fastballs in — and he seems to make the adjustment. Just when you think, OK, this guy, they've kind of figured him out or the scouting report is out on him a little bit, he seems to find a way to keep going."
Pence, who made his major league debut April 28, is still learning. He's more likely to point out his mistakes than his successes. He credits third base coach Doug Mansolino and manager Phil Garner for getting on him when he misses signs or fails to understand the nuances of the game.
"You're always going to give 100 percent, but you've also got to pay attention to the situation," he said. "There's one time I got thrown out at third. I felt like I could stretch a double into a triple with Adam Dunn (making the throw). I was wrong. I think there were two outs. And at second, you're already in scoring position.
"Unless I was 100 percent (certain), you can't go right there. You still hustle. In case you can make it and it's 100 percent, you go. But if not, you just shut it down and get back to the bag. As long as you're running hard and doing everything you can, there's nothing you can do different."
Running and effort haven't been a problem. Respecting the game and its past also haven't been an issue.
"He's been very respectful," Garner said of Pence. "It's refreshing in a lot of ways. There's nothing wrong with being cocky. But what you do appreciate, being in the game a long time, is that he appreciates the order of the game. There's a hierarchy. Craig Biggio should command a little bit of respect from younger players. The same would be true for Woody Williams. There's a certain amount of respect you pay to the guys who played the game and have played it a long time.
The next caretaker
"There's a few times when kids come to the game today they don't even know who Jeff Bagwell is. ... There's not this sense of fitting into a game and its history and its place and how important it is to respect the game and carry on our good traditions. There's a certain respect you pay to the game because you're kind of a caretaker of the game. You're picking it up from the way Bagwell left it and Willie Stargell or those other guys."
In Pence, the Astros have a young player who can carry on what Bagwell and Biggio have built.
