Active Batting Leaders – Through 2025

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2025.  With the end of spring training in sight and Opening Day right around the corner, let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading into the 2026 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Luis Robert 25
Tim Anderson 24
Andrew Vaughn 17
Yoan Moncada 16
Eloy Jimenez 14
Gavin Sheets 14

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 218
Yoan Moncada 133
Luis Robert 111
Andrew Vaughn 102
Eloy Jimenez 98

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 117
Luis Robert 65
Yoan Moncada 64
Andrew Vaughn 50
Andrew Benintendi 50

RBI

Name Total
Tim Anderson 73
Luis Robert 64
Yoan Moncada Continue reading →

Cardinals All Time Leaders – Through 2025

To paraphrase from a famous movie, the one constant through all the years has been baseball.  With a little more than a month until regular season baseball, we continue our look at the all-time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. Today, we take a deeper dive into the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals began life in 1891, joining the National League the following year after the dissolution of the old American Association.  They took on the Cardinal name starting in 1900 and have been a longtime rival of the Cubs.  I’ve seen 196 players don the Cardinal uniforms in them play 37 games, first in 2000 at Wrigley Field and most recently in a double header sweep against the White Sox last June.

Home Runs

Name Total
Scott Rolen 7
Jim Edmonds 6
Albert Pujols 6

Hits

Name Total
Scott Rolen 22
Albert Pujols 22
Jim Edmonds 20

Runs

Name Total
Jim Edmonds 16
Albert Pujols 14
Scott Rolen 13

RBI

Name Total
Albert Pujols 16
Scott Rolen 15
Jim Edmonds 14

Doubles

Name Total
Ryan Ludwick 4
Albert Pujols 3
Scott Rolen 3
Jim Edmonds 3
Fernando Vina 3
Jason Heyward 3
Yadier Molina 3

Triples Continue reading →

Landing A Big Fish

With the city of Chicago focused on the Bears playoff game against the Packers on Saturday night, the Cubs tried to steal the spotlight, signing third baseman Alex Bregman to a five-year, $175 million contract.  It’s the third-largest overall contract in Cubs history, behind only Jason Heyward’s $184 million deal signed prior to the 2016 season and Dansby Swanson’s $177 million deal signed prior to 2023, but the average annual value, including deferrals, is higher than both of those contracts.  The deal also reportedly includes a no trade clause.

This is the second straight offseason that the Cubs have targeted Bregman, who will turn 32 shortly after Opening Day.  He signed with the Red Sox last year, but opted out of his contract and re-entered free agency after slashing .273/.360/.462 with 18 home runs in just 114 games. Adding Bregman to the lineup pushes second-year player Matt Shaw into a utility role, which should leave him free to attend any future MAGA rallies should, say, Alex Jones choke on a Cheddarwurst.

This move follows the acquisition of starting pitcher Edward Cabrera earlier last week, signaling that the Cubs are preparing to go all-in for 2026 after falling in the NLDS last fall and with a number of key players hitting free agency following this season.

Playoff Batting Leaders

With their Wild Card Series tied at a game apiece, the Cubs will battle against the Padres this afternoon for the rights to move on and face the Brewers in the NLDS.  With that in mind, it’s time to take an updated look at the offensive leaders from the now 33 post-season games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Kris Bryant 4
Javier Baez 3
Paul Konerko 3
B.J. Upton 3
Dexter Fowler 3
Enrique Hernandez 3

Hits

Name Total
Kris Bryant 11
Javier Baez 11
Dexter Fowler 10
Anthony Rizzo 10
Moises Alou 9
Jason Heyward 9

Runs

Name Total
Dexter Fowler 7
Paul Konerko 6
Daniel Murphy 6
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Kris Bryant 5
Javier Baez 5
Continue reading →

Active Batting Leaders – Through 2024

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2024.  With the end of spring training in sight, Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading into the 2025 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 49
Tim Anderson 24
Luis Robert 22
Yoan Moncada 16
Avisail Garcia 15
Andrew Vaughn 15

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 273
Tim Anderson 218
Yoan Moncada 133
Avisail Garcia 101
Eloy Jimenez 98

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 129
Tim Anderson 117
Yoan Moncada 64
Avisail Garcia 58
Luis Robert 56

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 159
Tim Anderson 73
Yoan Moncada Continue reading →

Active Batting Leaders – Through 2023

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2023.  With the end of spring training in sight, Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2024 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 49
Tim Anderson 24
Luis Robert 20
Yoan Moncada 16
Avisail Garcia 15

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 273
Tim Anderson 218
Yoan Moncada 133
Avisail Garcia 101
Yolmer Sanchez 93

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 129
Tim Anderson 117
Yoan Moncada 64
Avisail Garcia 58
Luis Robert 50

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 159
Tim Anderson 73
Yoan Moncada Continue reading →

Active Batting Leaders – Through 2022

Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2022.  With the end of spring training in sight, Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2023 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 49
Tim Anderson 23
Avisail Garcia 15
Javier Baez 13
Miguel Cabrera 13
Yoan Moncada 13

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 273
Tim Anderson 194
Yoan Moncada 113
Avisail Garcia 101
Yolmer Sanchez 93

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 129
Tim Anderson 107
Avisail Garcia 58
Yoan Moncada 57
Yolmer Sanchez 46

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 159
Tim Anderson 68
Yoan Moncada Continue reading →

The Jason Heyward Era Ends

In news that was both surprising and unsurprising, Jed Hoyer announced before last night’s game that Jason Heyward was unlikely to return from his knee injury this year and that he and the Cubs would be parting ways this offseason.  Heyward, who has been on the IL with a knee injury since late June, has one year remaining on his contract.

Signed to an 8-year, $184 million contract back in December of 2015, Heyward never quite produced enough to justify his lofty contract and, as the Cubs failed to sustain their 2016 success, he became as much of a scapegoat as anyone else on the roster, seeing his playing time reduced.  However, his place in Cubs lore was set when he was credited with leading an inspiring players-only meeting during the 17-minute rain delay at the end of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, after which the Cubs stormed out and took the lead in the 10th inning.

In addition to a World Series ring, Heyward won Gold Glove awards in both 2016 and 2017.  His numbers with the Cubs, both in games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

Active Batting Leaders – Through 2021

Earlier this month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2021.  With the end of this abbreviated spring training in sight, the new Opening Day is right around the corner.  Let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2022 season.

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 45
Tim Anderson 21
Avisail Garcia 15
Javier Baez 13
Miguel Cabrera 14

Hits

Name Total
Jose Abreu 242
Tim Anderson 168
Adam Eaton 117
Avisail Garcia 101
Yoan Moncada 101

Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 116
Tim Anderson 94
Adam Eaton 60
Avisail Garcia 58
Yoan Moncada 53

RBI

Name Total
Jose Abreu 144
Tim Anderson 62
Avisail Garcia Continue reading →

Against The Cardinals All Time Leaders – Through 2021

cardinalsIn the past, we’ve looked at the all time leaders in both offensive and defensive categories for all 30 teams. This offseason, we will take our first ever look at those leaders against all 30 clubs.  We continue today with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Cardinals began life in 1891, joining the National League the following year after the dissolution of the old American Association.  They took on the Cardinal name starting in 1900.  I’ve seen them play 33 times at 3 different stadiums, including the 2015 NLDS and, most recently, last May at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Home Runs

Name Total
Moises Alou 6
Michael Barrett 4
Sammy Sosa 3
Aramis Ramirez 3

Hits

Name Total
Moises Alou 16
Derrek Lee 15
Michael Barrett 14
Aramis Ramirez 14
Corey Patterson 14

Runs

Name Total
Moises Alou 12
Sammy Sosa 12
Aramis Ramirez 10

RBI

Name Total
Moises Alou 14
Michael Barrett 10
Aramis Ramirez 9
Alex Gonzalez 9

Doubles

Name Total
Derrek Lee 6
Alex Gonzalez 4
Ryan Theriot 4

Triples Continue reading →