Stating that Carlos Santana is not the greatest player on the Cleveland Indians’ roster is often regarded as blasphemy among statisticians. But the right-handed slugger is batting just .211/.347/.367. For the second season in a row, Santana’s average is lingering dangerously close to the Mendoza line, and he has hit just nine home runs to go along with that.
Those familiar with statistics know that on-base percentage is a much greater measure of performance than batting average. And in that regard, Santana is far above-average, especially given how often he needs to walk to compensate for his lack of hits.