Athletics Nation · Feb 13, 2021
“Now Leading Off For Oakland...”
“Good outfielder, lousy ump.” Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports I’m the kind of guy who likes to take things in chronological order, and I figure that the A’s first batter in 2021 will be their lead off hitter so why not start by talking about that spot in the order?
With the departure of Marcus Semien, there is no obvious leadoff hitter to set the table. Then again, Semien was hardly a natural solution but took to the spot better than his career numbers to date would have predicted.
Today, I am here to make the case for a Ramon Laureano, who may have fallen out of favor with some fans following a subpar 2020 campaignlet (54 games, or exactly 1/3 of a regular season).