Baltimore Orioles Nick Markakis: O’s Comeback Player of the Year – 2014
Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
Yep, that’s right. You read it here on The Baltimore Wire – Nick Markakis will be the comeback player of the year for the Orioles in 2014. And after that happens, next October I will remind you about this article posted on this date of December 11, 2013, and I will crow loudly about it. If by some unimaginable odd chance it does not happen as I predict, I’ll still mention it … just not quite as loudly.
Without doubt in 2013, Nick Markakis had his worst season ever for the Baltimore Orioles. Why? Why now? Why after being such a consistent hitting machine for so long?
Well, two possibilities – at age 30 he has peaked in his career and is on the downslide, or, he had nagging injuries that prevented his best performance. Other possibilities – such as he got his big payday and does not care enough to put out his best performance – can be written off as ridiculous, given our knowledge of the man’s character and his career in Baltimore.
I have a friend who is very loyal to me, as he is to anyone who is his friend or co-worker. He is almost loyal to a fault. So while I appreciate his affirmation of me and my work to those who criticize, in a way, his loyal support does not sometimes get me very far since everyone knows he is like this. And that is how Buck Showalter is about his players.
Even so … Showalter looks for Markakis to have a renovation in 2014. He has said, “You get some people who always want you to know what is wrong with them. With Nick, probably half the things we don’t even know. Someone told me the other day that he is about as good as he’s felt and looked in a long time.”
So there you have it … an A+ endorsement!
And of the factor of several injuries and surgeries, Buck said, “We’ll see. Most of it is health. He is such an internal guy with things like that.”
I do think Buck is a “loyal to a fault” sort of guy about HIS players, but I agree with him on Markakis. And I believe this past season got going before Nick could 100% rehab from the stuff that he endured in 2012. That is such a more logical explanation than some drop-off of skills that would simply not happen with a hitter at his level. Remember the statistic of a streak of consecutive series with a base hit that ended in 2011 with some ridiculous number of about 170 series? A player who did that at age 27 is not going to drop off at age 30. Here are the numbers on Nick …
Year |
Age
G
PA
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SO
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
2006
22
147
542
491
72
143
25
2
16
62
43
72
.291
.351
.448
.799
2007
23
161
710
637
97
191
43
3
23
112
61
112
.300
.362
.485
.848
2008
24
157
697
595
106
182
48
1
20
87
99
113
.306
.406
.491
.897
2009
25
161
711
642
94
188
45
2
18
101
56
98
.293
.347
.453
.801
2010
26
160
709
629
79
187
45
3
12
60
73
93
.297
.370
.436
.805
2011
27
160
716
641
72
182
31
1
15
73
62
75
.284
.351
.406
.756
2012
28
104
471
420
59
125
28
3
13
54
42
51
.298
.363
.471
.834
2013
29
160
700
634
89
172
24
0
10
59
55
76
.271
.329
.356
.685
My guess is that Nick Markakis spends about one-half of his time thinking about what a poor season he had and what he has to do to change that. I guarantee he is miserable inside; and he is likely working out to address the issues that were inhibiting his top level of performance.
The question arises as to if Markakis should be the leadoff hitter for the Orioles. On that subject Buck said, “He’s one of the guys, if I have to fill it internally, he’s a guy that, at the end of the day, we’d look at. In a perfect world, I’d rather not, but I could and I think Nick would do a fine job.”
What is not to like about Markakis as a leadoff hitter? Though his career average is .292, when batting leadoff he is hitting 37 points higher (.329/.375/.441). Nick has a better eye at the plate than any umpire, and he is patient and works pitchers into deep counts while running up their pitch numbers.
The sense in which Markakis is not a leadoff hitter is his rather ordinary foot speed. He is not much of a stolen base threat, but he is a smart baserunner. I think he is the
best option the Baltimore Orioles have for leadoff.
Of course I’d rather have Shin-soo Choo! Tweet me when it happens!
Twitter: @OSayOrioles / @BaltimoreWireFS