sgm@g.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA (Sherri Menees) (09/26/85)
A couple of other NL rookies having fine years, though for basement-dwelling teams are Chris Brown of San Francisco and Joe Orsulak of Pittsburgh. Orsulak is playing centerfield and batting lead-off for the 'new-look' Bucs, and going into last night's games he and Brown were leading NL rookies in batting average with averages up in the .280's. Orsulak doesn't have the stolen base totals that Coleman has (who does), but my feeling is that he's a more effective lead-off hitter because he gets on base more. Brown is the Giants regular third-baseman. He appears to be playing steady third-base, is hitting for reasonable average, and has something 16 or so home runs this year. I don't know what his RBI totals are like, but remember, he's playing for the Giants. I have to admit a little bias towards these guys and Browning of the Reds. Coleman has gotten a lot of media hype, but my feeling is that the other guys are doing a better all-around job. I'd feel better about Coleman if he did something other than steal bases. Of course, the last guy who showed up and started stealing this many bases has developed into one of the best players in baseball. In the AL, I tend to lean toward Ozzie Guillen for Rookie of the Year, although Riles of Milwaukee is having a fine year as well. But I think that the player from this year's crop that's eventually going to emerge as the best is Odibe McDowell. Sherri Menees sgm@cmu-cs-g