The Top Starts of 2002

May 7, 2002 - © Greg Spira

The top offensive players of the season so far thru May 5th, as ranked by on-base percentage plus slugging average (OPS):

NL

1. Barry Bonds - 1.527 - No one wants to face Bonds right now. He has a wacky .628 on-base percentage. It's unlikely he'll come close to 70 home runs again, and he may not even get to 100 RBIs because no one will pitch to him in any tight situation. Nothing like this has ever happened in baseball history.

2. Sammy Sosa - 1.247 - The Cubs may be struggling this year, but it's not Sammy's fault. His 13 home runs lead the majors

3. Jim Edmonds - 1.189 - The Cardinals' centerfielder had a bit of an off year last year but he's off to an awesome start.

4. Manny Ramirez - 1.176 - Manny had a similar great start last year before falling off in the second half; the Red Sox hope he can keep it up this year.

5. Vlad Guerrero - 1.153 - This bad ball hitter is finally starting to walk

6. Cliff Floyd - 1.110 - Will likely be the best player traded this season.

7. Mike Lowell- 1.100 - The former Yankee prospect is having a breakout season

8. Lance Berkman 1.080 - Continuing his 2001 efforts

9. Alex Rodriguez - 1.080 - Clearly still the best player in the American League

10. Torii Hunter - 1.048 - If his great offensive start is not a fluke, he's an amazing player

11. Ruben Sierra - 1.019 - Has gone from the stupidest player in baseball (according to Joe Torre) to the Comeback Kid

12. Jeff Bagwell - .993 - Just another typical year for this future Hall of Famer

13. Ryan Klesko - .985 - The Padres have struggled, but Klesko has not

14. Todd Zeile - .977 - A Rocky mountain high

15. Omar Vizquel - .975 - He's obviously on a high from the release of his autobiography, but don't expect these numbers to last.

16. Carlos Delgado - .973 - Routine Delgado. Don't blame him for the Jays' struggles; he's lived up to the expectations of his contract

17. Danny Bautista - .973 - He's not this good

18. Junior Spivey - .969 - Who? Remember it's still early May.

19. Brian Giles - .967 - Also known, with apologies to Aramis Ramirez, as the Pirates offense.

20. Ellis Burks - .954 - Health, not performance, is always the concern here

21. Mike Cameron - .952 - 4 home runs in a game can pump up one's stats

The copyright of the article The Top Starts of 2002 in Baseball is owned by Greg Spira. Permission to republish The Top Starts of 2002 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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