Twins' Gomez becomes new Web Gems leader
-
Jerry Lai/US Presswire
Brandon Inge has accumulated more Web Gem points than any infielder so far.
Going into the All-Star break, Twins center fielder Carlos Gomez put on a late defensive surge to overtake Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge for the overall Web Gems lead. Inge led Gomez by two points a week ago, but Gomez scored five Web Gem points over the week, compared to only two for Inge.
"Baseball Tonight" has been tracking great defensive plays all season, and the leaderboard -- which is published each Monday -- shows Gomez with a slight one-point lead over Inge and a three-point lead over fast-charging Pirates shortstop Jack Wilson. Inge, however, leads all fielders in Web Gem appearances with nine, followed by Mets third baseman David Wright with eight. And the Phillies lead all MLB teams with 23 Web Gem appearances, followed by the Pirates (21) and Mets (20).
Web Gem points are calculated by awarding five points for the night's top defensive play, four points for second, three for third, two for fourth and one for fifth. Scoring is based on the Web Gems from the last "Baseball Tonight" show to air on a given night.
| Web Gem points leaderboard | |
| Carlos Gomez | 27 |
| Brandon Inge | 26 |
| Jack Wilson | 24 |
| Orlando Hudson | 21 |
| Robert Andino | 20 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | 20 |
| Web Gem appearances leaderboard (players) | |||
| Brandon Inge | Detroit | Third base | 9 |
| David Wright | New York Mets | Third base | 8 |
| Ryan Zimmerman | Washington | Third base | 7 |
| Carlos Gomez | Minnesota | Center field | 7 |
| Matt Kemp | LA Dodgers | Center field | 6 |
| Orlando Hudson | LA Dodgers | Second base | 6 |
| Jack Wilson | Pittsburgh | SS | 6 |
| Web Gem appearances leaderboard (teams) | |
| Philadelphia | 23 |
| Pittsburgh | 21 |
| New York Mets | 20 |
| Washington | 20 |
| Boston | 19 |
| Cincinnati | 19 |
TOUCH 'EM ALL
Who went deep? Keep track of all the home runs hit each day on "Baseball Tonight" and on the Baseball Tonight Clubhouse page.
For more, check out the Home Run Tracker page.
| Home Run Tracker | |||||
| NAME | HR | OPP | PITCHER | SITUATION | |
| M. Hoffpauir, ChC | 8 | StL | Lohse | Bot 1: 0-0, 1 Outs. 2 on. | |
| P. Feliz, Phi | 6 | Pit | Vasquez | Bot 1: 0-2, 2 Outs. Gr. Slam. | |
| C. Thomas, Det | 5 | Cle | Ohka | Bot 4: 0-0, 0 Outs. 2 on. | |
| B. Inge, Det | 20 | Cle | Ohka | Bot 4: 1-1, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| D. Span, Min | 5 | CWS | Buehrle | Bot 1: 3-2, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| C. Zambrano, ChC | 3 | StL | Lohse | Bot 4: 2-1, 1 Outs. None on. | |
| B. Inge, Det | 21 | Cle | Gosling | Bot 5: 1-0, 2 Outs. 1 on. | |
| C. Gomez, Min | 2 | CWS | Buehrle | Bot 2: 1-0, 0 Outs. 2 on. | |
| B. Harris, Min | 5 | CWS | Buehrle | Bot 4: 0-1, 1 Outs. 1 on. | |
| O. Salazar, Bal | 2 | Tor | Rzepczynski | Bot 6: 1-2, 1 Outs. None on. | |
| B. Ausmus, LAD | 1 | Mil | Gallardo | Top 4: 0-1, 2 Outs. None on. | |
| B. Schneider, NYM | 3 | Cin | Weathers | Bot 7: 0-0, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| J. Thome, CWS | 14 | Min | Baker | Top 6: 2-2, 2 Outs. 2 on. | |
| F. Tatis, NYM | 4 | Cin | Weathers | Bot 7: 0-0, 1 Outs. None on. | |
| B. Hawpe, Col | 14 | Atl | Medlen | Bot 2: 1-2, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| G. Jones, Pit | 5 | Phi | Romero | Top 9: 3-1, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| O. Hudson, LAD | 6 | Mil | Smith | Top 6: 0-0, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| K. Kouzmanoff, SD | 12 | SF | Zito | Top 1: 2-2, 0 Outs. 2 on. | |
| M. Ellis, Oak | 3 | TB | Howell | Top 9: 1-1, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| T. Tulowitzki, Col | 16 | Atl | Medlen | Bot 4: 1-0, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| K. Matsui, Hou | 3 | Was | Zimmermann | Bot 7: 0-1, 1 Outs. 2 on. | |
| O. Hudson, LAD | 7 | Mil | Stetter | Top 8: 1-0, 0 Outs. None on. | |
| B. Conrad, Atl | 2 | Col | De La Rosa | Top 5: 2-1, 0 Outs. 1 on. | |
| E. Alfonzo, SD | 2 | SF | Zito | Top 3: 0-0, 2 Outs. 2 on. | |
| J. Hermida, Fla | 10 | Ari | Davis | Top 4: 3-2, 1 Outs. 1 on. | |
| J. Bowker, SF | 1 | SD | Correia | Bot 5: 2-0, 1 Outs. None on. | |
| S. Smith, Col | 7 | Atl | Acosta | Bot 7: 0-1, 1 Outs. 1 on. | |
| H. Blalock, Tex | 19 | Sea | Bedard | Top 6: 2-2, 1 Outs. 1 on. | |
| N. Cruz, Tex | 22 | Sea | Batista | Top 6: 0-0, 2 Outs. None on. | |
| W. Venable, SD | 1 | SF | Valdez | Top 8: 0-1, 2 Outs. None on. | |
| R. Ludwick, StL | 14 | ChC | Wells | Top 1: 1-0, 2 Outs. 1 on. | |
| R. Ludwick, StL | 15 | ChC | Wells | Top 6: 0-0, 1 Outs. 1 on. | |
ON DECK: MONDAY'S ACTION
State Farm Home Run Derby, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN360.com
The American League finally has a full four-man squad, now that Carlos Pena, the AL's home run leader with 24, has been added to the AL roster, joining Joe Mauer, Brandon Inge and Nelson Cruz. With all due respect, though, it's hard not to favor the NL's fearsome foursome of first basemen -- Prince Fielder, Adrian Gonzalez, Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols. They've combined for exactly 100 home runs so far, while the AL crew checks in with 82. Although the NL hasn't won the All-Star Game since 1996, this looks like one competition it can win -- and should win -- with ease.
BBTN ON THE AIR: MONDAY
| TIME | WHO'S ON? |
| 7 p.m. ET ESPN |
Host: Karl Ravech Analysts: John Kruk, Chris Singleton, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian, Peter Gammons |
| 12 a.m. ET ESPN |
Host: Karl Ravech Analysts: John Kruk, Chris Singleton, Eduardo Perez, Tim Kurkjian, Peter Gammons |
BBTN MINUTE: WHO'LL WIN THE HR DERBY?
SIMON SAYS
ESPN researcher Mark Simon digs deep, looking for the night's best baseball numbers.
| Josh Beckett: Last 10 starts | |
| W-L | 7-1 |
| ERA | 1.72 |
| Quality Starts | 8 |
| Starts with 0 ER | 6 |
| K-BB | 64-12 |
| IP per start | 7.3 |
SUNDAY'S BEST AND WORST
| BEST |
 • Josh Beckett's effort has already been cited above, so we'll use this space to applaud Ryan Ludwick, who hit a pair of home runs and accounted for all four Cardinals runs in St. Louis' 4-2 victory in the Sunday night game, salvaging a doubleheader sweep against the Cubs.
|
WORST |
 • Mark Buehrle has had a fine half-season, one that has earned him a trip to St. Louis for the All-Star Game. But he had a stinker of an outing Sunday. He gave up three home runs -- to three players with a combined total of nine entering the game. Overall, he allowed eight runs on 10 hits in only 3.1 innings as the White Sox fell to the Twins 13-7. |
WEB GEMS: BUENO, VALBUENA!
NUMBERS TO KNOW: HR DERBY EDITION
This year's Home Run Derby features five power-hitting first basemen and three players having career years in terms of power numbers. All four batters for the National League saw over 10 percent of their fly balls carry for home runs in each of the past three seasons. Only the late All-Star addition, Carlos Pena, can claim the same thing on the American League squad.
Joe Mauer and Brandon Inge have each hit nearly as many home runs by the All-Star break as they did in the past two seasons combined. Each is hitting the same number of fly balls, but more than twice as many are carrying out of the park in 2009.
Looking for a favorite in this year's contest? Adrian Gonzalez should flourish away from the not-so-friendly confines of Petco Park. On the road this season, he has hit 16 homers on 74 fly balls (21.6%) -- a rate that's better than even Ryan Howard over the past three seasons.
| Home Runs as a Percentage of Fly Balls | ||||
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |||
| Nelson Cruz, TEX | 8.5% | 14.9% | ||
| Brandon Inge, DET | 6.6% | 16.5% | ||
| Joe Mauer, MIN | 4.0% | 15.0% | ||
| Carlos Pena, TAM | 18.0% | 17.3% | ||
| Prince Fielder, MIL | 15.0% | 16.2% | ||
| Adrian Gonzalez, SDG | 11.4% | 17.3% | ||
| Ryan Howard, PHI | 20.6% | 15.8% | ||
| Albert Pujols, STL | 12.2% | 18.6% | ||
Comments
You must be signed in to post a comment