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Colorado Rockies: We Examine 5 Key Numbers From 2016

By Nolan Lees

Sep 7, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; A general view of Coors Field in the second inning of the game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 7, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; A general view of Coors Field in the second inning of the game between the Colorado Rockies and the San Francisco Giants. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /
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3) 13.78

Trevor Story’s AB/HR ratio

Sep 6, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (27) in the dugout in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. The Giants defeated the Rockies 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 6, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story (27) in the dugout in the seventh inning against the San Francisco Giants at Coors Field. The Giants defeated the Rockies 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager is going to win the National League Rookie of the Year for 2016, and he’s a deserving candidate. But in some alternate reality where Trevor Story doesn’t miss over 60 games with a torn ligament in his thumb, the race for the award would have been a whole lot more interesting.

It might sound like hyperbole, but Story’s rookie season was unprecedented in MLB history. Just four games into his career, Story already had set two MLB records. Many thought the power would slow as the season wore on and word got out about his power, but Story continued mashing the ball. At the All-Star break, his 21 bombs tied him with Albert Pujols and Dave Kingman for the NL rookie record.

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But the most intriguing part is that Story offers all of this while playing shortstop. Pujols and Kingman were fantastic power hitters, but they were also mostly limited to playing first base because of their limited athleticism. Story probably isn’t going to win a Gold Glove any time soon, but he’s at least capable enough that he’s not hurting the team with his defense at short.

There are plenty of numbers that stand out about Story’s season, but his HR/AB ratio is particularly eye-popping. For context, Cal Ripken Jr. hit 431 MLB home runs, and his career HR/AB ratio was 26.80.

That means that Trevor Story, in his first MLB season, went deep twice as often as Ripken, a Hall of Fame shortstop known for being one of the greatest power hitters in the history of the position.

As we’ve established, there isn’t much precedence for players displaying this kind of power this early in their careers, but the few that have come close are some of the most feared home run hitters in the history of the game.

The pressure will be on Story to repeat his amazing performance in his second season, but there was plenty of pressure last year taking over the spot recently patrolled by Troy Tulowitzki, and it didn’t seem to be a problem then.

Story’s ability to make contact consistently could use some improvement (see #4 on this list), but that’s a small concern about an extremely exciting and promising young player.

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