Great player, bad team no more -- big names about to finally break through into October
It’s one of the ultimate good news/bad news lists in baseball: good, in that it requires personal longevity; bad, because it involves team futility.
And the group’s membership is about to change dramatically.
I speak, of course, of the active leaders in games played without appearing in the postseason. This was the company Adam Dunn departed last year, and not because he finally saw the field in a playoff game. Instead, Dunn retired after his team (the Oakland A’s) lost the American League wild-card game without him leaving the bench. Baseball is cruel.
Anyway, entering last weekend, here was the leaderboard for Dunn’s old club, according to research by STATS LLC:
Alex Rios, Royals — 1,671
Jose Bautista, Blue Jays — 1,383
Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays — 1,335
Chase Headley, Yankees — 1,100
Adam Lind, Brewers — 1,083
Will Venable, Rangers — 936
Daniel Murphy, Mets — 886
Starlin Castro, Cubs — 871
Mike Aviles, Indians — 797
Chris Denorfia, Cubs — 795
And so it appears Baseball’s Order of Yearning will have a new executive council next year.
Eight of the 10 players on the above list are employed by teams that currently hold postseason positions — leaving Lind and Aviles as the presumptive chairman and vice chairman, respectively, for 2016.
