So, the other day, I was just kicking back, you know, flipping through some old memories in my head, and boom, Steve Balboni. Remember him? Big fella, played first base, “Bye Bye” Balboni. The name just popped in there, and I got to thinking.
My Little Stats Hunt
I thought, “Man, he hit a lot of dingers, but what were his actual, like, overall stats?” We all remember the homers, that’s for sure. But the rest of it? Kinda fuzzy. So, I figured, why not? Let’s do a little digging. A quick project for the afternoon, just to satisfy my curiosity.
Fired up the old computer, which, let me tell you, sometimes feels like it’s running on steam. Typed in “steve balboni stats.” Pretty straightforward, right? And there it was, a bunch of sites ready to tell me all about him.
What I Dug Up
Well, first thing, no surprise, the home runs. He definitely had a talent for sending the ball into orbit. That 1985 season with the Royals? 36 homers. That was a big number back then, still is decent. Kid could mash.
But then, you start looking a bit deeper. And oh boy, the strikeouts. A whole lotta strikeouts. I mean, we’re talking serious numbers there. It was almost like a guarantee: either the ball was leaving the park, or he was walking back to the dugout shaking his head. Not a lot of in-between with him, it seemed.
- His batting average? Well, it wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire. Floated around the low .200s for a lot of his career. You look at that and think, “Okay, power, but not a lot of consistent contact.”
- On-base percentage? With all those Ks and not a huge number of walks, it wasn’t gonna be spectacular. Makes sense, right?
- He played for a few teams too. Royals, then the Yankees, a bit with the Mariners, back to the Royals, then the Rangers. Moved around a bit, chasing that long ball, I guess.
It’s funny, looking back at a guy like that. He was a specialist, you know? His job was to hit the ball a country mile. And he did that. The other stuff, the batting average, the strikeouts, well, that was just part of the package with him. It wasn’t always pretty, but when he connected, everyone knew it.
Makes you think about how the game has changed, or maybe how it hasn’t. You still need guys who can hit it out. Even if they swing and miss a ton. It’s a trade-off, I suppose. It was just a quick dive, but it satisfied that little itch, that little question I had. Good to just look things up sometimes, clear the mental clutter. Now, what rabbit hole to go down next?
