Adding Roof To The List

At the end of my All-Weekend Team post, I toss in an open invitation to nominate someone I missed. I've been cranking out the line for weeks to no avail. Either everyone agreed with my selections or they chose not to take me up on the offer to add a nominee. Until today.

I opened my email this afternoon to find a reader suggest I review the candidacy of Illinois shortstop Shawn Roof. Roof hit .500 (6 for 12) for the weekend with three doubles, five runs and two RBI. All solid numbers. In and of themselves, probably enough to merit a bench slot, but that's not the end of Roof's numbers.

The Illini infielder drew a walk and got plunked four times! He was hit by three pitches on Sunday alone. I'm in pain just thinking about it. Once Roof landed on base, and he did that at a .647 clip, he stole six of seven bases. Not surprisingly, Roof paces the Big Ten in both HBP (17) and steals (30). He leads both categories by healthy margins.

In light of this information, I have added Shawn Roof to the All-Weekend Team. Let this be a lesson to us all. We should be aware that I am more than capable of missing the utterly obvious. You should also note that I do take your All-Weekend Team suggestions seriously.