Wednesday OPS

It's another edition of your favorite post, Wednesday OPS. For newcomers to BTH, I usually post on-base percentage plus slugging percentage numbers on Wednesday. Why on Wednesday? I just don't know, but it has persevered almost to the point of tradition. Now, with my sporadic posting thus far in '08, that tradition might be in jeopardy, but let's not dwell on that and enjoy today's numbers.

We've got ten Big Ten players with OPS marks above 1.000. The group is led by Michigan's Nate Recknagel at 1.282. The next two spots are held down by Northwestern standouts. Jake Goebbert has elevated himself to second place at 1.180. The NU sophomore is followed by teammate Mike Kalina at 1.151. Fourth place is held down by Caleb Curry of Iowa at 1.113. The fifth slot is owned by Indiana's Josh Phegley at 1.104.

The second half of the top ten begins with Kyle Hudson of Illinois at 1.094. Jeff DeSmidt of Minnesota checks in next at 1.074. The Gophers' catcher is followed by Ryan Hastings of Illinois at 1.067. In ninth place is Ohio State's Cory Kovanda at 1.033. The top ten concludes with Adam Abraham of Michigan at 1.006.

All of these figures are as of 3/26/08. In addition, this was based on a minimum of 40 at bats. (The 40 AB mark was totally arbitrary on my part.)

I must also leave you with the standard caveat. The math here, much like the writing, is questionable. If I've made a miscalculation (is that a word?), it wouldn't be the first time. Drop me a note and I'll attempt to correct my boo-boo. There's also a chance I've overlooked someone. Again, if you find I've skipped somebody, let me know.

It's good to see such a strong field above the 1.000 plateau. Hopefully, we will have just as many on the list when the conference season closes.