Triple Crown Watch: Albert Pujols vs. Joey Votto

By Mike FlorioAug 30, 2010, 3:14 PM EDT
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Not only does Omar Infante (and his .341 batting average) still loom as a potential Triple Crown spoiler if he can get near the plate appearances necessary to qualify for the batting title, Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies has emerged as a Triple Crown darkhorse himself.
Gonzalez has taken over the batting average lead at .326, just narrowly ahead of Joey Votto at .325 and Albert Pujols and .320, and ranks just five RBIs behind Pujols for the league lead.
Gonzalez trails Pujols by six homers, which is why he’s not quite fully in the Triple Crown discussion for now, but he’s one big week away from making it a three-man race for the first Triple Crown since Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.

BATTING AVERAGE
Carlos Gonzalez   .326
JOEY VOTTO        .325
ALBERT PUJOLS     .320
HOME RUNS
ALBERT PUJOLS      35
JOEY VOTTO         32
Adam Dunn          32
Carlos Gonzalez    29
RUNS BATTED IN
ALBERT PUJOLS      95
JOEY VOTTO         93
Carlos Gonzalez    90

Jose Reyes is hitless in 20 plate appearances to start the season

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
By Bill BaerApr 19, 2018, 10:14 PM EDT
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Mets backup infielder Jose Reyes pinch-hit and popped up in the top of the eighth inning of Thursday night’s game in Atlanta against the Braves. That ran his streak up to 20 consecutive hitless plate appearances to start the 2018 season. He has reached base once, however, on a walk, so there’s that.

Reyes, 34, signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Mets near the end of January. At the time, the Mets hadn’t yet signed Todd Frazier, so Reyes was in the mix to contribute as a utilityman but he has operated as a bat off the bench for the most part this season.

One wonders how much longer the Mets are going to let Reyes flounder. According to FanGraphs, he has already been worth a half-win less than a replacement-level player. Only eight other players have been as bad or worse this season.