THE STATMAN CROTHERS REPORT™

(Mr. Crothers Also Serves As 2nd VP For Membership Of The MidWest Neil Diamond Fan Club)

1/18/06—CONTACT RATE :One of the newer "sexy" stats among roto-heads is "contact rate". Basically, it measures the percentage of adjusted at-bats that result in putting the ball in play--sometimes regarded as a harbinger of batting average. Interestingly, if you reconstruct the 2005 Red Sox contact rates, two of the top three (Damon and Mueller) are gone. However, how meaningful can this stat be when Papi, Manny and Tek are bringing up the rear? Here's the ranking:

2005 CONTACT RATE-RED SOX (300 ABS OR MORE)

1. DAMON 88.9%

2. GRAFFANINO 86.5%

3. MUELLER 85.7%

4. NIXON 85.5%

5. RENTERIA 83.9%

6. MILLAR 83.5%

7. ORTIZ 79.3%

8. RAMIREZ 78.5%

9. VARITEK 75.1%

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Statman Crothers is the first paid consultant of FenwayNation. A graduate of the Blaine School of Cosmetology (cum laude), Crothers honed his statistical skills while working as a night watchman at the NECCO wafer factory in Cambridge, Massachusetts (where, in his spare time, he calculated the atomic weight of a Clark Bar). From time to time, Crothers will contribute salient statistical insights on your 2005 Boston Red Sox. While he cannot be physically present at the FenwayNation Newsroom, Crothers will "telecommute" from a remote site in Ennui, Kansas (actually, the basement of his Mom's split-level).