Colorado Rockies manager Walt Weiss wants to make sure that the team finishes the 2016 campaign with at least something to celebrate.
Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu currently leads the National League with a .348 batting average, just narrowly ahead of Washington Nationals infielder Daniel Murphy, who sits at .347. But Murphy is on the shelf for the remainder of the regular season with a glute injury, giving Weiss the option of sitting LeMahieu to preserve the crown. And with LeMahieu out of the lineup for the penultimate game of the season on Saturday, that’s exactly what he appears to be doing.
“It’s a unique situation because Murphy is injured and not playing,” Weiss said on Friday, per Ben Weinrib of MLB.com. “If he’s playing, they can fight it out, but I don’t want DJ to lose a batting title that way. So, yeah, I’m going to pay attention to the math. My philosophy, whether you like it or not, is I’m going to take care of the guys that take care of our team. DJ’s one of those guys that takes care of our team.”
LeMahieu has had a stellar 2016 campaign, complementing his league-best batting average with a .416 on-base percentage, a .495 slugging percentage, 11 home runs, and 66 RBIs. He collected 192 hits in 552 at-bats over 146 games played. For his part, Murphy, who hasn’t played since September 20, got 184 hits in 530 at-bats over 141 games played this season.
An 0-for-2 night for LeMahieu on Friday against the Brewers seems to have solidified Weiss’ stance. Though it’s not the first time Weiss has made the news for his lineup maneuvers, the question still remains: fair or foul move for Weiss to guarantee the batting crown for his guy by taking him out of the lineup? You be the judge.
Image via Karla Kauffman on YouTube
H/T theScore
