Giving Raburn His Due
By Blake VandeBunte • Oct 12th, 2009 • Category: Clete Thomas, Marcus Thames, Ryan RaburnI have admit, I’m just starting to come to terms with the Tigers September collapse. The Tigers became the first team ever to blow a three game lead with four to go. Let that settle in some…
Done? Good. Let’s move on.
The Tigers had a few downer performances this year and a few nice pleasant surprises. My favorite surprise, and probably the most underrated surprise of the season is Ryan Raburn. Raburn has never been more than a platoon player for the Tigers, but his performance down the stretch
Raburn’s numbers for the season:
- .291/.359/.533 16 HR, 76 H, 261 AB
Raburn’s numbers after the All-Star break:
- .308/.367/.559 10 HR, 44 H, 143 AB
Raburn’s numbers from September/October:
- .355/.431/.677 6 HR, 22 H, 62 AB
Raburn went right ahead and got better as the season progressed. When you add in his versatility on defense, he was one of the most valuable members of the club in 2009.
I’m just not sure where this leaves him next season. I think he’s a perfectly fine corner outfielder. He’s not great when he’s playing the infield, but he can fill in just fine.
I’ve always been a big Marcus Thames fan, but if push comes to shove, I’d take Raburn over Thames any day. The same goes for Clete Thomas. If the Tigers can keep only one guy from this trio, my vote goes to Raburn.
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Agreed about keeping Raburn over the other two if need be. I don’t think Thames will be brought back next season. Clete should be back, and I am really hoping the Tigers either a. hit the free agent market for a 1 year deal on a LF or b. commit to a Guillen-Raburn-Ramirez-Thomas rotating cast of leftfielders.
Couldnt agree with you more Blake. I made a career of ragging on Raburn and his terible defense and weak bat. This season his bat was solid with nice power numbers. As bad as his glove was he showed that he had a great arm as he had a few solid assits as well.
Love Raburn. I would take him over both of those guys. He has more pop in his bat than either of those guys. He is younger than Thames and Thames has proven that he is not a fulltime OF. He has been in the league for a while and I don’t think he has ever played much more than 100 games. As far as Clete Thomas, no question there.
I remember watch Raburn at the end of last season when he was filling in. He looked really good and I think he will continue to get better. Also, you have to love that 891 OPS he sports.