Vernon Wells by the numbers ... it’s not all pretty
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After three subpar years, in which he failed to live up to the expectations of his seven-year, $126-million contract, Vernon Wells rebounded strongly for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010, batting .273 with a .331 on-base percentage, a .515 slugging percentage, 31 home runs, 44 doubles and 88 runs batted in.
But Wells, who was acquired by the Angels on Friday for catcher Mike Napoli and outfielder Juan Rivera, struggled for the second straight season against left-handed pitchers, a surprise considering he is one of the game’s better right-handed power hitters.
Wells, 32, hit only .201 against left-handers over the last two seasons, the worst of any qualifying right-handed hitter in baseball. He also had a .619 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) against lefties in that span. Of 96 qualifying right-handed hitters, only Brendan Ryan’s OPS against lefties was worse.
Making those numbers even more numbing is the fact that Wells hit .331 with a .924 OPS against left-handers from 2005-2008.
‘For some reason, that was characteristic of our team,’ Wells said of the Blue Jays, who hit a major league-worst .215 against lefties last season. ‘It’s kind of ironic. I wanted to work on driving the ball up the middle this year, and there’s not a better park to do that in than Anaheim.
‘Obviously, there are some good left-handers in that division. I’m going to have to hit those guys. It will start bright and early for me.’
Wells also praised Angel Stadium, calling it ‘the best field in baseball,’ and he is looking forward to getting off the artificial turf of the Rogers Centre and on to a natural-grass field. But Anaheim hasn’t been too kind to Wells, who has a .226 average, .267 on-base percentage, .340 slugging percentage, three homers and 19 RBIs in 159 career at-bats in Angel Stadium.
That, however, was hardly a deterrent to Wells’ waiving his no-trade clause to come to Anaheim.
‘As a visiting player, you stand in the outfield in Anaheim, the fans are filling the stadium, and you’re soaking in the atmosphere,’ Wells said. ‘That plays a big part of it. It’s one of those places you go to and you say to yourself, ‘It would be nice to play here.’ But never in my wildest dreams did I expect it to happen.’
--Mike DiGiovanna