Comments on: Mark Belanger

By: Graham Womack

Graham Womack — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:30:35 +0000

I always like the Vlade Divacs of the sports world who succeed despite deplorable personal conditioning. In better shape, I don’t think they’d have half the charm.

By: Devon

Devon — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:51:15 +0000

LOL 36!! I didn’t notice that! He was 35 at the time… makes me wonder if anybody’s ever had an OPS+ that equaled their age.

By: Steve G.

Steve G. — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:24:21 +0000

This awesome entry made me look him up on Baseball Reference, and amazingly:

1) He managed to make an all-star game in 1976! Wow.

2) Baseball Prospectus has a somewhat tongue-in-check theory that if you give a back-up catcher enough years, eventually he will hit .300. The fact that Belanger, a pretty miserable career hitter, still managed averages of .287 and .270 in two seasons, shows how much luck comes into play.

3) He posted an OPS+ of 36 in 1979. 36!

4) His range factor was good, but not great, until his age 33 and 34 seasons. Odd.