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If a player has no power, they usually do all the "little things" very well, one of which are sacrifice bunts. While sac bunts aren't normally recommended, players with so little power tend to have more reason to bunt. Among players with at least 300 PA in a season since 1901, only five players have managed to not hit a homer or lay down a sac bunt.
| Rk | Player | WAR/pos | HR | SH | PA | Year | Age | Pos | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Kendall | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 676 | 2005 | 31 | .271 | .345 | .321 | .666 | *2/D |
| 2 | Von Hayes | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 323 | 1991 | 32 | .225 | .303 | .285 | .589 | *87/9 |
| 3 | Bip Roberts | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 372 | 1996 | 32 | .283 | .331 | .357 | .688 | *4D/789 |
| 4 | Willie Bloomquist | -0.4 | 0 | 0 | 338 | 2012 | 34 | .302 | .325 | .398 | .724 | *65/479 |
| 5 | Al Oliver | -1.0 | 0 | 0 | 460 | 1984 | 37 | .301 | .343 | .370 | .714 | *3/7 |
Oliver was the only hitter who rated average compared to the league, which is a bit surprising to me. I figured it would take a good hitter to pull off such a feat, though everyone else but Bloomquist were much better during the previous season. Hayes only came in above replacement because of a +10 TotalZone rating, so Kendall is the only player significantly above replacement level.
I don't have the Retrosheet data to find specific games for each situation, but Bloomquist had a guy on 2nd with no outs six times this past season. He also had a guy on first with no outs eleven times. In those 17 PA, he had 4 singles, one walk, and reaching via an error once, avoiding double plays, with his AVG and OBP very close to his season line.
There isn't any great significance to this group, but it is surprising to see players without a number in either stat during a half-season plus. Most of this group had a relevant peak, which helps explain why such a phenomenon could occur. Do you think a player could be added to the group this year?
