- Leadoff hitter
In
baseball , a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in an inning.trategy
Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must "reach base" at a proficient
on-base percentage rate and be able to steal bases. However, sabermetric analysis has indicated that stolen bases is often an overrated quality of leadoff hitters. Leadoff hitters tend to play defensively difficult positions, such asshortstop , second base, and center field. Many considerRickey Henderson the prototypical leadoff hitter.Major League Baseball leadoff hitters for the 2008 season
valign="top" align="center" | NL West
valign="top" align="center" | AL WestNotable
Major League Baseball leadoff hitters(Bold names indicate players active in 2008).
*
Roberto Alomar
*Luis Aparicio
*Craig Biggio
*Max Bishop
*Lou Brock
*Brett Butler
*Bert Campaneris
*Max Carey
*Ty Cobb
*Vince Coleman
*Eddie Collins
*Johnny Damon
*David Eckstein
*Rafael Furcal
*Billy Hamilton
*Mike Hargrove
*Dummy Hoy
*Rickey Henderson
*Chuck Knoblauch
*Arlie Latham
*Kenny Lofton (currently unsigned)
*Davey Lopes
*Joe Morgan
*Juan Pierre
*Tim Raines
*Hanley Ramirez
*José Reyes
*Jimmy Rollins
*Curtis Granderson
*Grady Sizemore
*Alfonso Soriano
*Ichiro Suzuki
*Maury Wills
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