San Diego Padres’ Chase Headley looking good for the long haul - MLB News
San Diego Padres’ Chase Headley finished in the fifth spot for the National League MVP on Thursday. The switch hitter has won the Silver Slugger Award and the Gold Glove Award earlier in the year. Chase was also unanimously voted as the Padres’ Player of
the Year by the writers covering the Padres’ games.
The only San Diego player to win the NL MVP was Ken Caminiti in 1996. The last top five finish in the race for the Padres was made by Adrian Gonzalez in 2010.
Headley, who was the NL Player of the Month in both August and September this year, had some excellent numbers to show in the regular season. Headley had a .286 batting average and .376 on-base percentage. His 115 RBI’s and 31 home-runs to go with 173 hits
were also quite impressive. Headley also stole 17 bases.
His performance as a third baseman was also praiseworthy. He put out a 100 and made 315 assists, committing 10 errors and affecting 20 double plays. His fielding percentage was .976, winning the National League Gold Glove for the third base.
Headley drew accolades from all quarters, outside his own ballclub as well. Ron Roenicke, the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers is one of the many fans of Chase’s good work. "To have that [production] in San Diego, that's pretty amazing," Roenicke said. "He
needs to be talked about a lot more than he has been. To have that kind of year in that place? Phenomenal."
The hitter is currently working with Padres’ new hitting coach Phil Plantier in Tennessee. The hitting coach is happy with Headley’s efforts and performance and expects the hitter to be consistent in the long run. "It's fun to watch a guy figure it all out
and see him piece it together," Plantier said. "I don't see any reason why this isn't going to be normal production for him for the rest of his career. This is not a fluke. This is very real."
Chase himself has been pleased with his performance, particularly in the latter half of the season when his productivity really went up, hitting more than 30 runs in each of the last two months of the regular season. The hitter was also pleased to have more
playing chances as he represented the Padres’ in 159 games, the most games he has played in a single Major League year.
"There have been so many more opportunities," Headley said recently. "The second half has been incredibly enjoyable, especially being around these guys."
The San Diego Padres’ have a great hitter in Chase and one who is certainly in for the long haul. The team will certainly look to add more fire power along with him to get their offensive numbers up in the coming season.
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