Future All-Star Cristian Guzman had a rough start in his rookie year for the Twins in 1999. Maybe it wasn’t all that horrible given that Minnesota stuck with him for the year. He started 126 of his 131 games at short. But his .226/.267/.276 his nothing to write home about even for a shortstop… especially a bad fielding shortstop (Guzman made 24 errors, 2nd in the AL in 1999).
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Totals | 131 | 456 | 420 | 47 | 95 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 90 | .226 | .267 | .276 |
Guzman’s 1999 card is hurt a lot because despite 9 stolen bases, he has no first column speed numbers. APBA decided to put 11s in the second column instead. Plus, Guzman is the type of hitter that doesn’t fare well in APBA. He doesn’t walk much, doesn’t have much power and in this case, he take advantage of his speed.
He has just two 0s and a 7 plus two 14s. That gives him a nasty 51-39. As noted, his second column is weak unless the bases are empty (as I always say, an 11 is as good as a double with no one on).
Ugly numbers: 31-22, 51-23 and SS-7
Bit o’ trivia: Guzman hit three triples in 1999. Overall, he hit 89 in his career and led the league three times.
