When Austin Kearns came up as a rookie, he had a lot of potential. I certainly thought he did. I drafted him early in the Illowa APBA League. He was a “five tool player”, the experts said. “He’ll be better than Adam Dunn”.
Okay, let’s stop right here. I can hear all you Dunn-haters giggling. Well, Adam Dunn may have struck out like we take breaths and his batting average rarely reached .250 but consider this… how many hitters can claim to hit 40 homeruns six seasons (five in a row)? Plus, he’s not afraid to take a walk now and then.
Okay, I’ve had my say about that. Back to Kearns.
Everything comes full circle because I ended up drafting Kearns very late in the Boys of Summer APBA League early this year. Of all the 2012 “cards” on my Urbana Locomotives, his is rated the lowest.
He didn’t bat horribly, a .245 average with four homeruns in 147 at bats. He did hit into eight double plays though. You can see APBA BBW’s representation of his 2012 card above.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Totals | 87 | 175 | 147 | 21 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 16 | 2 | 22 | 44 | .245 | .366 | .367 |
Kearns’ speed is gone (he’s rated a 6) and he’s not much in the field either (OF-1). And among all my hitters, he is the worst. He has two zeros and a 33-7 plus a 15-10 thrown in.
All that could be forgiven maybe if it weren’t for Kearns’ five 24s.
Ugly numbers: 33-7, 63-24
The oddest number on his card is his 21-40 which I think would be reserved for more offensive cards.
Now that the Locos have clinched the NL East in the Boys of Summer APBA League, Austin is getting some playing time for old times’ sake. The funny thing? He’s batting .545 (6 for 11) with a double and a homer so far.
