A Duel For Batting Title Heading Into Final Weekend

It's been almost a foregone conclusion for some time that a Bridgewater Maller or a Rowdy Roddy Piper will go home with the 2012 batting title. For the last few weeks, the top three batters in the league hail from those two squads, as well as four of the top five and six of the top 10.

Bridgewater DH/catcher Victor Martinez holds the edge at the moment, batting .333 (160-480, .333333) followed by veteran Michael Young of Rowdy, hitting .331 (220-664, .331325). Each have two games to play after yesterday's off day. Martinez has started 49 games at catcher and 67 at DH while Young has started 159 (of Rowdy's 160 games) at third base.

Assuming Young gets 8 at-bats in the final two games versus St. Louis, 4 hits would push him into an even tie with Martinez at .333333 -- if Martinez were to not get any at-bats, that is. A sizzling 5 hits over two games (assuming the 8 ABs) would mean a .334821 batting average for Young and time for Martinez to start looking over his shoulder. Anything less than three hits in 8 ABs (which would lift his average to .331845) and Young will have to hope for Martinez to swing and miss regularly.

Martinez tends to sit against lefties, though he's hit them well in only 78 at-bats (.372/.424/.500). Tonight's scheduled starter for Philly is Travis Wood, potentially leaving just one start for Martinez, or 4 at-bats out of the cleanup spot. Should he go hitless, he would finish at .331 (.330578), a 1-for-4 night would leave him at .333 (.332644), while 3-for-4 would essentially put the crown out of reach for Young at .336776. Of course, if V-Mart comes off the bench, there's always the pinch-hit opportunity, which would mean an additional at-bat, maybe two.

It's Young who's likely to finish as the league leader in overall hits, now sitting on 220, leading Bridgewater's Jose Reyes and Robinson Cano of Hopatcong, both at 206.

Young broke in with Vancouver in 2003 as a part-time player, secured a full-time gig in 2005 and went on to play three consecutive 162-game seasons. He hit a career-high .331 with 237 hits in 2006. Though he's never hit above .300 or gotten 200 hits otherwise (198 in '05), Young has been a model of consistency, entering this season with a career .286 average. He joined Carolina (now Rowdy) last year where he started 162 games. He's started no fewer than 140 (2010 with Hoboken) since those early days in Vancouver.

Another longtime Iron Fister, Martinez spent his first five seasons in Vancouver (2005-2009). He hit for a career-high .306 in 2006, eclipsed .300 again in 2009 (.301), and like Young also entered 2012 with a .286 average.

As for other batting categories, Kevin Mitchell Award contender Prince Fielder of Rowdy has overtaken the league lead in the RBI race in the past two weeks, with 131, ahead of Hopatcong's Joey Votto (138), who enjoyed an 8-RBI night last week. Fielder also passed Jose Bautista of Hoboken in the home run race, holding a 51-49 advantage.