Hitting #3 makes the world go 'round

New Rangers DH Lance Berkman said he’s comfortable moving back to the No. 3 spot in the lineup, “It’s an interesting spot. It makes the world go ’round. It takes a different skill set to hit there than in some other spots” according to a blog report from Evan Grant of the Dallas News. Manager Ron Washington said earlier this week he expects Berkman will hit third in the Rangers’ lineup, replacing Josh Hamilton. “It’s definitely the spot in the lineup where you want your best hitter,” Berkman said.

Nine to Know

To prove Berkman's point, here are the top 2012 #3 hitters in the lineup

Rk	Player	Split	G	HR	GS	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1	Miguel Cabrera	Batting 3rd	161	44	161	139	66	98	.330	.393	.606	.999
2	Josh Hamilton	Batting 3rd	143	42	143	127	58	162	.284	.352	.575	.927
3	Ryan Braun	Batting 3rd	153	41	153	112	63	128	.320	.392	.596	.988
4	Adam Dunn	Batting 3rd	146	39	145	90	102	220	.200	.330	.460	.790
5	Andrew McCutchen	Batting 3rd	156	31	156	96	70	132	.328	.400	.554	.954
6	Albert Pujols	Batting 3rd	154	30	154	105	52	76	.285	.343	.516	.859
7	Chase Headley	Batting 3rd	141	29	141	105	78	141	.280	.373	.499	.872
8	Jose Bautista	Batting 3rd	92	27	92	65	59	63	.241	.358	.527	.886
9	Matt Holliday	Batting 3rd	154	27	154	102	75	130	.297	.381	.500	.881
10	Josh Reddick	Batting 3rd	133	27	133	76	50	141	.241	.307	.460	.766

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used Generated 1/15/2013.

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