Tennessee baseball 2B Christian Moore's case to be SEC Player of the Year
The 30-game SEC regular season is in the books as Tennessee baseball claimed a share of the conference crown.
Team accolades aside, the Vols may also be bringing individual hardware back to Knoxville.
Second baseman Christian Moore put together one of the best seasons in program history mashing a school record 27 home runs in a season en route to also setting the career record at 54 with the postseason still to be played.
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Due to this phenomenal season, he is considered one of the top candidates for SEC Player of the Year. Other position players in the mix are Georgia's Charlie Condon and Florida's two-way star Jac Caglianone.
Moore has a clear argument to be place above these two competitors and it comes down to his stats inside conference play. While his out-of-conference production didn't match, when the competition got better, so did he.
This is apparent when comparing his stats during the 30 games played against SEC opponents to the other presumed finalists. Nobody in the conference had a higher batting average, smacked more hits, drove in more runs, mashed more home runs or accumulated more bases than him.
In the categories he didn't lead the SEC in, he was still toward the top, as well. He was second in slugging percentage, fifth in runs scored and sixth in on-base percentage.
| Category | Christian Moore | Charlie Condon | Jac Caglianone |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Batting average |
.429 (1st) |
.412 (2nd) |
.375 (5th) |
|
Slugging percentage |
.925 (2nd) |
.983 (1st) |
.795 (3rd) |
|
On-base percentage |
.461 (6th) |
.533 (2nd) |
.514 (3rd) |
|
Runs scored |
37 (5th) |
42 (1st) |
32 (8th) |
|
Hits |
57 (1st) |
49 (T2nd) |
42 (5th) |
|
RBI |
41 (T1st) |
41 (T1st) |
28 (T15th) |
|
Home runs |
20 (1st) |
19 (2nd) |
15 (T4th) |
|
Total bases |
123 (1st) |
117 (2nd) |
89 (4th) |
The question then turns into what is more valuable — total season or just against SEC competition. The coaches in the conference will have to decide with the winner being chosen by that 14-member committee.
If Moore is able to secure the hardware, he'd be the fourth Vol ever to win it. Previously, Todd Helton (1995), Jeff Pickler (1998) and Chris Burke (2001). A fourth win would tie Florida for second most in conference history behind just LSU at eight.
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