Youk and Pedroia battling for AL batting title - Earmuffs!

In 2003 the unlikely duo of Bill Mueller and Manny Ramirez battled through September for the AL batting title... Mueller eventually squeezed out the trophy, beating Manny by one point - .326 to .325. On the second to last day of the season, Mueller went 1 for 3, putting him at .327, and Manny 1 for 2 leaving him at .325... Both players were given the final game of the year off, but Mueller was called off the bench to pinch hit for David Ortiz - he did not get a hit, but managed to keep his average one point higher than Manny's and win the title.

Fast forward to 2008 and you'll find two Red Sox players leading the AL in batting average - Dustin Pedroia tied for 1st with Joe Mauer at .321 and Kevin Youkilis right behind them at .320. Both players have been OBP machines in their short careers (.363 OPB & 3.84 - respectively), but Youkilis has made a habit of tapering off in the second half of the season... Even with his insane numbers this August (.396 BA, 1.269 OPS), Youk currently owns a mediocre .258 career BA after the All-Star break.

When you couple that factoid with Pedroia's .317 BA in 2007 (10th in AL), you have to wonder if this will eventually become a battle between Pedey and Mauer... but Youk has defined laws of statistics so far this half and is showing no signs of slowing down...

Bottom Line: Mauer will likely remain in the mix, and you can find familiar names like Kinsler (.319), Ordonez (.317) and Polanco (.313) just a few points behind, but the Sox can only benefit from a little teamate vs. teammate challenge down the stretch... although a competitive battle between two of the most competitive guys in baseball could scare the children... Earmuffs!

Who do you think will take home the AL Batting Champion Title - "Pedroia the Destroyah" or "Yooouuukk!" ??

This post brought to you by Sox Addict...