Falling from 40 to 31 HR and keeping his doubles the same in 45 more AB could be a little troubling going forward but the increase in hits and average might bode well for him as he hits his mid-30's. His 103 RBI is the lowest in his career for a full season, while he reached the 125 run mark for the 4th time in his career. Overall it was a successful season for Bryant as he saw his teammate Dodd win the triple crown and MVP in a season where Jersey struggled and missed the postseason.
After failing to hit .300 in 2020, Bryant's .337 this past year raised his career average from .3246 back up to .3267. Paco Rosas who is in the prime of his career continues to rake in Greenville and increased his lead to 8 points. Rosas sits at .3351. We will see if Bryant can stay on top of Adam Mason who he currently has a 3.1 lead on for 2nd all time. Bryant who had been 2nd all-time in OPS since creating this tracking report was finally passed by Rosas as he had a giant 2021. He remains 7 points ahead of Mel Fields and 11 points ahead of next active member Yokoyama
Ever since we started tracking Bryant has been the king of slugging and that didn't change despite the worst slugging percentage for a full season in his big league career. He was once the only player in BSA history to have a career slugging over 600, but those times are gone as Bryant now sits at .581. After his moster season, teammate Dave Dodd has taken over 2nd place 11 points behind Bryant.
Bouncing back in a huge with hits he has moved from 27th all the way up into the Top 15 while surpassing 1800 career hits. With a Bryant like season he should hit the 2000 hit mark by the end of 2022. Bryant surpassed the 300 2B mark and ended the season just outside the Top 30 career wise. 2021 ended a 5 year run of leading the BSA in total bases as he finished 3rd with 372. That number is good enough for 12th and a good season should put him in the Top 10 at the end of the year.
With a down year in HR and RBI, Braynt finds himself in a tough position to climb in both categories. He passed fellow veterans George Alston and Shizue Chouda this past year, but the only players within 40 HR are Cobra, Newell and Rivas. This could be the 1st year where he stays stagnant in a category. Sitting at 332 HR, Bryant has a chance to reach that magical 400 HR plateau late in 2023. After becoming the 9th player to knock in 1000 career runs last time, he now sits 8th in the category.With Delaney's injury Bryant has a chance to pass him, but realistically no one else is within reach.
If you are a Bryant fan, 2021 was very much a positive as his bat does not seem to be slowing down. In a league where there is so much uncertainty after age 30, a strong season from Bryant at age 33 is a great sign. Jersey rewarded him with a 2 and possibly 3 year contract last year which will keep him in Jersey at least through the 2023 season. If Bryant can stay productive through these next 2 years, major milestones are in reach, but only time will tell.
Current All-Time Rank. (Previous 4 years are in parenthesis)
BA: 2nd (2nd 2nd, 2nd, 1st): .3267
OPS: 3rd (2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd): .9644
SLG: 1st (1st, 1st, 1st, 1st): .5817
VORP: 8th (8th, 9th, 13th, 20th): 624.94
Hits: 14th (27th. 34th, 57th, 96th): 1831
Doubles: 29th (42nd, 57th, 82nd, NR): 335
Triples: 17th (28th, 46th, 75th, NR): 49
Triples: 17th (28th, 46th, 75th, NR): 49
Total Bases: 11th (14th, 23rd, 41st, 73rd): 3260
HR: 8th (10th, 15th, 20th, 35th): 332
RBI: 8th (9th, 19th, 32nd, 53rd): 1128
Runs: 14th (22nd, 28th, 55th, 86th): 1027
WAR: 10th (11th,13th, 18th, 24th): 60.86
