The Decade’s Best: No. 20 Todd Linden

Todd Linden
Chatham 2000
Outfielder
Washington/LSU

In recent years, we’ve become accustomed to Cape League hitters putting up big numbers in a lot of categories. Whether it’s a sign of more hitting talent, less pitching talent or a combination of the two, the do-everything hitter has had a starring role in the latter part of the decade.

Todd Linden was one of the few who played that role on a different stage.

In the early 2000’s, the Cape lived up to its reputation as a pitcher’s league. For the first five years of the decade, there was an average of five pitchers every year with more than 60 strikeouts. These days, there’s been one pitcher with more than 60 since 2005. At the other end of the equation, most years in the early part of the decade saw five or six players hitting above .300, with few of them bringing power to the table.

But there was Todd Linden, doing it all against the odds.

He came to the Cape from Washington and steadily became the league’s most eye-catching hitter. He was powerful, he could hit for average and he could even run.

The numbers reflected that.

Linden hit .323 with four home runs, 22 extra-base hits and 25 RBI. He had a league-best slugging percentage of .535, and his .446 on-base percentage ranked second to Kevin Youkilis. He also stole 18 bases.

Interestingly, his extra-base hits total is tied for the second-best mark of the decade. Joining him in the top five? A bunch of guys who played from 2006 onward.

But Linden fits right in.

After the Cape

Linden transferred to LSU for his junior season then was picked in the first round of the 2001 draft by the Giants. He spent parts of five seasons in the majors before playing all of 2008 in the minors. After starting 2009 with the Yankees’ Triple A affiliate, Linden got an offer to play in Japan and jumped at it.

RELATED POSTS