One of the unintended consequences of the speedier games is the paucity of meaningful graphics on TV broadcasts. In more than a few instances, TV has missed the first couple of pitches coming back from break. In principle, that’s not the worst thing in the world. However, TV’s inability to show replays does detract from the quality of the broadcast.

Announcers no longer have enough time to share everything they want to share with the audience. Again, in most cases that’s not the worst thing in the world because announcer blather is quite a waste of time. That being said, producers haven’t had the time to share useful information like league leaders. It never cost an extra money to share graphics during somewhat slow moments.

I’m criticizing the Sox TV crew, but last night in the game with the Jays, I never saw the AL batting leaders. I didn’t watch the entire game, but I also didn’t hear the broadcasters say anything about it either.

For fans of a certain age, the daily box score in the daily paper validated what we may have heard on the radio or tabulated at games we watched. This morning was the first time this season that I saw the AL and NL league batting leaders. Obviously, one can go online and check things out, but it’s not the same. It’s both fun and instructive to check out the early-season (20-23 games in) numbers. Stats and numbers do lie, but they occasionally tell interesting stories-some that are predictive.

Rather than spending valuable time on how well the Jays offense is functioning to date, a simple graphic would have explained their early success at the plate. Currently, 3 of the top 4 hitters in the AL are Jays. While most fans wouldn’t be surprised to see Bo Bichette and Vlad Guerrero Jr. among the leaders, but nobody could predict that third baseman, Matt Chapman would be leading the league with a .367 average in 79 at-bats. In a career defined by gold-glove fielding, Chapman is a career .244 hitter and his only decent average season was in 2018 when he batted .278. Seeing how long Chapman can maintain this average or lead the league is what baseball purists do especially when it doesn’t impact our team.

On the other side of the ledger, it’s less surprising that Marlins infielder, Luis Arraez currently sits atop the NL leaderboard with a .444 average and 72 at-bats. Arraez is one of a handful of batting champs to be traded the following year. He led the AL with a .316 average with the Twins. He also became the first Marlin to hit for a cycle this season. What’s funny is that the triple and homer are the only ones he’s hit this year.

The bigger surprise on the NL leaderboard is the #2 hitter, Brandon Marsh of the Phillies. His .364 average comes as a surprise considering the very short back of his baseball card doesn’t suggest great hitter.

While the sample sizes are small and it’s way to early to write of individuals and slumping teams, it’s never too early to enjoy some surprises. Sometimes, these players carry teams for a short period of time. Even though his bubble eventually burst, no Sox fan begrudged Yermin Mercedes’ quick start in 2021.

With early season home run leaders, fans and the media are more prone to ridiculous projections. At this rate, Max Muncy is going to hit between 85-88 home runs.