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What matters most is that no matter where he plays, India leads off in front of Witt. Royals leadoff hitters -- mostly Garcia -- had a .270 OBP last year, worst in baseball by 22 points and eighth-worst in recorded history (min. 500 leadoff PA). Witt was sixth in baseball in plate appearances but 34th in PA with runners in scoring position and 48th in PA with runners on base. Adding India and his .352 career OBP was a surgical strike aimed at this problem. Even if Witt regresses from his ten-win season, having India atop the lineup will make the lineup work a lot better and add 30-40 real runs to the team’s output.
