Baseball is the ultimate team sport. More than in any other game, a team needs to work together to achieve success, and more than in any other game, a very talented player can be rendered useless if he is not supported by his teammates. In basketball, a superstar can carry his team completely, winning games almost single-handedly. In football, a great quarterback, running back, or receiver can often make all the difference.

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Jeff Keacher.

Junior Cord Phelps is the leadoff hitter for the Stanford baseball team. He is a huge asset to the lineup and is a leader in most statistical categories.

But baseball is different. In baseball, a great pitcher can’t win if his defense doesn’t make plays and his team doesn’t score runs. A slugger can’t drive in runs if no one gets on base in front of him. And, because the average baseball season demands so many more games, no individual athlete can do it all for his team day in and day out. It takes a team that can work together and support each other to have a winning franchise.

Without good pitching, from the rotation and from the bullpen, a team is not going to win very often. Without solid defense, it is difficult for there to be good pitching, and without an offense that can score runs, no team can win. Obviously, the entire lineup matters in that regard, which begins with the crucial lead-off spot. And Stanford has a heck of a player to fill that role.

The job of the lead-off hitter is to stretch out his at-bat (the first of the game), allowing his teammates to see as many pitches as possible before their turn, so they have an idea of what to expect. At the same time he wants to get on base any way he can, so that the batters behind him have someone to drive home. And he is supposed to do all this without the benefit of having taken or seen others take at-bats against the pitcher he is facing.

Junior Cord Phelps has got this pretty much down to an art, and the Cardinal is reaping the benefits.

“In a lead-off hitter you are hoping his on-base percentage is very good,” said head coach Mark Marquess. “[Phelps] is doing his job in that regard. He is the ideal lead-off hitter.”

He certainly is. Heading into this weekend’s games against Arizona State, Phelps boasts an on-base percentage of .490, the best on the team and the sixth-best mark in the Pacific-10 Conference. He also leads the team in hits with 34 and is second in both batting average (.415) and runs scored (20). Not to mention his streak of reaching base at least once in 27 consecutive games, stretching back to last season.

“One of the bigger parts of being a lead-off hitter, especially in the first at-bat of the game, is to give everyone hitting behind you an opportunity to see pitches,” said Phelps. “I work on my approach in practice all the time. I try to only swing at pitches that I hit well and work counts. That’s the mentality I have for all my at-bats, but it depends on the situation. If there is a man in scoring position I’m going to swing if I see a good pitch.”

That is what makes Phelps such a valuable player. While he excels in the lead-off role, he is just as effective in other situations.

Phelps has proven his ability to deliver the big hit with runners on and is currently fourth on the team with 14 RBIs. He can hit for power and is third on the team in homeruns (three) and extra-base hits (10). He does it in the field too, playing every game this season at second base and only recording a single error. And as if that wasn’t enough, he is a switch hitter.

So, is there any part of Phelps’s game that isn’t impressive?

“If I wanted to make him a superman, I could turn him into the fastest man in world and have him steal 100 bases,” said Marquess.

Nobody could steal 100, but Phelps is first on the team in that category already with five swiped bags on the year.

When questioned about his successes, the ever-modest Phelps is the first to point out that without his teammates, his play wouldn’t mean anything. If he gets on base and isn’t driven around to score, or if no one gets on in front of him in the later innings, there isn’t much he can do to help Stanford win.

“[Once I get on base] I just try to let the guys behind me do their thing, and that’s how we score,” he said.

It will take that complete team effort this weekend to win against a nearly flawless Arizona State team. The Sun Devils come to Sunken Diamond with a 26-1 record and a No. 1 national ranking. But consider this: when scoring a run in the first inning Stanford is 8-2 this year and when scoring first they are 11-5.

With Phelps in the lead-off spot, the team has to like their chances.