Expected to be a cornerstone of the young, new squad, unlike the previous two seasons Lew was anything but a measure of consistency in 2005. He started out the season with a huge April - .361-.370-.648, with 30 RBIs and 30 Runs, along with 17 doubles. At that point Lew had seemed all but set to go onto a career year. Instead, Lew plummeted, going .226-.247-.417 in May (yet somehow still driving in 16 RBI) before getting injured for 7 weeks with a fractured knee, a devastating loss that sidelined him until mid-July. Lew returned, but didn't seem to be the same - he posted an impressive .282-.301-.615 July, but dipped down to .254-.269-.509 in August, and bottomed out at .176-.211-.308 in September. The postseason, however, seemed to hint at a resurgence for the powerhouse hitter - in 80 at bats (and 84 plate appearances), Lew went .325-.357-.637, driving in 17 RBIs and scoring 14 runs. He ended the season at .266-.285-.507, a mark which seems to indicate that his power-hitting prowess is all there, but he's not making consistently good contact, despite posting a career-low 6 strikeouts. Overall, an extremely disappointing season for Lew, with an offseason spent hoping he can recover from his fractured knee and return to the form that helped him hit a league-leading 74 doubles and last 764 at bats in 2004.
Statistics - Batting
| 116 | 116 | 513 | 489 | 130 | 40 | 6 | 22 | 103 | 87 | 6 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 100.00 | 0.266 | 0.285 | 0.507 | 0.792 | 64.97 | 4.59 | 0.230 |
Talk about a comeback season for D.L. Lew. After a poor 2006 campaign marred by injury, Lew came back bashing in 2006, returning to his career average AVG and OBP numbers, and setting a new career record for SLG. No one on the team was more consistent than Lew, either, as he hit an .850 OPS every month except September, and ravaged pitchers with the best run production in the league, driving in 164 RBIs (a career high, and league lead), on the strength of a career-high 77 doubles (league record), career-high 16 triples, and 408 total bases (UL lead). Lew even won the Batter of the Month award for his monstrous August performance, where he hit .398-.419-.771 with 9 HR and a staggering 39 RBIs. To top off this year’s comeback story, Lew won (highly contentiously) the 2006 Batter of the Year award, maintaining Daly City’s 4-year stranglehold on the trophy.
Statistics - Batting
| 162 | 162 | 740 | 688 | 209 | 77 | 16 | 30 | 164 | 116 | 11 | 34 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 81.25 | 0.304 | 0.338 | 0.593 | 0.931 | 121.35 | 6.28 | 0.272 |