Is there anything sweeter than a Freddy Sanchez double, in all its bounty and variety?

Of course there is, but this is a baseball column. So let us now praise Freddy's bloops down the right-field line, the sizzlers he pulls over third base, his long drives toward the North Side Notch in left-center field at PNC Park and his opposite-field pokes between the center fielder and right fielder.

Sanchez entered the game last night leading the National League in hitting at .346 and in doubles with 41. More attention is on the batting race; there is even a daily box in the sports section. (Back off, Miguel Cabrera.) But Sanchez's production of two-baggers is also something to behold. He hits 'em everywhere.

His PNC Park hitting chart on pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com confirms what you'd know from watching. Sanchez has a spread wider than the hotel breakfast buffet: seven doubles down the left-field line, five to left-center field, six to right-center field and six down the right-field line.

I suspect his 17 road doubles are no less eclectic than his 24 at home. Sanchez is on pace for 57 two-baggers, which would tie him with Carlos Delgado and Billy Herman for the 10th most in the history of baseball.

"On pace" is quite different from arriving at a number, but even 50 doubles would be a considerable achievement. It has happened 27 times since 1990, but only 57 players in baseball history have done it. That means an awful lot haven't.

These are the best Pirates seasons for doubles:

Paul Waner 62 in 1932

Paul Waner 53 in 1936

Paul Waner 50 in 1928

Adam Comorosky 47 in 1930

Dave Parker 45 in 1979

Andy Van Slyke 45 in 1992

Honus Wagner 45 in 1900

Jason Bay 44 in 2005

Bobby Bonilla 44 in 1991

Dave Parker 44 in 1977

Honus Wagner 44 in 1904

Comparing numbers across eras is a dangerous exercise, but that would be a nice list to enter. Waner's 62 is fifth best all time. The record is 67 doubles by Earl Webb of the 1931 Red Sox and, yes, I never heard of him, either. The Depression was rough, but it was evidently great for doubles.

Van Slyke was the most recent Pirate to lead the league in doubles, but the Pirates hitter Sanchez most resembles this season is not on that list. Matty Alou hit .342 in 1966 to lead the league, and then led with 41 doubles in 1969, when he hit .331.

Sanchez is doing well for a guy who wasn't even supposed to have a starting job. He's doing all that with Gold Glove caliber defense at third base, too.

Sanchez is not going to win the Gold Glove. The reigning winner, Mike Lowell, was traded out of the league, but the third baseman who won six of the seven seasons before that, Scott Rolen, is back from an injury-plagued season and doing nothing to sully his deserved reputation as a defensive standout.

Still, let's compare them using three defensive metrics found on espn.com: fielding percentage, range factor and zone rating. You're not likely to find two fielders any closer.

Fielding percentage, the most common defensive statistic, is putouts and assists divided by putouts, assists and errors. Sanchez is making about 98 percent of the plays he should make, and Rolen 97 percent. No third baseman with more than 70 games has a higher fielding percentage than Sanchez.

Range factor is putouts and assists divided by nine innings. It essentially tells you how many plays a fielder makes per game. No third baseman with more than 70 games has a higher range factor than Sanchez.

The third metric is zone rating, from STATS Inc, which divides the field into segments and measures "the percentage of balls fielded by a player in his typical defensive 'zone.' " Only the Brewers' Corey Koskie, on the disabled list with an .843 zone rating, has a higher ZR than Sanchez among third basemen with 70 games or more. Sanchez also has made 18 double plays, more DP per game than any third baseman with as much playing time.

Gold Gloves are like boxing crowns. You generally don't take one away unless the champ is knocked out. Sanchez hasn't knocked Rolen out, but he's challenging him. That Sanchez has done this while playing 13 games at second base and 16 at shortstop might remove him from Gold Glove consideration, but it makes his spectacular play in 70-plus games at third base all the more impressive.

Whether he wins the batting title, leads the league in doubles or carries a Gold Glove home, Steady Freddy has been every bit as good as most Pirates fans believe he has been this year.