5 Best Hitters in Baseball

#104
#104
BigPapaVol said:
It's as much mental as physical. There is a very different mental approach to each role. Closers also need to allow very low WHIP. While all pitchers need to keep WHIP as low as possible, it's especially important for closers. Some guys can give up loads of baserunners and still make it work over the course of 7-8 innings (a la Glavine), but closers in that mold have the lifespan of a dog chasing cars.
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Good post. There have been several good closers who have succeeded more b/c of their mental approach (Hoffman, Eckersly) than their physical abilities.
 
#107
#107
Business said:
3rd, Skill position? C, SS, 2B, CF are your skill positions. All the others, one must be able to lay the wood to play. 3rd base is not a "skilled" position, by no means.
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3B is a hybrid. Obviously it's not a position at which you can be a slap hitter with no power, like short, but it's definitely a skill position compared to 1B or LF (or even RF). Take Vladimir Guerrero and make him a good third baseman and there'd be no question who the best player in baseball would be.
 
#108
#108
OrangeEmpire said:
Ok, so that makes him a bad hitter?

:eek:hmy: :eek:k:
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I'm not saying that the singles types are bad hitters. I'm saying it keeps them out of the pantheon of the truly great hitters. IMO, best hitters lists should never include the Gwynn types. He was a great hand eye coordination guy and was a tough out, but he didn't change ballgames. Rickey Henderson was nowhere near the "hitter" that Gwynn was, but he made a huge impact on the opposing team because he could go yard, drew tons of walks and was a terror on the basepaths. Much better than Gwynn, whose true role was that of leadoff guy, but he never had the wheels to be one.

Case in point - Wade Boggs. Does he make the top 5 hitters list of his generation? Not a prayer, but he probably had the highest overall batting average of his generation (or very close to it).
 
#109
#109
BigPapaVol said:
I'm not saying that the singles types are bad hitters. I'm saying it keeps them out of the pantheon of the truly great hitters. IMO, best hitters lists should never include the Gwynn types. He was a great hand eye coordination guy and was a tough out, but he didn't change ballgames. Rickey Henderson was nowhere near the "hitter" that Gwynn was, but he made a huge impact on the opposing team because he could go yard, drew tons of walks and was a terror on the basepaths. Much better than Gwynn, whose true role was that of leadoff guy, but he never had the wheels to be one.

Case in point - Wade Boggs. Does he make the top 5 hitters list of his generation? Not a prayer, but he probably had the highest overall batting average of his generation (or very close to it).
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BPV, I totally see what you're saying, and this is an age-old debate. What it comes down to is how much more value you give an extra-base hit over a single, a triple over a double, a HR over a triple.

Most of the greatest hitters in recent history are guys who either hit for power or for average. There are a few exceptional hitters who do both at a high level. A-Rod, Bonds, Pujols, Ordonez are some examples. And hitters like that strike fear into opponents moreso than any other players, I agree.

Not saying you're bashing Gwynn or Boggs or Ichiro, but here's why I'll stand up for those guys from a pure hitter's perspective - pitchers have a tough time getting those guys out. There's a good chance guys like that are advancing runners, driving in runners, getting on base for others to drive in when they're in the batter's box. They might not strike as much fear, but they are integral to a team's ability to score runs.
 
#110
#110
wbarron said:
BPV, I totally see what you're saying, and this is an age-old debate. What it comes down to is how much more value you give an extra-base hit over a single, a triple over a double, a HR over a triple.

Most of the greatest hitters in recent history are guys who either hit for power or for average. There are a few exceptional hitters who do both at a high level. A-Rod, Bonds, Pujols, Ordonez are some examples. And hitters like that strike fear into opponents moreso than any other players, I agree.

Not saying you're bashing Gwynn or Boggs or Ichiro, but here's why I'll stand up for those guys from a pure hitter's perspective - pitchers have a tough time getting those guys out. There's a good chance guys like that are advancing runners, driving in runners, getting on base for others to drive in when they're in the batter's box. They might not strike as much fear, but they are integral to a team's ability to score runs.
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I think relative incomes for the different skills will give you a pretty good idea of what GMs, Owners and managers value in their hitters.
 
#111
#111
Give me a lineup of .250 hitters who hit 45 home runs a year, and I will bury your lineup of .330 singles hitters every time. Batting average is a nice and easy shorthand measure, but you've got to look at OBP and SLG to know whether a hitter is any good.
 
#112
#112
Vercingetorix said:
Give me a lineup of .250 hitters who hit 45 home runs a year, and I will bury your lineup of .330 singles hitters every time. Batting average is a nice and easy shorthand measure, but you've got to look at OBP and SLG to know whether a hitter is any good.
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A hitters OPS doesn't lie.​
 
#113
#113
BigPapaVol said:
I think relative incomes for the different skills will give you a pretty good idea of what GMs, Owners and managers value in their hitters.
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True - the long ball puts butts in seats.

And I'm not saying average guys are more valuable to a team's ability to score runs than power hitters. But I think you need them both. A-Rod doesn't get nearly as many RBIs without Jeter on base to drive in.
 
#114
#114
vols kick balls said:
A hitters OPS doesn't lie.​
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Agree that this is the best single stat to measure a hitter's performance. But I wonder if there's something more that measures their BA with RISP, as I think this is even more crucial than overall BA. Those ABs with RISP should be given more weight to the overall OPS-like stat.

This way we'd see why guys like Jeter and Ichiro are so valuable.
 
#115
#115
Vercingetorix said:
Give me a lineup of .250 hitters who hit 45 home runs a year, and I will bury your lineup of .330 singles hitters every time. Batting average is a nice and easy shorthand measure, but you've got to look at OBP and SLG to know whether a hitter is any good.
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I don't think anyone was discussing that type of comparison - I've said they're both equally important - but since you went there, sure, I'd take my chances with a lineup of guys who hit .330 with, say 12 HRs a year vs. guys who hit .250 with 45 HRs a year. I bet the lineup of straight .330 guys drive in as many, if not more runs overall.

Look, if you put a guy like Jeter in the cleanup spot with guys like Ichiro, Renteria, and Jose Reyes in front of him, he'd drive in a ton of runs. He might not hit HRs, but he'll hit enough doubles and singles to bring those guys in. The .250 guys would be hitting a lot of solo shots and striking out a lot.
 
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