Springer has been the 4th best leadoff hitter of all time (RC+ with 500 plate appearance minimum) slightly less than 2nd and 3rd. That goes to 3rd if you raise plate appearance bar high enough to remove Mike Trout from the top. Is there a chance that you have set the bar a little high on what makes a prototypical leadoff guy?
Here we go... For me, its not about how well he is hitting for I believe he would put up great numbers no matter where in the order he appears. Its about about his tool set I.E. what he does well vs what he doesnt. He isnt a prototypical leadoff guy in the sense that he doesn't steal bases and in general doesn't run the bases that well (baserunning IQ). That said, I didnt mean to imply (right now) that we have to have a prototypical leadoff guy, just that Springer isnt one. For now, I am off my bandwagon of trying to move him. Not happening. I dont want to derail this thread, so if you want to discuss this more, bump the Springer thread.
I'll add without derailing down the standard path.. I think the phrase "prototypical leadoff guy" should not be used in that way anymore. Chris Davis is leading off for BAL. Schwarber led off for the Cubs before, Happ (25-29% K rate, 25-30 HR projected) now. Before Bird went down, the Yankees were considering Judge supposedly. Dozier for the Twins this year, Santana for the Indians in the past. Point being, I'd call it the "old prototypical leadoff guy". Nowadays, there's a healthy mix of opinions on what's best, and no one can definitely say that the majority of baseball thinks one way or the other is best. Closer isn't there yet, but I bet it gets there within 5 years (assuming teams will move closer to not defining a closer and looking for a bunch of Devos)
Defining terms certainly makes ones points more clear. The days of the #1 & #2 BO guys being high OBP, high steals, speedy around the bases and your #3-5 guys being cleanup types with power may be a waning concept. But that is what I meant by prototypical. Maybe old school prototypical is more apt. I agree with you that relief pitching labels are becoming more blurred as well. I think part of what is going on is that teams that succeed tend to be mimicked. Power guys in the #1 slot could be related to the Astros overall success. Running starters out there to close games might catch on as well. I am not ready to concede that old school is wrong. Teams certainly are experimenting more trying to use analytical data in more diverse ways. And it very well may end up with different teams needing to take different approaches based on their staffs strengths and weaknesses. But one old school thought that pervades my thinking is that you want guys on base when home runs/extra base hits occur. And its hard for me to dismiss the idea of putting high OBP/Stealing/high Baserunning IQ in front of power guys in the lineup to fulfill this end.
In case some of y'all didn't count...I counted, roughly, 38 of the 100 to dead center or oppo. Crazy. And that's to deep right center in many cases.
Refresh my memory on '17 vs LH Starters We had decent hitting stats, but often took L's ?... Or the other way around ? _______ Couple of bad things from yesterday are 1) K total (13) and 2) RISP (0-6)
Here is some info from 2017 https://www.crawfishboxes.com/2017/10/5/16427778/astros-offense-vs-lefthanded-pitching-in-alds
Only slightly less effective than vs RH, but had a poor record. Astros pitching likely underperformed in those games.
Anyone have the locker room drunk video of McCullers randomly shouting WHERE THE F is Arlington? lol I think it's after the Yankees win.
Via BrianMcTaggart Former Astros outfielder Carlos Beltrán will return to receive his 2017 World Championship Ring and throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Tuesday’s contest. On Friday in Houston, Jose Altuve will be honored for his American League MVP and Silver Slugger awards, George Springer will be honored for his World Series MVP and Silver Slugger awards, and Justin Verlander will be honored for his AL Championship Series MVP award Home opener details for Monday: Gates open: 3 p.m. Giveaway: schedule magnet Pregame: Clydesdales, 2017 banner unveiling Flyover: US Navy Training Air Wing 2 Anthem: Clay Walker First pitch: Rich Dauer Uniform: gold-accented jerseys/hats First pitch: 6:10pm
Just stick with this response and stop carrying it further. Teams that are sticking with this outdated concept aren't winning as many games as the Astros. In the end, any lineup that has your best hitters getting the most AB's... will be your best lineup. Moving Springer down in the lineup to 5th or 6th will give him less overall AB's per game and for the year.
Yep, I almost commented that it was interested that of the teams I started listing, the Cubs/Indians/Astros/Yankees were all on the list...coincidentally (or not), 4 of the 7ish teams people call "contenders" this year. I held off because I wasn't exhaustive, and the Yankees were only talking vs. doing...but still
