He can definitely rack up the hits. But still, if given the choice between having him on your team or a typical, good power hitter (ala Gary Sheffield), wouldn't you choose Sheffield (or some other power hitter) to be on your team?
Yeah, I totally agree with you Nuggs4...I mean honestly, who wouldn't want this guy leading off on their team?
Ted Williams "The greatest hitter who ever lived" Pictures from LIFE magazine, 1 Sep 1941, the year Ted hit a season average of .406 — the last hitter to go over .400 for a season. Animated GIF by Ed Stephan. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The most sensationally consistent hitter in big league baseball is a gangling, 22-year-old outfielder named Ted Williams of the Red Sox (see front cover). Williams is a great hitter for three reasons: eyes, wrists and forearms. He has what ballplayers call "camera eyes" which allow him to focus on a pitched ball as it zooms down its 60-ft. path from the pitcher's hand, accurately judge i ts intended path across the plate, and reach for it. He even claims he can see the ball and bat meet. The rest of his formula is never to stop swinging. On and off the field he constantly wields a bat to keep the spring in his powerful wrist. Even when he is in the outfield he sometimes keeps waving his arms in a batting arc. And, more than most other great batters, he keeps his body out of his swing, puts all his drive into his forearms. Here on these pages are high-speed pictures taken by Gjon Mili which show the great co-ordination of these factors, the split-second release of power which enables Ted to hit safely four out of every ten times he comes to bat.
He gets on base less consistantly than 34 other players. Of those, only 7 have a lower slugging percentage. He is 46th in the majors in OPS. That is what makes him overrated. His infield singles do little if any more for the team than a walk. On the other hand, his slap hit singles are significantly less valuable than other players extra base hits. ARod is hitting .297 but is contributing much more to his team, because he hits for power.
Indeed. He's a nice player, but he's nearly as good as a lot of people claim. Of those 257 hits, only 37 were extra base hits.
You can't move runners over by stealing bases, and you can't steal when there is a guy in front of you, unless he steals as well. I would take the Rocket, Pettite, and Oswalt over Ichiro. He is not good enough that you would take him over a really good pitcher. Ichiro is a very good player. He has a pretty good OBP, and he has speed which can put pressure on the defense. He is also a very good defensive player, which some people don't take into accout. Having said that, he is not even the best player at his position, and is certainly not an MVP caliber player. He is a nice piece to have, but he is old for his experience level, and is quite overrated.
right now, I'd have to take Ichiro's hitting over Pettite's pitching, as you can tell from our record, and offensive numbers... we suck. you need pitching... point taken, but dang we need offense in the worst way. I'd take Ichiro over Pettite anyday.
I guess it comes from being a Yankees fan. When you have ARod, Jeter, Sheffield, Matsui, Martinez, etc. you care less about the good bat amd more about the inning eating starter.
