Or is he still in his prime? Does he steal bases like he used to?
2006-12-18 16:08:37 · 28 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Baseball
He is in the middle of his most productive portion of his career. I wish I could hit .290 with 35 home runs and drive in 121 runs and call it an off year! Stealing bases is overrated. They should only be taken during critical times in a ball game. With the lineup that surrounds him it's pretty difficult to steal. Just let the other guy hit you in. Look at Mickey Mantle's career. Maybe the fastest base runner of all time but he hardly ever had to steal because of that incredible lineup he was a part of.
A-Rod is just fine and I think he will need to have a banner year if only to quiet his detractors. I think he will.
2006-12-19 04:16:31 · answer #1 · answered by The Mick "7" 7 · 20⤊ 3⤋
A-Rod is still one of the best players in the MLB. He may have had an off year last year, compared to what he has done throughout his career; however he still had a great season: .290 AVG, 35HR, 121 RBI, 15 SB, .392 OBP, and a .523 SLG. I'd take those numbers anyday, as you could see he still put up solid production.
He is still 31, and has already put up eye popping numbers throughout his career. He has been healthy, durable and consitent throughout his career.
He does not steal bases like he used to, though he is still a good bet for 20 swipes a year.
Yankee fans do not know what type of player they have. A-Rod is one of the best and most of the fans hate him. Its not A-Rod's fault the Yankees have not won a World Series. Look at their aging pitchers. Don't they seem to be the one's to blame?
A-Rod was a SS, and still should be. He is better than Derek Jeter. On the Yankees, Jeter is a second string short stop compared to A-Rod.
The numbers back him up; A-Rod is one of baseball's best and for many years to come.
2006-12-19 16:11:51 · answer #2 · answered by Coco 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
If a guy has a bad season everyone starts asking questions like these. First off his "Bad" season was a good season for 90% of baseball. With 35 HR's 121 RBI's and a .290 batting average most major leaguers would consider this a great season. Is he past his prime? no way. Hes in his prime and I expect that he'll come into this season on a mission. His base stealing has always taken a back seat to his hitting.
2006-12-19 06:11:06 · answer #3 · answered by Oz 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
A-Rod is still at peak performance. Even the numbers bear this out.
If you look at his split stats at Yahoo:
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/5275/splits?year=2006&type=Batting
You'll note that his home/away numbers are consistant, his Sept/2006 average was .358 (alot of non-peak guys tire at the end of the year), his homeruns at Yankee stadium were 20 (which is awesome for a right-handed hitter).
Consider also that he played 154 games (matching and sometimes surpassing totals when he plays about 150 games) - and you can still see a player in his prime. At 31, he's going to still show the world for the next 5-6 years at least, that he's one of the game's great players.
In regard to his base stealing... alot of this has to do with the Yankee style of baseball. I've seen too many speedsters come to the Yankees and have their base stealing numbers drop considerably. It's usually the manager's preference and with all the hard hitting Yankees on board, managers tend to rely more on hit-and-runs, etc... since the team doesn't need to manufacture runs.
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2006-12-19 10:59:32 · answer #4 · answered by Nibiru - 3600 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
It isn't that he's past his prime as much as it is that he struggles at time under the pressure of playing in NY. He won't hit 50 homers every year, or even 40 for that matter. He will consistently put up .300 35 HR and 110 RBI though in a ballpark not suited for right-handed hitters. It's tougher in NY than it was in Texas and Seattle. He's still a top 5 player and will be for the rest of this decade.
2006-12-19 04:06:03 · answer #5 · answered by furiosity23 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, he is still in his prime for the next 4 to 5 years. Then it's the start of down hill!!!
2006-12-19 22:22:06 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
A-Rod is still in his prime and will probably win another MVP or two. But unless he produces in the post-season with the Yankees, he will always be remembered as a big flop.
2006-12-19 16:25:16 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
He May have past his Prime everyone dose even the Great A-Rod. Next year will prove It.
2006-12-19 15:48:52 · answer #8 · answered by gerardnolting 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Arod is only 31 and still puts up solid numbers. In fact at 31 he has hit 130 more homeruns than Barry Bonds did when Barry turned 31. Arod is a steady productive machine well on pace to break a few records of his own.
2006-12-19 00:18:32 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
He's still in his prime. Last season he didn't do that great compared to what we've seen him do in the past, but I think that he did well. He still managed to hit 35 hrs and 121rbi. I guess something in his personal life could have caused him to lose focus a bit, maybe minor injuries he didn't wanna tell the team about? I don't know, could be. but I think he'll be back to his .300 average, .600 slugging, .420 OB, .980 fielding again next season! :-)
2006-12-19 04:17:53 · answer #10 · answered by AL IS ON VACATION AND HAS NO PIC 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Just because he had a horrible post season doesn't mean he's past his prime. His regular season numbers are favorable to anyone in the AL.
2006-12-19 09:04:37 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋