Ichiro and AROD-DO you think the homerun is over valued in baseball?

Question

Obviously AROD looks to be the best player in the game, but is his value that much greater then players like Jose Reyes and Ichiro? I have been watching the game along time and when the game is played at its highest level pitching is usually the most important thing. No matter how good the hitters are the pitcher controls the game. Take the All Star game for example, the best pitchers in the game pretty much nuetralized most of the games greatest players except the two guys who skills present major problems for any pitcher, those players were Jose Reyes and Ichiro. A game played at its highest level will be decided by little things such as speed, teamwork, defense, sacrificing with bunts and moving players in position to score. Not to understate the greatness of such players as Bonds or Arod but I think players like Reyes, Ichiro pose equal threats as well and are worth those thypes of contracts if the sluggers are getting them. Discuss.

Any one that does not think pitching is the most important thing in baseball can just ignore this question and move on because you do not know baseball and I will not consider anything you say.

Any one that does not think pitching is the most important thing in baseball can just ignore this question and move on because you do not know baseball and I will not consider anything you say.

Bonds=all time home run leader, no rings

Answer 1

First, off i double your statement about pitching. If you think pitching is worthless (in the sense hitting is the most important) you should either, learn something about ball or never watch baseball again. Pitching wins championships. Ever wonder why the Yanks are so far back? They have no pitching. Ever wonder why the Tiger and Sox do so well, the have pitching. Pitching is the most important thing in baseball.

Now on to your question. Personally i would much rather have Ichiro and Reyes than A-Rod. I could build a speed team around those two. If you had Reyes and Ichiro batting one-two. Your scoring a run every game. The odds of both of them going 0-3 or 0-4 is so minute. They are great hitters. They get hits. Big innings are created when a team has base runners. These guys get on base, then they steal bases. They can get to second easily. A-Rod is the best player in ball, but would not want him on my team. I hold little value in the HR. It is overrated, people have become so obsesed with it that it is all they think about it. Whenever fans argue over whose the better player, what stat do they metion first, HR. However the most important stats are, AVE and OBP. I even think SB is in the top 5.

Also you cant compare the two, even though you may try, because i do and say Ichiro and Reyes are the best. A-Rod is a power hitter. Reyes and Ichiro are lead off hitters. They both have different talents. So who is better comes down to, what to you value more the HR or AVE/Speed. Many say the HR. Thats why power hitters are always "the best". Reyes and Ichiro though are the best lead off hitters in the game. A-Rod is the best power hitter. From there its all about what do you like more. Personally ill go with Ichiro and Reyes, because i love small ball.

Edit-Does no one watch Mariners Batting Practice/listen to what they say about it. Ask anyone on the team, Who hits the most HR during BP. They will ALL say Ichiro. Even Jim Leyland during the All-Star game said it. Ichiro can hit HR, but its not his job to.

Answer 2

this is an interesting point...I think that the homerun has become too overvalued, as a lot of hitters are sacrificing their own on base percentages in an attempt to hit more home runs. However, I think that a large reason for why these players get big contracts is that home runs are what most (not all) fans want to see, so players that hit a lot of home runs, while they might not help their teams win as much as guys like reyes and ichiro, will still fill the seats and therefore get big contracts

Answer 3

It's only overrated if your team isn't producing any home runs. I mean, let's all be honest. Everyone likes home runs and no they are not overrated. It's all relative to other stats as well though. If you have 50 home runs and 62 rbi's, then obviously there is something wrong there. That being said, I don't see anything wrong with a guy like Ichiro getting the money he got. He is a damn good player with amazing abilities. His offense and defense is just out of this world. He may not swing for the fences every time but there is a reason his OBP is .406 and his average is .355. Both players are studs in their own right. Like I said, it's all relative.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6615

Answer 4

I think homeruns are overated and 2b underated. As for Arod and I am not an Arod hater I would love to see his statistics against top 30 pitching vs hitters like Pujols, Miguel Caberrea, and Manny. I think if this was 30 years ago and pitching wasnt so watered down Arod wouldnt be the force he is. He kills mediocre pitching. That is not a bad thing but living in New York I feel like I never see him do well against great pitching.

Answer 5

How in the world can you compare Reyes or Ichiro to A-Rod?

I can understand choosing someone like them over a one-dimensional slugger like Rob Deer, but A-Rod has a higher career on-base percentage than either of the guys you mentioned. And the fact that his hits are often homers, as compared to Ichiro's singles and doubles, means that he is doing more to help his team win. It's like you're knocking him for being too good at hitting for power - would you rather he try for more bunt singles?

I agree that pitching is the name of the game. After that however, getting on base and hitting for power and the most important elements of winning. All the bunting, teamwork, chemistry, grit, speed, heart, guts, and whatever else you want to throw in aren't going to help you win if you don't get men on base and drive them in.

So, yes, A-Rod's value is that much greater.

Answer 6

Wrong! Pitchers don't play every day and the players with the highest OPS are the most valuable to a team.

Dumbass, everyone knows pitching wins, but pitchers do not deserve to be the highest paid players due to the fact that they are not every day players.

Furthermore, I've forgotten more about baseball than you will ever know.

Answer 7

Ichiro will win games, sell jerseys, and put people in the seats. The kids love him. He is a god in Seattle they would be stupid to let him go. From a financial perspective paying him that much money to stay is a smart smart move. A-Rod. Ask the Rangers what they think about that.

Answer 8

Yes.

A homerun is everything in baseball, it brings in average a HR and R.B.I. (s).

For example Ichiro may have like 20 stolen bases but A-Rods 31 homeruns are more importent.

Hitting a R.B.I. single with the bases loaded is nothing compaed to a homerun with the basesloaded.

Think of it that way.

But, Ichiro is a excellent player. He can do everything except hit homeruns.

Answer 9

i agree with you. i would definitely rather have someone like reyes who can wreak havoc on the basepaths and has a legit chance to get on base and score everytime he gets up to bat than someone like bonds or ARod who is looking for the long ball most of the time. i think that small ball is much more exciting to watch than home run hitters anyways.

Answer 10

Jose Reyes is a great player because he is on the greatest team in the world.

Lets GO MEts

2007 World Champions!