The hardest thing to do in all of sports is hit that ball with that bat and 30 % hitting can get you into the hall of fame and home runs don't count in that average some good examples of life time average
TY COBB 366 #1 hit 420 in 1911
Nap Lajoie 338 #18 hit 426 in 1905
Rodger Hornsby358 #2 hit424 in 1924
babe Ruth342#10 hit379 in1924
finally todd helton333 #25 never held best average for one year but is still active and never touched steroids
2007-08-18 06:36:59 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous in Sports ➔ Baseball
No, but I'll bet he serves up a killer plate of sushi!
2007-08-18 07:23:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
A lot more goes into being the greatest hitter in history than just batting average. Ichiro hardly ever walks so his on base percentage is .378 which is just good and not great for a lead-off hitter. On average he's on base 280 times a season but makes 460 outs doing that.
Compare that to Ted Williams who had a career OBP of .482!!! Ted got on base an average of 330 times per season and made 100 less outs per season than Ichiro doing it. Plus Williams hit 500 home runs more than Ichiro.
There is a formula for evalutating a hitter's total numbers which tell you how many runs per game would be scored by a team made up of nine players with the same stats as that guy. Ichiro's career score is 6.7 runs per game. Ted Williams is 12 runs per game. In Ichiro's best season his score was 7.9. Williams best full season (1941) his score was 17.4 runs per game. Not even a close comparison.
Ichiro is an impressive hitter, average wise, but he does not come close to the top hitters in history or even of today.
BTW, how do you know that Todd Helton never touched steroids?
2007-08-18 08:04:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Only to people who think that all that matters when it comes to hitting is batting average.
All hits are not created equal. A single is not as valuable as a double or a home run. And on base percentage is much more important than batting average.
IMO, the three greatest hitters in history are Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Ty Cobb (whose power was limited by the dead ball era). Best hitters today are Pujols, Ortiz, and A-Rod. Yes, they're sluggers, but they're sluggers who can hit for a good average and get on base.
2007-08-18 09:18:52 · answer #3 · answered by koreaguy12 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The greatest batters are usually considered to be Cobb, Ruth, Bonds, Williams. Hornsby, DiMaggio, Aaron, Mays, etc. Except for Cobb, playing in the deadball era, they were much more balanced than Ichiro, hitting more home runs and extra base hits.
Other singles hitters have done better. Of the top 15 batting champions by the largest margins, he has none. Carew and Hornsby have three each.
He hasn't even been the best hitter in his own era, even in one year. Bonds, A-Rod, and Pujols are among those who easily outclass him.
Deleted 1st paragraph, worded misleading and not relevant.
2007-08-18 09:15:32 · answer #4 · answered by DaM 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It'll be a long time in my opinion until America can safely say someone was a better hitter than Ty Cobb. And I think Hornsby has 2nd locked up for awhile too. Ichiro has a great shot at a .340 career average, Hornsby's .358 seems unreachable let alone Cobb's .366.
I think Ichiro will pass Ruth at some point and finish maybe in the top 5.
2007-08-18 06:42:30 · answer #5 · answered by Hank 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
If Suzuki had come up as a rookie in the majors he might well have broken Rose's hit record and hit .400 in a season. He was already on the far end of his prime when he arrived in the majors and even with the longevity he's displayed he just doesn't have time to set those records. So you have to say what if?
You also have to consider guys like Maur who flirts with .400 it seems like every year and he's still very young. Give him a few years and he may well actually do it. So Suzuki has real competitition but has clearly shown he deserves induction in the HOF despite how many years he missed while in the Japanese leagues.
It also begs for the creation of a world HOF for a time for players that have split time in both leagues and had great success.
2007-08-18 07:18:24 · answer #6 · answered by draciron 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
He stated playin in the USA when he about 27 think how many hits he would have had if he started playin like at age 21. His numbers in Japan show he was still the real deal even when he was there
2007-08-18 10:40:24 · answer #7 · answered by Wisdom=Magenta 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's the hardest thing to do. I think actually scoring a goal in soccer is as they so infrequently score.
Todd Helton was helped by playing at altitude in Colorado. That skews his stats.
Anyway, Ichiro is a great player but vastly overrated. If you like the Gwynn/Boggs type bingles hitters, he's for you. I much prefer my hitters to have a tad more pop in their bats. They don't have to be 'roid-oids like Bonds or McGwire but my idea of a great hitter is more someone like Miguel Cabrera or Manny Ramirez.
2007-08-18 06:43:15 · answer #8 · answered by fugutastic 6 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Ichiro will likely be the first person honored in both the American and Japanese Baseball Halls Of Fame.
Can't touch that.
2007-08-18 06:50:43 · answer #9 · answered by Chipmaker Authentic 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The answer is no. He's a great contact hitter and that's it. His speed allows him to beat out a lot of balls hit down at third.
Ty Cobb and Ted Williams whom you forgot to mention will always be considered as the greatest pure hitters of the game.
2007-08-18 07:00:15 · answer #10 · answered by Numba 1 3 · 2⤊ 2⤋
He started out too old in MLB to be thought of as the greatest ever. He will mostly be remembered for being the first position player from Japan to have some actual success in the majors.
2007-08-18 06:43:30 · answer #11 · answered by budpatient 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋