I nominate Joe Mauer, 26, Catcher, BA 383 (2 time BA Champ NEVER been done B4) 25 HR, 77 RBI. Only Teddy, Joe D, Lou G, and the Babe have at this stage of the season had the stats he does this yr. Age & Position alone puts him up there. Who else (non pitcher) would you rather have?:think2:
Leads the league in average, obp and slugging and plays catcher. The better question right now is who is second best
The flexibility the Red Sox have because Youkilis can play multiple positions is a huge advantage
Halladay with a 6.9 K/BB ratio is the only other one I would consider
Not sure why a players age means anything
The flexibility the Red Sox have because Youkilis can play multiple positions is a huge advantage
Halladay with a 6.9 K/BB ratio is the only other one I would consider
Not sure why a players age means anything
The Way The Q Was Posed Maybe Nothing
except for future value. i.e. all other things being equal I'm sure any team given the choice between a 26 yr old and one who's say 31, would take the young guy. Especially one such as Mauer who shows so much maturity. Never any trouble on or off the field. That age factor MIGHT give him the edge over Albert?
except for future value. i.e. all other things being equal I'm sure any team given the choice between a 26 yr old and one who's say 31, would take the young guy. Especially one such as Mauer who shows so much maturity. Never any trouble on or off the field. That age factor MIGHT give him the edge over Albert?
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Ichiro Suzuki is the finest all around baseball player I've ever watched but Pujols is making this very hard on me.
Great hitter
Great speed/baserunning
Great fielder with multiple gold gloves
Cannon of an arm that nobody will run on
Great mind for the game of baseball and the best student of the game.
I wish we could've seen this guy at the age of 20-23 play and he's still going to reach 3,000. I believe he's already in the Hall of Fame and also had had the greatest rookie year I've ever seen.
The only thing that holds him back are his power numbers but he forces the entire opposing team to plan their strategy around him. He is also a killer in the playoffs.
Great hitter
Great speed/baserunning
Great fielder with multiple gold gloves
Cannon of an arm that nobody will run on
Great mind for the game of baseball and the best student of the game.
I wish we could've seen this guy at the age of 20-23 play and he's still going to reach 3,000. I believe he's already in the Hall of Fame and also had had the greatest rookie year I've ever seen.
The only thing that holds him back are his power numbers but he forces the entire opposing team to plan their strategy around him. He is also a killer in the playoffs.
It wasn't addressed to me, but oh yeah, I would take CC over Damon....though some of that is due to his having far more upside due to the age difference
He's at this moment just a bit over seven seasons (first year was 63 games...and we're 119 this season so far....with six seasons in between)
The career numbers of course reflect that entire span. But if we give him a modest mulligan for his first two years (214 games) here's his numbers since:
162 game avg in ( ) Damon 162 avg ( )
829 games
1020 hits (202) (185)
533 runs (105) (113)
154 doub (30) (34)
75 trip (15) (7)
75 HR (15) (16)
408 rbi (81) (76)
292 sb (57) (29)
BA .303 .289
A very fair match with Crawford's superior baserunning the edge (SB, Triples) along with the +17 in Hits
Meanwhile, upon further review, I would retract my earlier "Yep" on CC and now submit he's #2 for me in the AL behind Ichiro.
Mauer is a pretty impressive player as well and his defensive presence - a bit more difficult to quantify - likely helps balance out his relative lack of baserunning impact.
And no one's yet mentioned ARod. Though he still needs to rebound from this past offseason of media drama, he's still producing at almost a 40HR, 110 RBI pace and playing a solid defense.
