Best Baseball Player?

[TGov]

Who do you think is the Best (CURRENT) Baseball player?... the most athletic, best at what they do, or how ever you want to say it...

 

I gotta say Carl Crawford, in my mind, he can do it all... he hits for average, power, steals bases, good arm, good fielder... He can hit anywhere in the lineup and from what I see, he's a team player, I just hope he gets out of Tampa and gets on a winning team (maaaaybe the Red Sox, haha...)

 

I could go on with tuns of players but I won't, what do you think...?

[BoSox34]

Derek Jeter or Albert Pujols.

[Cocos Disciples]

HmmPujols

[Cityofchampions33]

well 5 tool maybe sizemore or reyes, offensively yeah i gotta go pujols

[example1]

Ichiro: sick speed, tremendous average, tremendous arm, great consistency

 

Vladdy: Power, Average and a cannon

 

Beltran: usually he's one of the top 20 players in baseball, at times he gets hot and is better than anyone for extended periods. Tremendous athlete.

[TheKilo]

The correct answer is Albert Pujols.

[Thumper]

The best player in the MLB is no doubt Chipper Jones!

 

Just kidding, Albert Pujols.

[ORS]

ARod. Hits like Pujols, but he can run and play a MIF position like a legitimate gold-glover.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

Impossible to answer (almost as tough as the best football player)

 

Power Hitters

1. Albert Pujols

2. David Ortiz

3. Ryan Howard

4. Lance Berkman

5. Vladimir Guerrero

 

Best Tools

1. Carlos Beltran

2. Carl Crawford

3. Jose Reyes

4. Derek Jeter

5. Ichiro Suzuki

6. Vernon Wells

 

Then there are pitchers...but thats an easy answser.....Johan Santana

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

ARod. Hits like Pujols' date=' but he can run and play a MIF position like a legitimate gold-glover.[/quote']

 

Albert Pujols is a better hitter than A-Rod. At the end of his career (if he can stay healthy) Albert Pujols may be considered the best hitter of all time. The most incredible thing about him is his strikeouts. A-Rod strikes out 130 times a year....Pujols is around 50-60. For a guy who hits for power thats amazing. He covers the plate like no other hitter and is without a doubt the most dangerous hitter in the game today.

 

A-Rod has also hit .330+ in a season once. Albert Pujols has now done it 4 years in a row. A-Rod may have him in terms of stolen bases but I can't say he has a better glove. Had he never gone to NY I would say he was better defensively but since going to NY....his fielding% sucks.

[ORS]

Albert Pujols is a better hitter than A-Rod. At the end of his career (if he can stay healthy) Albert Pujols may be considered the best hitter of all time. The most incredible thing about him is his strikeouts. A-Rod strikes out 130 times a year....Pujols is around 50-60. For a guy who hits for power thats amazing. He covers the plate like no other hitter and is without a doubt the most dangerous hitter in the game today.

 

A-Rod has also never hit .330 in a season. Albert Pujols has now done it 4 years in a row. A-Rod may have him in terms of stolen bases but I can't say he has a better glove. Had he never gone to NY I would say he was better defensively but since going to NY....his fielding% sucks.

I can't believe I need to say this, but put Pujols at SS and 3B, then we can start comparing their fielding abilities. Pujols is better with the bat alone, but ARod is better at everything else.

 

Oh, and your top-5 power hitter list is seriously defficient without Hafner on it.

[Papelbon58]

There really are two categories. I have to take Pujols, Jeter and Vlady. I think Vlady is interesting because he could be put in the tools category or the hitter category. He doesn't get enough credit for being an all-around player.

 

As for maybe the one guy who could legitimately be an "all around star" (pitching included) its gotta be Carlos Zambrano. Haha

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

I can't believe I need to say this, but put Pujols at SS and 3B, then we can start comparing their fielding abilities. Pujols is better with the bat alone, but ARod is better at everything else.

 

Oh, and your top-5 power hitter list is seriously defficient without Hafner on it.

 

Pujols played 3rd base and was about as good as A-Rod. I'll give you the shortstop argument but since he went to NY...his defense is average.

 

As for my top 5 power hitters....sure Travis Hafner is a great hitter but where would you put him? I only put 5 players on my list and you can make an argument for all of them. I don't know how you can say its defficient when Pujols, Ortiz, Berkman, Howard, and Guerrero are some of the premier hitters in the game. You can make the case for Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Justin Morneau, Mark Teixeira....there are lots of good hitters....maybe next time I'll make a top 10 list.

[TheKilo]

Hafner > Guerrero

 

And what exactly are Jeter's tools? Hitting singles?

[BoSox34]

Hafner > Guerrero

 

And what exactly are Jeter's tools? Hitting singles?

 

Winning championships.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

Hafner > Guerrero

 

And what exactly are Jeter's tools? Hitting singles?

 

Vlad Guerrero has been a premier hitter for 9 years. He hits a .330 average about every season while hitting 30+ HRs every year. Not only that but he has been on Montreal and the Angels his whole career...not exactly strong offensive teams. You can certainly make a case for Travis Hafner....but Hafner>Guerrero is not a good one.

 

Derek Jeter....strong defense, hits decent power for a middle infielder, steals bases, hits for average, and most important...wins games. He is the Tom Brady of baseball. Everyone hates him unless he is on your team. Not exactly flashy or does one thing great....but wins games at any cost.

[CrespoBlows]

Winning championships.

 

That's a team element, not a single player.

 

 

Derek Jeter....strong defense, hits decent power for a middle infielder, steals bases, hits for average, and most important...wins games. He is the Tom Brady of baseball. Everyone hates him unless he is on your team. Not exactly flashy or does one thing great....but wins games at any cost.

 

BTW, Jeter isn't a strong defender, just average.

[yankeessuck013]

pujols

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

That's a team element, not a single player.

 

 

 

 

BTW, Jeter isn't a strong defender, just average.

 

Out of 30 starting shortstops you would have to put Derek Jeter in the top 10. Maybe its a poor group of shortstops but compared to the other players in the league he is pretty good. He makes the "over the shoulder" catch better than anyone. Alex Gonzalez, Orlando Cabrera, Jimmy Rollins, Michael Young, David Eckstein, and Rafael Furcal are all excellent but after that is gets tough. I would put Jeter somewhere in that category between Michael Young and David Eckstein.

[Soxfan1]

A-Rod should be at Shortstop.

 

But on topic,

 

Pujols.

[ORS]

Out of 30 starting shortstops you would have to put Derek Jeter in the top 10. Maybe its a poor group of shortstops but compared to the other players in the league he is pretty good. He makes the "over the shoulder" catch better than anyone. Alex Gonzalez' date=' Orlando Cabrera, Jimmy Rollins, Michael Young, David Eckstein, and Rafael Furcal are all excellent but after that is gets tough. I would put Jeter somewhere in that category between Michael Young and David Eckstein.[/quote']

Vizquel, Tejada, Peralta, Wilson, and the most underrated defender right now, Everett, are all better at SS than Jeter, and that is in addtition to your list. Jose Reyes is on the cusp of being better.

[TGov]

Winning championships.

 

not recently...

 

EDIT:

 

A-Rod should be at Shortstop.

 

But on topic,

 

Pujols.

 

Yes he should, because he's defiantly not a gold glove caliber third baseman

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

Vizquel' date=' Tejada, Peralta, Wilson, and the most underrated defender right now, Everett, are all better at SS than Jeter, and that is in addtition to your list. Jose Reyes is on the cusp of being better.[/quote']

 

I can agree with Omar Vizquel but not the others. Saying Miguel Tejada is better defensively is not real accurate. Tejada tends to make 20+ errors while Jeter is more in the 13-15 range. The fielding % is pretty close but still goes to Jeter. Not to mention if you ever see them play...Tejada turns difficult plays into a mess. Jeter tends to come out on top more often than not.

 

Peralta has only been a fulltime shortstop in the majors the last two seasons....how you can compare the two is pretty difficult...especially when you compare highlight history. i've now seen plenty of games from Peralta and he will be known for his hitting more than his defense. He doesnt have great speed but he does sport a strong arm. This early in his career I havent seen anything that indicates he is better on defense than Jeter.

 

Can't say I've seen a ton of games from Jack Wilson (who the hell watches Pittsburgh) but what I have seen is another guy who doesn't tend to make great plays but is steady. Certainly Derek Jeter gets more exposure playing in New York than Wilson does in Pittsburgh....nonetheless when I saw him I didn't see anything that makes me think he is a better player in any way.

 

Jose Reyes....deffinitly will be a better player than Jeter in every phase of the game (if he isnt already)

 

I'll give you Adam Everett as well...so Vizquel and Everett....not Tejada, Wilson, or Peralta

[ORS]

I can agree with Omar Vizquel but not the others. Saying Miguel Tejada is better defensively is not real accurate. Tejada tends to make 20+ errors while Jeter is more in the 13-15 range. The fielding % is pretty close but still goes to Jeter. Not to mention if you ever see them play...Tejada turns difficult plays into a mess. Jeter tends to come out on top more often than not.

 

Peralta has only been a fulltime shortstop in the majors the last two seasons....how you can compare the two is pretty difficult...especially when you compare highlight history. i've now seen plenty of games from Peralta and he will be known for his hitting more than his defense. He doesnt have great speed but he does sport a strong arm. This early in his career I havent seen anything that indicates he is better on defense than Jeter.

 

Can't say I've seen a ton of games from Jack Wilson (who the hell watches Pittsburgh) but what I have seen is another guy who doesn't tend to make great plays but is steady. Certainly Derek Jeter gets more exposure playing in New York than Wilson does in Pittsburgh....nonetheless when I saw him I didn't see anything that makes me think he is a better player in any way.

 

Jose Reyes....deffinitly will be a better player than Jeter in every phase of the game (if he isnt already)

Will you stay on topic? We were talking about defense, but it's hard to reason with you when you throw stuff like what is in bold in the conversation.

 

All of them have much better range than Jeter. Jeter is a more steady fielder - read: less errors - but there's more to defense than that. Jeter's best three years for RF, ZR, and F% just so happen to coincide with the introduction of a former GG SS being moved to 3B right next to him. When that happened, his numbers bumped up right around average, give or take a little. Prior to that, he was well below average almost every year.

 

I think the problem is that you are talking "highlight", while I'm talking overall ability. Jeter looks spectacular so often because his feet don't get him there fast enough to make it look routine like it does for the rest of the guys mentioned. I don't care what your perception of him or of them are, if you can't show me with a number, it's probably a false assumption.

[ORS]

I'll give you Adam Everett as well...so Vizquel and Everett....not Tejada' date=' Wilson, or Peralta[/quote']

I don't care what you "give" me, and thus far, you've given me very little to change my assessment. If you aren't a professional scout who watches these guys day in day out, then your opinion is a pile of beans in the discussion. Statistically, all those guys are better than Jeter, and this is with Jeter playing at career highs with ARod next to him.

[SchillingIsTheNatural]

I don't care what you "give" me' date=' and thus far, you've given me very little to change my assessment. If you aren't a professional scout who watches these guys day in day out, then your opinion is a pile of beans in the discussion. Statistically, all those guys are better than Jeter, and this is with Jeter playing at career highs with ARod next to him.[/quote']

 

So by the numbers you are wrong....the players you gave me are not all better than Jeter. Clearly because I called you out on the fact Albert Pujols is a better player than Alex Rodriguez you are looking to fight me until the end. It certainly doesn't take a professional scout to realize Derek Jeter is a better defensive player than Miguel Tejada. Not only that but Peralta is nothing great either (my guess is you haven't seen many games from him although I guarantee you will tell me otherwise).

 

For argument sake I was going to say you make a good case for Omar Vizquel and Adam Everett. They are both better defensive players than Derek Jeter. The fact you don't like Derek Jeter and hate the fact I am calling you out on certain topics is irrelevant...these opinions are what they are...opinions. If you strongly believe Miguel Tejada, Jack Wilson, and Johnny Peralta are better defensive players than Derek Jeter, all the power to you.

 

If you are going to make a case on range though for a position that requires a ton of range...don't come at me saying Peralta and Tejada cover a lot of ground...they don't. Tell it to Jeter while he goes diving into the stands or cuts off a ball by the first base line to save a run against the Athletics in the playoffs.

 

As far as getting back to the topic...none of this matters for the original question....Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball. Looks like I'm not alone in this one, most people wrote the same thing. Don't lose sleep over it though, I know how much some people struggle on this site when someone threatens there baseball knowledge. May your response be full of frustration and hate. I'm sure you will do everything in your power to get the last word.

[ORS]

So by the numbers you are wrong....the players you gave me are not all better than Jeter. Clearly because I called you out on the fact Albert Pujols is a better player than Alex Rodriguez you are looking to fight me until the end. It certainly doesn't take a professional scout to realize Derek Jeter is a better defensive player than Miguel Tejada. Not only that but Peralta is nothing great either (my guess is you haven't seen many games from him although I guarantee you will tell me otherwise).

 

For argument sake I was going to say you make a good case for Omar Vizquel and Adam Everett. They are both better defensive players than Derek Jeter. The fact you don't like Derek Jeter and hate the fact I am calling you out on certain topics is irrelevant...these opinions are what they are...opinions. If you strongly believe Miguel Tejada, Jack Wilson, and Johnny Peralta are better defensive players than Derek Jeter, all the power to you.

 

If you are going to make a case on range though for a position that requires a ton of range...don't come at me saying Peralta and Tejada cover a lot of ground...they don't. Tell it to Jeter while he goes diving into the stands or cuts off a ball by the first base line to save a run against the Athletics in the playoffs.

 

As far as getting back to the topic...none of this matters for the original question....Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball. Looks like I'm not alone in this one, most people wrote the same thing. Don't lose sleep over it though, I know how much some people struggle on this site when someone threatens there baseball knowledge. May your response be full of frustration and hate. I'm sure you will do everything in your power to get the last word.

Get over yourself. This has nothing to do with you or ARod vs. Pujols. You favor Pujols bat over the more complete player. Good for you, want a cookie?

 

Not statistically better, huh?

 

Career Stats at SS

Player     F%     RF     ZR

Wilson    .976   4.89   .851
Peralta   .973   4.70   .834
Tejada    .971   4.75   .833
Jeter     .975   4.20   .821

 

Whoops. You are easy prey. How 'bout you make it a little more challenging next time, sport?

 

This has nothing to do with any dislike of Jeter. I'd take him on this team in a heartbeat because, overall, he's an excellent SS, second best overall SS in the game, IMO. This is about the truth. Jeter's value is on offense. Nothing more, nothing less.

[MDF3530]

I gotta go with Pujols.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Ichiro and Helton

[Green Monster]

Another vote for Pujols.