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Arod Best AL Player?

AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
in Sports Talk
Heard this on ESPNradio today...

Is Arod the best player in the AL? The arguement for him is he's unselfish (moving to 3rd base when he was a gold glove shortstop, and a better defensive shortstop than Jeter), is a monster at the plate, and will be at 400 HRs before his 30th birthday. And all this, and the Yankees' fans won't embrace him.

So with Arod having the complete hitting package, and also the defensive package, who out there in the AL is a better player?

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    Gemmy10Gemmy10 Posts: 2,990 ✭
    Yes he is.
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    80sToyguy80sToyguy Posts: 383
    Vladdy, hands down! No one is more feared and he will have similar HR and RBI numbers to Arod at age 30 but will be hitting about 40 points higher. Add to that his amazing arm in the outfield. No arguement here, and there really won't be at the end of this season when Pay-Rod hits .290 39 111 while Guerrero puts up .350 37 134. What is even more amazing are the players Guerrero has around him compared to Rodriguez. Pay-Rods golden days are long gone, minus ONE good game (the 10 RBI game).
    LONG LIVE VLADDY!!!!!!!
    Jay
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    KOBEcollectorKOBEcollector Posts: 3,873 ✭✭
    They are both outstanding players

    To say one is " hands down " the best is really nor fair to the other player
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    AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭
    Another issue that was brought up in Arod's favor is the fact that he's never had any injury concerns...where other players have.

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    CardsFanCardsFan Posts: 1,093 ✭✭✭
    I would have to go with A-Rod, but I would say Ichiro is a very close second. He may not hit 40 home runs but he is a hit machine and a great defensive player.
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    AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭


    << <i>I would have to go with A-Rod, but I would say Ichiro is a very close second. He may not hit 40 home runs but he is a hit machine and a great defensive player. >>



    Did you see Ichiro smoke that ball out tonight?

    I've seen him take batting practice and he reminds me a lot of Wade Boggs. Boggs would hit these huge bombs in practice, but never hit for power...knew his strengths was in getting on base. Ichiro is the same way....and I'd take Ichiro a close second to Arod as best AL player.
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    DeutscherGeistDeutscherGeist Posts: 2,990 ✭✭✭✭
    A-Rod is one of the best players in this era, but I think you will have to include Vlad and Pujols too perhaps.

    Bonds would be too if he played.

    I would also mention Gary Sheffield. He is one of the most balanced players there is. Very durable too. He was injured last year, yet still finished 3rd in MVP. What a Stud.
    Its too hard to pick one guy right now since there are more players in baseball than there ever were.

    "So many of our DREAMS at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we SUMMON THE WILL they soon become INEVITABLE "- Christopher Reeve

    BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
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    sagardsagard Posts: 1,898 ✭✭✭


    << <i>
    I've seen him take batting practice and he reminds me a lot of Wade Boggs. Boggs would hit these huge bombs in practice, but never hit for power...knew his strengths was in getting on base. Ichiro is the same way....and I'd take Ichiro a close second to Arod as best AL player. >>



    A-Rod and Vladimir get on base just as much as Ichiro and provide a little pop as well.

    During Boggs peak four years (age 27-30 - same as Ichiros last four seasons) his OBP were 0.450, 0.453, 0.461 and 0.476. Ichiro will never approach those levels.
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    DeutscherGeistDeutscherGeist Posts: 2,990 ✭✭✭✭
    Ichiro is a great hitter, but he does not get on base appreciatively enough for such a high batting average. Boggs clearly got higher in actualy percentage and league rank.

    Both A-Rod and Vlad get on base the same level as Ichiro.
    "So many of our DREAMS at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we SUMMON THE WILL they soon become INEVITABLE "- Christopher Reeve

    BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
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    DeutscherGeistDeutscherGeist Posts: 2,990 ✭✭✭✭
    Sheffield actually has a better lifetime OBP than Ichiro. Even their recent numbers show Sheffield ahead.

    Sheffield, A-Rod and Vlad are the best AL players.

    Ichiro is not a 5 point player and the stuff he should be good at -- OBP-- he is still behind certain players for the most part. Singles look more exciting than walks, but essentially, they get you to first. Derek Jeter does that well with singles and walks and has a very high OBP. So, I am not convinced that Ichiro is even the second best player in the AL. He is not convincingly better than Jeter.

    This may seem like a Yankee bias, but it's not. After all, the Yankees buy the best players, right?

    Just for arguments sake, can one really say A-Rod is better than Sheffield?
    "So many of our DREAMS at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we SUMMON THE WILL they soon become INEVITABLE "- Christopher Reeve

    BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
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    AxtellAxtell Posts: 10,037 ✭✭


    << <i>
    Just for arguments sake, can one really say A-Rod is better than Sheffield? >>



    Uhm, easily.

    How's sheffield's fielding (I mean other than when he's getting into fisticuffs in the stands)? There's a reason you put defensive liabilities in right field.

    Sheffield's never won a gold glove, Arod likely will win it at third after unselfishly moving from SS to third (think sheffield would ever do anything not in his best interest?) You've never heard any on or off the field incidents with Arod, Sheffield's admitted to using steroids.

    Arod is truly a unique player in that he is so complete...hits for average, hits for power, dominates in the field...I can honestly say (without seattle bias) Arod is complete in all facets of his game...and has done so with no significant injuries.

    As far as ichiro getting on base enough...true, he may not have the OBP that some others do, but his speed and disruptiveness on the basepaths (at least to me) more than makes up for it...he's unmatched in the outfiteld as well, with a canon of an arm. And not better than Jeter? How many MVPs has Jeter won again?

    For me, this would be my top 5 AL players:

    1 Arod
    2 Ichiro
    3 Vlad
    4 Tejada
    5a and bmanny ramirez/gary sheffield

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    DeutscherGeistDeutscherGeist Posts: 2,990 ✭✭✭✭
    The gold glove argument works for me. But to say Sheffield makes only self interested decisions is going too far. The main difference between A-Rod and Sheff is that the former is more diplomatic. He has been criticized for that--not being genuine enough. Sheff is direct and straight forward and that gets him into some trouble in the media. Bobby Cox has nothing but good things to say about Sheffield. Remember, he played hurt for most of the season last year and still was one of the mainstays on the team. His shoulder problem certainly effected his fielding to the point where he could not win a gold glove, but was still good enough to have out there.

    A-Rod had an incident in the Red Sox game that does not reflect so kindly on him--it was kind of a cheap shot to knock the ball out like that.

    But again, I am not here to bash Sheff or A-Rod, I just wanted to point out that both are good team players, one just knows how to present himself better, that's all.

    Both guys have good reputation: no night club incidents, no fights in the streets, no domestic disputes....

    I like both of them, but because of the gold gloves, I would tip A-rod in front of Sheff.
    "So many of our DREAMS at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we SUMMON THE WILL they soon become INEVITABLE "- Christopher Reeve

    BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
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