Let's try something different

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Hawaii007:
they were all hyped about Ichiro. But then they clarified that his OBP was .385 which was the highest, AMONG ALL ML LEAD-OFF hitters making him of course the most valuable lead off hitter in the league bar none.

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I'm not sure what the ESPN criteria was but with 332 AB's (a healthy amount) hitting in the #1 position Frank Catalanotto had a .398 OBP (source STATS Player Profiles). Food for thought. Catalanotto was a better lead-off hitter than Ichiro because he takes more walks?
He also had a higher slg. pct. than Ichiro for the year (.490 to .457). Hmmmm.
Course Ichiro does have more SB's.
Rather than depreciate Ichiro I think the numbers escalate Catalanotto's stature. Think Hart believes this?

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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by the teacher:
Just because Thome walks a lot in the #5 slot doesn't mean he would walk that much as a leadoff hitter. If he comes up with a man on 2nd or 3rd, you pitch around him because you don't want a 2 or 3 run homer, and you don't even want a long fly ball. If he's leading off with no one on, you go after him.

2.) Lead off speed is a huge factor. One reason leadoff hitters aren't walked very much is because they're often fast and a walk is like a double. That's another reason why Ichiro doesn't get as many walks as you would suspect.

If Thome were a leadoff hitter he wouldn't walk as much, and if Ichiro was hitting #5 he'd walk more.



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Interesting. Logically it makes sense. But I think James would tell you it doesn't actually work that way. Batting lead-off only guarantees you 1 AB actually being the 1st batter in an inning. After that Thome is pretty close to just as likely coming to bat with runners on base. I'd believe Thomes total number of walks would be the same (due to increased plate appearances) though he might walk at a SLIGHTLY lower rate. As far as Ichiro goes we have his Japanese numbers and he pretty much didn't walk much no matter where he batted. Perhaps Japanese pitchers think diferent about walks.
Speed at the top of the line-up is great, but too many managers don't get it and continue to lead-off speedy guys that can't get on base. Course I may be biased cause my favorite lead-off hitter was Brian Downing of the Angels! No speed there.

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[Hawaii007]

I still think Diaz should have the opportunity to bat 2nd.

Anyway...back to Ichiro, it was my mistake, what the stove heater said was the M's leadoff hitters had a .385 OBP, by far the highest of any team. So Catalanotto may have a better OBP then Ichiro, in fact Ichiro didn't have a really high OBP relative to his BA. I wonder if he would want to walk more, since his walks would be just as effective as his bloop and infield hits right? He just puts bals in play like a nutcase...I guess that is why he doesn't walk more then he does.


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