best pure hitter poll

by bk11 on Jan 3, 2008 11:32 PM EST Comment 41 comments

nowadays we count a-rod, pujols, big papi, guerrero, holliday(?), as among the best pure hitters in baseball. but what about the next generation of hitters?
in 20-25yrs from now who among these players do you think will be the best pure hitter. basically monster stats in extra base hits, r, rbi, .avg. fielding, sb not included.

Poll

best "pure hitter" looking back 20-25yrs from now

Fernando Martinez

11 votes

Jay Bruce

50 votes

Justin Upton

60 votes

Mike Moustakas

12 votes

Prince Fielder

37 votes

Ryan Braun

65 votes

other- josh vitters, jason heyward, matt laporta, brandon wood, etc...

45 votes

Alex Gordon

31 votes

Angel Villalona

5 votes

Delmon Young

18 votes

334 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 41 comments

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Comments

Holliday

Was a worse hitter than Ryan Church on the road last year.

by GregJP on Jan 3, 2008 11:16 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

oh c'mon

six months off the prospect lists and everybody forgets about billy butler

by wily mo on Jan 3, 2008 11:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

by jfish26101 on Jan 3, 2008 11:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

Love watching this dude hit.

Rowdy Hardy Fan Club member.

by doublestix on Jan 3, 2008 11:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

vote :>

by BobbyMac on Jan 3, 2008 11:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1

by kienast on Jan 4, 2008 9:45 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

"pure hitter"

nowadays we count a-rod, pujols, big papi, guerrero, holliday(?), as among the best pure hitters in baseball.

we do? i'd be close to agreeing if you just said "hitter," rather than "pure hitter." when you say "pure hitter," i think ichiro first, pujols second, then todd helton. in particular, a-rod and papi strike out way too much to be "pure" hitters in my opinion.

by jpahk on Jan 3, 2008 11:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

As long as you're defining hitter as

"One who gets hits", I'd agree its quite difficult to argue with Ichiro.

by Fett42 on Jan 3, 2008 11:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That is a pretty good answer

but we didn't see some of his best years. I think if he spent his whole career in the States, you are probably right and I bet he hits .400 at least once.

by jfish26101 on Jan 3, 2008 11:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not sure about .400, but...

I'm 100% sure if he played his whole career here Pete Rose's record would be obliterated.

He'd have more hits now if he played his whole career in MLB than combining his NPB and MLB hits. This is pretty hard to dispute considering he only got 200 hits once in Japan and all seven years playing MLB. This is of course due to playing about 30 less games, which more than makes up for the loss of BA he'd see in America. Not to mention he'd have probably his fastest years in America.

Broader question, is how can people simultaneously argue that Japanese stats can't count for records but that they can't be considered rookies when coming to America? Pick a side.

by Fett42 on Jan 4, 2008 12:03 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

personally

i think "daric barton" and then dr. b punches me in the face

by wily mo on Jan 3, 2008 11:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

drB

he'd go with a tie between schierholtz and villalona... lol

This guy is Iran, however, but pitches in Japan.

by ufoboy90 on Jan 3, 2008 11:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Not Schierholtz

Certainly not Nate Schierholtz, but if we're talking about looking back in 20-25 years, Angel V certainly deserves consideration.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 4, 2008 2:20 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Addendum

All the guys on this list are darn good, but I would probably put Upton, Young and Angel V as the 3 top ones. I indulged in a bit of homerism and voted for Big V.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 4, 2008 2:23 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Punches In The Face?

This may come as a shock to you, but I agree that Daric Barton is a pure hittter. Maybe not the best pure hitter, but a pure hitter nonetheless.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 4, 2008 2:19 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

lol

honestly, of the current or recently graduated prospects? yeah, barton is the best pure hitter. kendrick is in the discussion. ellsbury. loney. frankly i think travis buck is up there too, although i'm a little alarmed that his K rate spiked so much in the majors.

by jpahk on Jan 4, 2008 2:53 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Ichiro a pure hitter?

That's crazy. He's half out of the box when he swings. There's nothing pure about him any way you cut it. He's a funky, unique half slap/half line drive hitter. He's a force at the plate, but I would never call the guy a pure hitter.

When I think pure hitter I think Arod, Pujols or vintage Manny Ramirez... Guys with level swings and no holes/full plate coverage who hit for power to all fields as a function of their regular swing rather than pulling or uppercutting. Guys who can hit to all fields for power and average and by necessity would need to be fairly patient. The guys who take a level easy swing and on TV it looks like the ball flies straight upwards off the bat and lands 400 feet away. That's a pure hitter to me.

Admittedly there is no single definition for pure hitter, but I certainly wouldnt define it as the guy who gets the most hits, especially when that guy is half gimmick like Ichiro - and not that that makes him any less effective, but lets account for the fact his high AVGs are an output of his speed and strange style rather than pure hitting ability. You know what Im saying?

by alskor on Jan 4, 2008 3:49 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

"Pure hitter" is a pretty broad term.

I agree with you, but the term "pure hitter" is so indefinitive that it's hard to yell at someone who has a different idea than yours (not saying you are). Personally, my idea is someone in the Pujols or Edgar Martinez mold in that they don't strike out, walk a ton, hit for average and hit for power -- everything you could possibly want from a hitter. That's why I disagree with Upton, Young and Fielder, among others. At least IMO, at the moment, there really isn't any prospect or young player who we all can definitely imagine someone fitting that mold.

Because of that, I went with Villalona, who can't even buy cigarettes or go to a nudey bar yet. Fernando Martinez is #2 on my list.

by elrey34 on Jan 4, 2008 5:09 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

pure hitter

A lot of people would argue that uppercut home-run guys aren't "pure" hitters, either. For example, Loney has a picture-perfect swing, and I think many scouts would mention his name in a discussion of "pure hitters".

by BobbyMac on Jan 4, 2008 9:24 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Pure

To me, a pure hitter is one who goes up there with total confidence that he can hit any pitch in the strike zone and hit it hard. I've always thought that the current purest hitter in baseball is Vlad Guerrero. There is no pitch in or near the strike zone that he can't hit and hit hard.

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 4, 2008 12:18 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

extra words in your reply....

(regarding Vlad, these can safely be removed, I think...) "in or near the strike zone"

by BobbyMac on Jan 4, 2008 12:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

LOL!

I guess that makes Vlad an even purer hitter?

by DrBGiantsfan on Jan 4, 2008 6:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Gordon

It's Alex Gordon for me. (maybe Upton, but I'm not 100% sold there)

I think once Gordon completely figures it out, he's going to be insanely good.

by GregJP on Jan 3, 2008 11:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

butler

ah yes, i forgot about butler. i've added him in the "others" for now.

by bk11 on Jan 3, 2008 11:37 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Travis Snider

Should certainly be in the conversation

by my dixie wrecked on Jan 3, 2008 11:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

hmmmm

I'll say Chris Roberson

by phuturephillies on Jan 4, 2008 12:38 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

When talking pure hitter

it has to be Manny first and then everyone else. For the new kids on the block I say Butler too.

by nheck on Jan 4, 2008 2:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Wow

I cant believe no one said Arod besides me.

What does the guy have to do? His swing is complete and perfect.

by alskor on Jan 4, 2008 3:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not clear that he was included in the question

I think it will be hard to find any player better than A-rod in the near future, but I am not sure that the poll was intended to address players that are already known commodities.

by parish on Jan 4, 2008 11:10 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Jason Heyward

You will all be so impressed with my prediction 25 years from now.

by parish on Jan 4, 2008 11:08 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Big Hurt v2.0

He'd be my pick after Jupton and Vitters. :) Mahalo

Matt

I am one of the bad things that happen to good people.

by WayneCampbell05 on Jan 4, 2008 11:36 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Butler

yes

by ultxmxpx on Jan 4, 2008 11:27 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

David Wright

While a few months older than 25 now, he has to be in any discussion. It's reasonable to speculate that his best years are still ahead of him, and he put up an OPS of 1.061 for the second half of last season (ba of .364 during this time)....while playing in a pitcher-friendly home park.

by southboundpachyderm on Jan 4, 2008 2:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He didn't state it, but ...

it appears the criteria is more-or-less that the player hasn't had 2 great (MLB) seasons already. Fielder probably pushes that boundary the most, having had 1 great one and 1 "okay" one.

by BobbyMac on Jan 4, 2008 2:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

the logical rigor of the poll leaves something to be desired. when the question is just stated as "which of these players" but then you have an "other" option...

by wily mo on Jan 5, 2008 12:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs