What is a great hitter?
Written by Joe Veno on August 15, 2009 – 1:40 PM -“Just a bit outside. The first pitch sails just wide of the strike zone. And I mean just wide, may even be a generous call by the ump.
And the windup…a tad inside with the breaking ball. Ausmus was set up away, chose to go with the breaking ball in the 1-0 count. But the ball chose a different direction out of the pitchers hand.
…A fastball clocked at 91, on the outer half of the plate. 3-1. Great pitch in a hitters count. Location, Location, Location. If he misses on the inner half there, that ball is probably rocketed. If not rocketed, then the pitcher would have been extremely lucky.
The pitcher comes to the plate, and that ball is scorched into the left-center field gap! The center fielder was playing for the lefty to pull the ball. But the pitch, which was middle-middle, was lined into the gap for a double. A great piece of hitting. Worked the count into his favor, got his pitch, and didnt’ miss…”
What is a great hitter? Is it a Victor Martinez? Someone that posts a high batting average, can hit to all fields, and can hit both lefties and righties (switch hitter). Or is a great hitter, one that is considered great, more just a great “offensive player.”
Tony Gwynn was a great hitter. He batted .338. And because of that, he was also a great offensive player.
Placido Polanco has a career .304 batting average. One could say he is a great “hitter” if that is their definition of what it entails to be a great hitter. But many will say he isn’t, as well. He doesn’t draw many walks, and his power is far from spectacular. Actually, his career Slugging percentage is sub-par when compared to a league-average bat.
So does “great hitter” and “great offensive player” mean the same thing? I mean, Adam Dunn is a great offensive player, but is he a great hitter? His defense, and positional adjustment make him less than great, but his bat is very, very good. I take that bat over Polanco any day of the week. (Polanco does possess skills that Dunn doesn’t have in other facets of the game though). But do I want a lineup of nine Adam Dunn’s? Or nine Placido Polanco’s? Take defense out of that equation for a second, simply concentrate on offense.
I watch a player like JD Drew, or Adam Dunn work their walks. They hit for some power. They do what they do, and reach base often. But they aren’t Tony Gwynn, they aren’t Victor Martinez. They can’t cover the plate like those two. They cannot hit the ball to all fields as well. They both, Dunn and Drew, have more weaknesses. But all are considered pretty good. They just do different things.
A great hitter is definitely more intriguing, more entertaining. I love watching a hitter that can take pitches just out of the strike zone, and recognize they are balls. But watching a ball hit on a line into a space where the outfielder is not, is more fun to watch.
I guess the simple answer is that a hitter that can take pitches, work walks AND hit over .300 is where it’s at.
But that would be too obvious I guess.
Tags: Adam Dunn, JD Drew, Placido Polanco, Tony Gwynn, Victor MartinezPosted in Rants, Uncategorized | 6 Comments »
August 16th, 2009 at 1:29 PM
I like this post–and i want to acknowledge it by actually thinking about it more before i make a long winded and probably not very interesting comment. but you have intrigued me.
let me just say for the moment that whatever ted williams is= a great hitter. but ill be back–
August 17th, 2009 at 12:28 PM
A great hitter is one who when he ’slumps’, we’re still talking performing better than league avg. For example, Bay is not a great hitter. Neither is Vmart. Youk is a great hitter. Same with Manny and Pujols. Aroid only slumps when he’s needed most so I would also call him ‘great’.
There are others, as well, but their names don’t come to mind right now. However, I can say that 99.999% of ML batters are too inconsistent to be called ‘great’, which is a shame because too many of them will somehow make the HOF.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:10 AM
That seems like high expectations though, Dirty Water. How long are they supposed to slump AND be a league-average hitter? Because every hitter probably experiences a two week period where they are below the average, I would think.
August 18th, 2009 at 11:09 AM
I’m not using a 2 week period to define ’slump’, though. I’m talking about a real slump, similar to what VMart had experienced and Bay may now be emerging from. Great hitters, imo, just don’t experience slumps of that length.
As an example, fans of Manny would not argue that he’s been in a terrible slump since his return, yet his OPS for the past month is still .829. That’s a great hitter.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:09 PM
Gotcha.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:48 PM
in no particular order
a great hitter
1. Sees the ball well coming out of a pitchers hand
2.Has a well developed eye for the strike zone and does not strike out often-a couple of years Joe DiMaggio had the same amount of strikeouts as home runs.
3.Comes up to the plate with a plan.
4. Is not married to the plan and is flexible enough to “go with a pitch”
5. Has an excellent memory of every at bat he has had against the pitcher he is facing and knowing his tendencies and what pitch he might have gotten him out with before- See Ted Williams
6. Does not always try to pull the ball and hits to all fields ( very important in my book)
7. Understands what his job in each particular at bat is and doing his best to accomplish that even if it means making an out- for example hitting one to right to move over a runner.
8. Can reliably lay down a bunt if called for ( we hope one is never called for)
9..Rarely has extended slumps
10. .Intimidates a pitcher rather than the other way around. If he’s really good he can induce balks.