Is Josh Hamilton better than Carlos Quentin?
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 4:53 am
Now, I know what you're thinking, "are you freaking kidding me, now you've gone off the deep end Crazy. Of course he’s better, it’s not even close, Josh Hamilton's the "chosen one" for God's sake!"
Well, after you get that out of your system, seriously break down their 2008 season and get back to me.
We're not talking about guys that have a big track record, so saying Hamilton has a much better chance to repeat or improve for that matter doesn't hold much weight with me. They both have a lot going for them, an incredible amount of similarities to go with an incredible amount of talent.
Comparisons:
Both were highly touted as youngsters (yes, Hamilton was MUCH more highly thought of)
Carlos will turn the magical age of 27 during the 2009 season, Josh will turn 28.
Both hit 3rd in the lineup.
Both hit in homerun parks.
Both had HUGE years.
Carlos Quentin was 5th in MVP voting (despite missing 32 games)
Josh Hamilton was 7th in MVP voting
Now let's break down the numbers.
Now, you could say Hamilton's 1st half was so much more dominant than Quentin's, and it was. In 93 games he hit .310-21-95-60 runs with 7 stolen bases. Simply dominant. The guy was on fire, no doubt.
In Quentin's first half he hit .277-22-70-62 runs with 5 stolen bases.
Hamilton’s BA and rbi's far outdid Quentin, but Carlos outhomered and scored more runs (just barely).
1st half - Big advantage to Hamilton.
Now if you like to look at 2nd halves to try and interpret how a player will play going into the next season, OMG, you're gonna LOVE Quentin.
In those 39 games in the 2nd half (40% less games played than Josh) he hit .312 (16 points higher than Hamilton), with 14 homers (3 more than Josh), 30 rbi's (only 5 less) and 34 runs (only 4 less runs than Josh. One thing's for sure, Carlos is showing a more consistent ability to hit homeruns and score runs.
2nd half - Is there any argument here, Hamilton faded a little while Quentin thrived.
Advantage Quentin:
Carlos only played in 39 games in the 2nd half due to breaking his wrist (blame it on his temper). Had he not gotten hurt, I seriously think we'd be calling Carlos the MVP and you'd see him being drafted consistently in the late 1st round. Because he lost 25+ games, his numbers just don't stand out like Hamilton's and neither does his story, more on that later.
Now let’s take a look at the overall numbers:
Josh Hamilton
156 games - .304-32-130-98 runs with 9 sb's
Carlos Quentin
130 games - .288-36-100-96 runs with 7 sb's
Now prorated to 156 games his stats would see a 17% increase (this is a reasonable expectation based on his incredibly consistent production from month to month last year)
156 games - .288-42-117-112 runs with 8 sb's.
Let's compare side by side:
Hamilton - .304-32-130-98 with 9 sb's
Quentin (prorated).288-42-117-112 runs with 8 sb's
You might note that Hamilton's BA was 18 points higher and his rbi's were 13 higher. On the other side of the coin, Quentin slugged 10 more homeruns and scored 14 more runs. If you call their runs and rbi's a wash, I'd take Quentin's 10 homers over Hamilton’s 18 point BA difference but I digress.
2008 season - Advantage Carlos Quentin. Yes, I’ll say it again, Carlos had a more dominant season when you look at his production per game. He lost 25 games and got hurt right when he was grooving. And if you merely think the BA will end up being the biggest difference between the two think again, Carlos’ xBA was only 4 points less than Josh’s, so their batting averages in 2009 might end up closer than you think.
And let's be honest here folks, doesn't the fact that Hamilton's story is so incredible, so inspirational, play into the attention he's getting? I mean, it could end up being one of the best stories to ever come out of baseball. It wouldn’t surprise me to see this on the big screen 25 years from now. Yes, this guy is an absolute “FREAK“, I know he's been called the “chosen one", but I’m putting that to the side for one minute and just looking at numbers. And all’s I’m saying is Carlos Quentin’s numbers were just as good, he was equally as dominant last year if you break everything down, and he’s simply not getting the same respect in drafts, and it’s not fair. If I was Carlos and I looked at my draft spot compared to Hamilton, I might throw out a WTF. And as far as the wrist being a concern, this is what he had to say. “I’ve been hitting since the beginning of December. One-hand drills, live pitching. It felt great.”
If you tell me Hamilton is a surefire 10th pick in the first round then there's no rational thinking that should allow Quentin to be picked outside the 1st round let alone the 2nd. I’m not saying any of these guys should be picked so damn early, (I‘ve already gone on record as saying Hamilton is a risk in the first round), I’m saying where should Quentin go in the draft in relation to Hamilton? If they went back to back in a draft can you seriously argue against it? Can Carlos outproduce Josh in 2009, I believe he’s got a good chance.
Is Josh Hamilton really better than Carlos Quentin?
I know, it still seems ludricous to even ask that question.....but it's a question that is not so easy to answer if you look closely enough.
Well, after you get that out of your system, seriously break down their 2008 season and get back to me.
We're not talking about guys that have a big track record, so saying Hamilton has a much better chance to repeat or improve for that matter doesn't hold much weight with me. They both have a lot going for them, an incredible amount of similarities to go with an incredible amount of talent.
Comparisons:
Both were highly touted as youngsters (yes, Hamilton was MUCH more highly thought of)
Carlos will turn the magical age of 27 during the 2009 season, Josh will turn 28.
Both hit 3rd in the lineup.
Both hit in homerun parks.
Both had HUGE years.
Carlos Quentin was 5th in MVP voting (despite missing 32 games)
Josh Hamilton was 7th in MVP voting
Now let's break down the numbers.
Now, you could say Hamilton's 1st half was so much more dominant than Quentin's, and it was. In 93 games he hit .310-21-95-60 runs with 7 stolen bases. Simply dominant. The guy was on fire, no doubt.
In Quentin's first half he hit .277-22-70-62 runs with 5 stolen bases.
Hamilton’s BA and rbi's far outdid Quentin, but Carlos outhomered and scored more runs (just barely).
1st half - Big advantage to Hamilton.
Now if you like to look at 2nd halves to try and interpret how a player will play going into the next season, OMG, you're gonna LOVE Quentin.
In those 39 games in the 2nd half (40% less games played than Josh) he hit .312 (16 points higher than Hamilton), with 14 homers (3 more than Josh), 30 rbi's (only 5 less) and 34 runs (only 4 less runs than Josh. One thing's for sure, Carlos is showing a more consistent ability to hit homeruns and score runs.
2nd half - Is there any argument here, Hamilton faded a little while Quentin thrived.
Advantage Quentin:
Carlos only played in 39 games in the 2nd half due to breaking his wrist (blame it on his temper). Had he not gotten hurt, I seriously think we'd be calling Carlos the MVP and you'd see him being drafted consistently in the late 1st round. Because he lost 25+ games, his numbers just don't stand out like Hamilton's and neither does his story, more on that later.
Now let’s take a look at the overall numbers:
Josh Hamilton
156 games - .304-32-130-98 runs with 9 sb's
Carlos Quentin
130 games - .288-36-100-96 runs with 7 sb's
Now prorated to 156 games his stats would see a 17% increase (this is a reasonable expectation based on his incredibly consistent production from month to month last year)
156 games - .288-42-117-112 runs with 8 sb's.
Let's compare side by side:
Hamilton - .304-32-130-98 with 9 sb's
Quentin (prorated).288-42-117-112 runs with 8 sb's
You might note that Hamilton's BA was 18 points higher and his rbi's were 13 higher. On the other side of the coin, Quentin slugged 10 more homeruns and scored 14 more runs. If you call their runs and rbi's a wash, I'd take Quentin's 10 homers over Hamilton’s 18 point BA difference but I digress.
2008 season - Advantage Carlos Quentin. Yes, I’ll say it again, Carlos had a more dominant season when you look at his production per game. He lost 25 games and got hurt right when he was grooving. And if you merely think the BA will end up being the biggest difference between the two think again, Carlos’ xBA was only 4 points less than Josh’s, so their batting averages in 2009 might end up closer than you think.
And let's be honest here folks, doesn't the fact that Hamilton's story is so incredible, so inspirational, play into the attention he's getting? I mean, it could end up being one of the best stories to ever come out of baseball. It wouldn’t surprise me to see this on the big screen 25 years from now. Yes, this guy is an absolute “FREAK“, I know he's been called the “chosen one", but I’m putting that to the side for one minute and just looking at numbers. And all’s I’m saying is Carlos Quentin’s numbers were just as good, he was equally as dominant last year if you break everything down, and he’s simply not getting the same respect in drafts, and it’s not fair. If I was Carlos and I looked at my draft spot compared to Hamilton, I might throw out a WTF. And as far as the wrist being a concern, this is what he had to say. “I’ve been hitting since the beginning of December. One-hand drills, live pitching. It felt great.”
If you tell me Hamilton is a surefire 10th pick in the first round then there's no rational thinking that should allow Quentin to be picked outside the 1st round let alone the 2nd. I’m not saying any of these guys should be picked so damn early, (I‘ve already gone on record as saying Hamilton is a risk in the first round), I’m saying where should Quentin go in the draft in relation to Hamilton? If they went back to back in a draft can you seriously argue against it? Can Carlos outproduce Josh in 2009, I believe he’s got a good chance.
Is Josh Hamilton really better than Carlos Quentin?
I know, it still seems ludricous to even ask that question.....but it's a question that is not so easy to answer if you look closely enough.