Albert, Joey, and Eddie

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DOUGHBOYS
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Joined: Sat Feb 05, 2005 6:00 pm

Albert, Joey, and Eddie

Post by DOUGHBOYS » Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:29 am

At the risk of going all Joey Votto on everybody again, I'm giving in.
Fair warning.
If not wanting to hear about Votto (again), stop reading now....

Albert Pujols has been one of the best hitters in baseball history.
10 years from now, we won't be looking at Pujols as we see him now.
We'll see his total work and think "Wow, he was good"
In St Louis, Pujols was a monster. He killed pitching.
As with real life for us, when Pujols body started deteriorating, he went to the Angels.
Of course, we go to the Angels when we die.
Pujols just went a little earlier and is dying a slow baseball death there.

When Pujols was the rage in St. Louis, there was nobody he couldn't hit.
From 2001-2011, he had 30/100/.300 seasons except for his last season when having a mere .299 with 99 rbi.
When mashing like this, pitchers want to avoid being mashed.
Their weapon is the walk.
Pujols walked over 90 times the last six seasons of that 2001-2011 run.
Commentators would say, "He is a selective hitter".
They said this because of the walks. It was bullshit.
Pujols was/is not afraid to hit any pitch out of the zone.
It's just that when pitchers want to avoid you, you get fewer and fewer pitches to even hit out of that zone.

Joey Votto is a different case from Pujols...but similar as well.
Votto LOOKS for a walk.
He wants the right pitch to hit.
And when Votto was a great hitter, pitchers were more than happy to see him walk.
Votto became a punching bag for me and a God for Saberists.
Championing the almighty walk, Saberists bowed on a carpet five times a day towards Votto's direction.
Votto played the game Saberists adored.
Votto could hit. But that was backdoor'd. The walks were the thing!
I used him as a punching bag because as a fantasy player, a walk is a wasted at bat unless having speed.
Votto's running days, long over.

Now, we have Joey Votto at Albert Pujols Angel time.
He is not the hitter he once was.
He is choking up even more to avoid striking out.
Pitchers no longer fear Votto.
Votto cannot hit like Joey Votto any longer.
And when pitcher's do not fear a batter, guess what?
Yep, that hitter sees more strikes.
A lot more strikes.
Votto has walked just five times this year.
76 hitters have walked more.

Votto is in a tough spot. He is known for his OBP.
Saberists have had it wrong for years.
His OBP, in their minds, has been driven by the almighty walk.
It's not.
Walks come because players hit.
When not hitting, the walks drop precipitously.
Votto has gone to the Angels. Not literally like Pujols.
But like Pujols, he is dying a slow baseball death.
Personally, I hate seeing it. I've enjoyed being the devils advocate during Votto's career.
Heck, most folks think I hate the man.
I don't. He was a great hitter who was glorified by Saberists who focused on his OBP.
For our game, those walks really didn't matter much.

It's little sad to lose hitter like Pujols and Votto.
When watching them now, we don't see them as they are, but who they were.
Pujols is going for 2,000 rbi in his career.
He is 14 away.
He'll be passing Lou Gehrig and Barry Bond who fell a little shy of that mark shortly.
Then join Hank Aaron and Alex Rodriguez as the only players with over 2,000 rbi.
It's nice, I suppose.
But in doing that, Pujols will be losing something I feel is more important.
His .300 lifetime batting average.
His batting average stands at .302
Mickey Mantle finished at .298 and described that as his biggest statistical disappointment.

As for Votto, a batter who looked for walks, he will not be in contention for any lifetime records.
Not even walks.
He is 76th in baseball history.
Most of the players ahead of him are in the Hall of Fame.
Votto will be championed by many for the same honor.
Still, he was never a true 'walking man'.
He could hit.
So looking for a walk served him well. Just not the Reds who thought of him as an RBI guy.
The true 'Walking Man' remains Eddie Yost.
Yost walked 500 times more than Votto, but only had a .254 batting average
Yost had 1,863 hits and 1,614 base on balls.
He was an anomaly.
Pitchers had no fear of him, but still walked more than most sluggers.
Votto has 1,737 hits and 1,109 base on balls.
Yost played before his time.
In his own way, Yost is what Votto aspired to be.
Yost would probably be in the Hall of Fame if Saberists hadn't arrived too late for him.
Now, he'll have to wait till Saberists have been around long enough to put him in the Hall with their 'veterans' credentials.
On my tombstone-
Wait! I never had the perfect draft!

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