Two out of three ain't bad, but three would be better
Of the three major milestones Major League Baseball could have seen September, two of them have been reached. Barry Bonds became the third member of the 700 Home Run Club and Randy Johnson passed Steve Carlton to become the all-time record holder for strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher and moved into third place overall. The remaining acheivement is Ichiro Suzuki's quest for the all-time hit record for a season. As a true believer that records are made to be broken, I am looking forward to watching Bonds pursue both Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. If Roger Clemens opts to continue longer, it will be interesting to see who finishes with the higher strikeout total (as well as whether Clemens will think about possibly staying around until he turns 46 and chasing 400 wins).
Ichiro's pursuit, though not a career accomplishment, deserves nearly as much attention and recognition. Anytime a record has stood for 80 years, it is momentous when it falls. In addition, he is such a contrasting style to most players that approach records now that his skill may not be appreciated unless he breaks the record. In the classic dream situation, 2 outs, bases loaded, down by 3 runs, who would you rather have, Bonds or Ichiro? Bonds is, of course, probably the answer most people would give, for he is, based on this year, as likely to get a hit as Ichiro, but more likely to hit a home run, and far more likely to walk. Ichiro, however, strikes out almost as rarely (per at bat), could very easily plate all 3 baserunners (to tie the game) with a double or triple while easily being able to score on a base hit, and because of the walks Bonds receives, is probably more likely to drive in more than one run than Barry. The majority may still rather have Bonds bat in that situation, but Ichiro may be very nearly as valuable in that scenario. Such value should be recgonized. Many managers know this, as a high percentage of his walks are intentional, but I hope the fans will begin to recgonize this too.
Ichiro's pursuit, though not a career accomplishment, deserves nearly as much attention and recognition. Anytime a record has stood for 80 years, it is momentous when it falls. In addition, he is such a contrasting style to most players that approach records now that his skill may not be appreciated unless he breaks the record. In the classic dream situation, 2 outs, bases loaded, down by 3 runs, who would you rather have, Bonds or Ichiro? Bonds is, of course, probably the answer most people would give, for he is, based on this year, as likely to get a hit as Ichiro, but more likely to hit a home run, and far more likely to walk. Ichiro, however, strikes out almost as rarely (per at bat), could very easily plate all 3 baserunners (to tie the game) with a double or triple while easily being able to score on a base hit, and because of the walks Bonds receives, is probably more likely to drive in more than one run than Barry. The majority may still rather have Bonds bat in that situation, but Ichiro may be very nearly as valuable in that scenario. Such value should be recgonized. Many managers know this, as a high percentage of his walks are intentional, but I hope the fans will begin to recgonize this too.
posted by Josh at 3:53 PM
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