Greatest Baseball Player?
July 6, 2004:
Who is the greatest baseball player playing right now? Well, I could easily name
hundreds. But I can only pick one who, I believe, is the best in the game.
Who is the best hitter playing now? Taking into account all-around hitting and fielding
statistics, I have made my choice. It's not Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, or Sammy
Sosa (although they are all great players). My favorite player right now is none other than...
Vladimir Guerrero. I can see you're already mad at me. Am I insane? No. Am I simply an Angels
fan, biased to thinking any Angel is the best? No. Am I an Expo fan? No. Am I just a fan of
Guerrero himself? No. I think he's the best because, and only because, he is the best.
Last year may have been rather disappointing for Guerrero, but this year isn't. And 2002
proves this isn't just a fluke year. Yahoo ranks Guerrero as the greatest player of 2002--better
than any AL or NL hitter or pitcher, at any position. He had over 200 hits, ending up with a .336
average. He had 39 home runs and 40 stolen bases, as well as 100+ runs and RBI's. Not only that,
but out in the field he is arguably the best outfielder of today, beat possibly only by AndruwJones
and Torii Hunter.
This year, he has repeated those 2002 statistics. He is once again the Yahoo ranking
system's best player. Half-way through the season, he is the most likely to win the triple crown.
He's hitting .347, with 20 home runs, 69 runs, and 71 RBI's. Although he only has 7 stolen bases,
if you needed him to steal a base, he would. And he still has one of the most feared outfielder's
arms in baseball.
Although you could make cases for Alex Rodriguez (IMHO, the second greatest player)
and Barry Bonds (IMHO, the third greatest player), or even for other greats like Pujols, Rolen,
Sosa, etc., etc., there's no trumping Guerrero. You can take Bonds or A-Rod. As for me, I want
Guerrero on my fantasy team.
MLB
NBA
NFL
NCAAF
NCAAB
NHL
PGA
Tennis
Other
Links
