That's pretty hard to narrow down. There are so many guys with different types of skills.
A-Rod and Vlad are definately the 2 best in terms of overall game (average, power, speed, defense).
Ichiro, Manny Ramirez, Migeul Tejada, Derek Jeter, Alfonso Soriano, Eric Chavez, Torii Hunter, Hideki Matsui, Pudge Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield are all dominant in different ways.
For my Top 5, I'd say,
1. Vlad
2. A-Rod
3. Ichiro
4. Manny
5. Sheffield
Ichiro -- Lou P. once said that Ichiro can go yeard just like any other player, except he's batting #1 in the lineup so why make him do so? THey used to set up garbage cans in the outfield that Ichiro would hit into. He has such control of his swing it's rediculous. Plus he can steal bases and he's an excellent fielder.
PS. A-Rod slaps like a little girl. (In ref. to the ALCS)
Jeter has some of the best on field awareness in the majors, period. His plate production, after an abysmal start last year, has been very good so far too. Arod is Arod, Ichiro puts the ball into play every time he steps to the plate and has an arm like a cannon, and Tejada is fantastic overall, but taking into account leadership, awareness, and competiveness, I take Jeet.
Koskie? He's a good player, but how does his name come up when talking about the best positional players in the AL? I'd take 4 or 5 other AL 3rd basemen ahead of him.
Guerrero, Ichiro and Tejada always leap to mind. They are all great hitters (with potential for avg, power or speed) and are defensively quite impressive.
As big a Yankees fan as I am, I can't say that ARod ranks up there right now. I mean, the move to NY really set him back. Switching cities and positions has kicked him back to the "very good" category for now.
Lucky for me, I swiped Vlad at the #3 pick in my fantasy baseball league. (ARod and Pujols went 1-2).
Originally posted by FishrCutB8: I'm a sox fan, but Manny fields like he has rocks in his pockets.
Or rocks in his shoes. Pretty hilarious to see him chase after a ball.
If I'm going hitting skills, I take Manny or Ortiz. If I want leadership and that uncanniness to make the right decision, I take Jeter. In no way do I take A Rod. Granted no one will ever justify a 25 million a year deal, but something about him just turns me off.
If this was last year I take Carlos Beltran hands down. But, I'm torn between Ichiro and Vlad.
Hell, if he keeps this up I'm going to vote for Brian Roberts.
BTW, on the subject of A Fraud, has anyone noticed that the middle pole of field lights in that Speed Stick commercial at the end, spells "E 5?" (3B error)
__________________
Quoth David Banner: "Like a pimp"
It's not a beer belly. It's a gas tank for a sex machine.
Haha, good observation. And yea, Beltran has done us Mets fans proud thus far. Hopefully we can win a few more games, and maybe take the division from the Braves for the first time in about 15 years.
Check out what Tejada has done this year so far for the Orioles. That's pretty dang impressive
__________________
"Rust on a nail builds tetanus. Rust on a barbell builds character, strength, and attitude." -EC
"Don't spend your life wishing. Spend it doing." -FishrCutB8
"You're a mutant, like a snake with two heads or a cat shy one nipple. Be thankful that your mutation is helpful." - LD
I had great seats on the third base side 20 rows from the field. Besides seeing shot after shot it was just fun watching Manny clown on the sidelines and Tim Hudson playing catch with Tejada. If you're a fan of the game you need to spend the money and see it just once.
__________________
Past performance is not indicative of future success.
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.
They count to those of us who were fans [img]tongue.gif[/img]
I went to a lot of games at th Big O during the summer of '94. They were an exciting team and attendance was getting very good (35-40 000) by the time the strike was called. The team never had a chance thereafter
hate to say it but arod is about the best out there- better at short though. ichiro is amazing too. that catch was sick.
__________________
“Life is a headlong rush into the unknown. We can hunker down and hope nothing hits us or we can stand tall, lean into the wind and say, 'Bring it on, darlin', and don't be stingy with the jalapeños.'"
(In ref. to the ALCS)
(ARod and Pujols went 1-2).
Linear Mode
