“There are a lot of great


hitters out there, but there’s


only one Albert.”

-Tony Gwynn

ed. note, i almost NEVER agree with ESPN

Pretty interesting read, makes me feel like Tim Kurkjian and I are kindred spirts or something since I agree with his stance on the roids. Ole Timmy beat me to the punch breaking it down hardcore analytical style, but I’ll put the highlights in there.

“Five years ago, Gwynn was asked to name the hitter that most reminded him of himself. It was expected that he might name a contact hitter, a singles hitter, such as Ichiro, who hits the ball to all fields with amazing bat control, which is what made Gwynn the best hitter — for average — since Ted Williams. Gwynn didn’t say Ichiro. He said it was Albert Pujols.

“I still feel that way,” Gwynn said. “He has the ability, more than anyone else in the game, to hit the ball where it’s pitched, and he hits it there with great power. He never takes that pitch away from him and tries to hook it down the left-field line. Instead, he crushes it to right-center field. That’s because he has the ability to stay back.”

That’s Gwynn pretty much saying that Ichiro can suck it compared to the Prince. As I stated, the BABIP numbers and line drive rates are pretty favorable towards Albert when it comes to him vs. Ichiro. Add in the fact that Albert don’t need fast legs to be valuable and this is a no brainer.

ESPN did a bad job breaking down defense with Pujols. I’ll be doing that during the ASB. Essentially they slapped together a UZR number without the context. Until that new technology starts taking hold, you still have to scout the player and see what he does to fully appreciate what makes Albert so good defensively.

It’s a solid read through and through, a rare ESPN reccomendation from me. Look on here for a more in depth view at what makes a truly great player, and why Albert might even transcend that plateu.