2012 MLB Regular Season Running Thread

Being left-handed is not a skill. It's dumb luck. It's not as if these guys decided to learn how to bat left-handed because most pitchers are right-handed. Most of that stuff is determined in youth. It's either natural for a kid or is forced on him by an overbearing parent. I think you're missing the point. If 75 percent of pitchers were left-handed, Pujols would be way ahead of Williams and Ruth in areas such as OPS. We can debate how relevant that is. But it's certainly something that should be considered when we discuss the greatness of a hitter.

 

Sigh. No, it isn't. And repeating it over and over doesn't change that.

 

Ted Williams batted left and threw right, so you can't really call that dumb luck.

 

If Wilt Chamberlain had been 6-foot-4, he might never have played in the NBA. Discuss.

 

Pretty sure Mickey Mantle's dad made him learn to be a switch hitter because it was his best chance to make the bigs. Seems to me baseball is littered with hitters who aren't natural lefties.

Tino Martinez is another throws right, bats left player.

Definitely not dumb luck and "normalizing" for facing left-handers vs. right-handers is a pointless exercise. Hitters are who they are. You don't need to change the stats to say what they might have been if they hadn't faced who they actually faced.

 

This is 20/20 hindsight in the extreme. When the deal was made, everyone here thought the Yankees did better, except for poster who called it even. Your only response?

 

Here's what I said:

 

You were the one. You had another post IIRC that implied that you thought it was even. Nice call & you get to do a touchdown dance. No one else.

 

You might as well say that being tall is not a skill. Or having inhuman bat speed is not a skill. Or having amazing hand-eye coordination is not a skill. These guys didn't choose any of those things. It's dumb luck.

 

I don't know if I said that, though the reason I liked the deal better for the Mariners wasn't because I thought Pineda would get hurt. People harped on the fact that Montero was going to an extreme pitcher's park, while discounting that Pineda was going to an extreme hitter's park.

Montero had a great minor league track record as a hitter, regardless of his position, and the Mariners were desperate for offense. Given how Yankee Stadium was liable to beat him down, Pineda would post the numbers of a No. 3 starter. That's why I liked the deal slightly better for Seattle.

Still, as I said, I thought it helped both teams prior to Pineda's shoulder injury.

 

I'm starting to remember why I stopped coming here. Let's simplify things for the people with thick skulls. Pujols is a better hitter against lefties than Ruth, Williams or several other famous lefty hitters. But his overall numbers are slightly lesser because most people are right-handed. If this were not the case, his numbers would likely be equivalent. Is that clear enough? Or must be get all snarky and make stupid comments about Wilt Chamberlain? Why come to a message board and then treat the other posters with rudeness? Does that make you feel better about your own insecurities?