Baseball Thread Number 8: Cal Ripken says the playoff hunt is fun

Didn't we have a major discussion of Ichiro last week?

 

a) Ichiro's already got his own thread!

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/72877/

b) He's no Rickey Henderson.

c) We're all caught up in Derek Jeter's awesomeness.

d) When we're done discussing Jeter, we'll probably go right back to Joe Mauer.

e) Or why, exactly, the Cubs suck so much.

 

Why do we count hits and not something more meaningful, such as total bases or total times on base?

Why is 200 a magic number?

Why are we using counting stats and not ratios, such as hitsuts produced?

I can't speak for everyone, but this is why I don't care about Ichiro's accomplishment, any more than I cared when Mark Grace had the most hits in the 1990s or something like that.

And while Ichiro can be incredibly overrated by some and underrated by others, it's funny that he broke the record on a night where he hurt his team offensively. One base and four outs used up is not going to cut it.

 

You forgot why Zack Greinke should win the AL Cy Young Award in a landslide.

 

Wasn't he already declared him the winner?

 

Re cran, "Ichiro's already got his own thread!

This is the thread where IJAG chose to comment on the latest accomplishment, which is a different one than that thread was about until it went off on a tangent--a very interseting tangent, but still...

Re RS, "And while Ichiro can be incredibly overrated by some and underrated by others, it's funny that he broke the record on a night where he hurt his team offensively."

He drove in the second run in a 5-0 ballgame with that hit. It contributed to a win. And, it's not a single-game record; quite the opposite.

I was asking about the significance of the record, and why it wasn't treated as one of more importance. Is it fair to say, based on the responses so far, that the reason is that it was Ichiro who established the record?

 

Might want to master the English language before you go correcting my grammar and spelling, sport.

 

Ichiro molests collies.

There, I fucking said it.

 

It is not fair or accurate to say the reason is that it is Ichiro who established the record.

It is a record that was a foregone conclusion a couple weeks ago and was discussed on the Ichiro thread.
Plus, as great an accomplishment as 9 consecutive 200-hit season is, it is not exacxtly a glamour record that is constantly discussed.
Can you tell me -- without looking it up -- who has the most consecutive 100-RBI seasons?
Same with the 200-hits.

 

No, it's because it's a nearly worthless record.

The fact that Ichiro accomplished it is the reason why Ichiro is such a controversial player. It's the kind of record you only get by being a very specific type of player.

 

200 hits in nine straight seasons is worthless?

If the goal of the hitter is not to get on base by whichever method possible, then what in the holy fuck is it?

 

R-27?

BABIP?

VORP?