The toughest out in the AL lineup...

[milky_way]

Placido Polanco.

At least, according to John Kruk.

Here are the other AL starters:
Ichiro Suzuki - .410 OBP, 137 OPS+
Derek Jeter - .408 OBP, 136 OPS+
David Ortiz - .434 OBP, 159 OPS+
Alex Rodriguez - .413 OBP, 186 OPS+
Vladimir Guerrero - .416 OBP, 170 OPS+
Magglio Ordonez - .446 OBP, 177 OPS+
Ivan Rodriguez - .302 OBP, 97 OPS+

Here's Polanco: .380 OBP, 117 OPS+

So basically, the hitter who makes the second most outs of the 8 AL Starters will be the toughest out in the All-Star Game.

Hmm.



Not that any of this matters; I just thought this was a classic dumb analyst moment :laff:

[StormShadow]

Personally I would think it would be Ichiro, but thats just me. It doesnt really surprise me much that Kruk said that because after all he is employed my ESPN

[Old Sweater]

Think Kruk just spun the wheel on this one.

[milky_way]

Not to be undone, the other analyst's pick was Derek Jeter. Jeter is a better pick than Polanco, but he's another pick that completely overlooks the stats.

[Thedatch]

wouldnt the toughest guy to get out be the person with the highest OBP...?

I mean, it's just that simple.

[milky_way]

wouldnt the toughest guy to get out be the person with the highest OBP...?

I mean, it's just that simple.
You would think :laff:

I could see someone MAYBE saying slugging should be considered, because a batter with a high SLG% may be a "tougher" out because of how dangerous he is to pitch to, but OBP seems to be the most obvious stat to look at.

[ExitLight]

1) Magglio Ordonez
2) David Ortiz
3) Gary Sheffield
4) Jorge Posada
5) Vladimir Guerrero