OT - Best 3B ever?

[Bosox Blair]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Just sticking up for my all-time favorite player. Right or wrong to me he is the best.

That stat might not beat all others but it means the other teams feared him the most IMO.

I liked Boggs a lot, but I have to respond to this (IMO) gross misunderstanding of what an IBB means. It has almost nothing to do with how much a hitter is feared.

It has everything to do with how much a pitcher/team would rather face the guy hitting BEHIND the guy who gets the IBB. The assessment is less about the guy walking than it is about the guy after him. Even if you are only a good hitter, you'll get walked if the guy behind you is crap.

Not only that, but it is a question of whether the opposing team would rather face the guy behind you - even with you running on first. So it actually factors in how good/bad a runner the guy who walks is...is he a likely double play candidate? And is the guy behind him a ground ball hitter?

I'm amazed how many people misunderstand the significance of an IBB.

Mickey Mantle had fewer career IBBs than Joe Torre...true fact...


Cheers,
Blair