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Observation: Question on all these supposed great hitters (i.e. Rose, Gwynn, Ichiro) and some others
Posted: 14 Sep 2025 04:03 am
by Bully4you
These guys are a lot of times regarded as some of the great hitters all time.
Yet, they rank far down the list on highest career OBP.
It's crazy to me that these guys were such hitting geniuses, yet their OBP suggests otherwise.
Is batting average just a waste of a stat.
I would have thought these three would have been near the top of the list.
None offered power, just singles mainly.
And they weren't among the very best in OBP either.
Hmmm?
Re: Observation: Question on all these supposed great hitters (i.e. Rose, Gwynn, Ichiro) and some others
Posted: 14 Sep 2025 07:01 am
by 12xu
Rose, Gwynn, and Ichiro were batters who did not walk much. Hard to have a real high OBP if you don't walk a lot. They hit the ball - even bad pitches, and they hit them hard. Rose and Gwynn did lead the NL in OBP at least once. Gwynn has a lifetime OBP of .388, and only 120 players in MLB history have higher OBP - and many of those played in the "dead ball era" or the Negro Leagues.
Re: Observation: Question on all these supposed great hitters (i.e. Rose, Gwynn, Ichiro) and some others
Posted: 14 Sep 2025 08:34 am
by Ozziesfan41
Bully4you wrote: ↑14 Sep 2025 04:03 am
These guys are a lot of times regarded as some of the great hitters all time.
Yet, they rank far down the list on highest career OBP.
It's crazy to me that these guys were such hitting geniuses, yet their OBP suggests otherwise.
Is batting average just a waste of a stat.
I would have thought these three would have been near the top of the list.
None offered power, just singles mainly.
And they weren't among the very best in OBP either.
Hmmm?
They are some of the best hitters they just aren’t the best walkers. They didn’t strike out much so they didn’t walk much either. There aren’t a lot of hitters who walk a lot and don’t strike out much either because if you walk a lot you are taking a lot of close pitches that end up being strikes which lead to strike outs. They believed in a pitch is too close to take and put those balls in play. Pete rose did walk 100 times once though