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Well, people put up with a limited fielding range when you’ve got a slugging percentage near a thousand (Dillan Shrum of Nevada had a 0.968 slugging percentage this past season )
Baseball is more "OR" on offense and "AND" on defense. Basketball is similar. Football doesn't make players play offense and defense, but basketball and baseball do. If you look at the Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young is an MVP on offense and a liability on defense, and the team is headed for a lottery pick unless things change this season.
When you're at the plate, it's time for INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT, but when you're in the field you're part of a TEAM.
Oh, I went all Capone on the thread...
Even then, like it was mentioned earlier, is only kind of true. Even an absolute slugger at the plate only bats one out of nine times.
I'd rather have 9 guys hitting .300 than 8 guys hitting .200 and one guy that gets on base 10 times out of 10. (these numbers were pulled out of my ***, but you get the point)
Y'all aren't going to make this a "discussion" of where some point guard grew up are you? (Kidding) For some reason that type of argument hasn't gotten here in the genteel baseball posts. (I'll finish my Zima now, thank you.)
Of course you are both right, it's a matter of degree. Maybe take 1 as the ultimate OR, like golf. And 10 as the ultimate AND, like crew.
So hitting is close to a 2, mostly just get on but situational in that you need to be able to play small ball and bunt for the team. Pitching is probably a 2 or 3 since the pitcher needs a good catcher to frame the pitches and block his wild ones and his defense to cleanly field ground balls. Fielding is lower if other players are involved.....
I'd argue that like any team, it starts with individual performance and assisting other players, so baseball is more an OR sport than AND sport. Like maybe a 3 or 4 ......
BTW, that Capone video is disturbing.
31 days to opening pitch.