Post by fenwaythehardway on Jun 15, 2014 12:52:33 GMT -5
My point being that a guy who can drive the ball and does not is making a choice not to. I have no problems with getting on base for the other guy. But there are times when a hitter should look to drive the ball if he is capable of it. Boggs could and chose not to. Boggs never did except for that one year. That was not so they could win more games that was so he could get paid. He did not swing once on a hit and run and the runner was toast. Why? Because he said he never swung at the first pitch. That pisses me off. Neither one of us is going to change their opinions. He is a Hall of Fame hitter that I felt had even more to offer to the team.
A few things about this.
1. Boggs had his one big home run year in '87, aka the juiced ball year. Look at the AL HR totals:
'85: 2178
'86: 2290
'87: 2634
'88: 1901
'89: 1718
So if Boggs just decided to hit for more power that year, I guess the entire year league did too.
2. I love when some fan just decides that a player could become better by hitting for more power or striking out less or whatever. Yeah, because it's just that easy. You, sitting on your couch, have figured out what he couldn't in his decades of experience and his interactions with dozens if not hundreds of coaches. Sorry but I think the guy with the .328 career batting average knows a little more than you do about how to approach an AB.
3. The idea that Boggs eschewed power in order to get paid is just bonkers. It's bananas covered in coconuts. Nothing was more overvalued by GMs at the time he played than HR/RBIs. Is the idea that he would have had to sacrifice average/OBP to hit for more power? Because when he did hit is 24 home runs in '87 he also had a .363 average and a .461 OBP. He walked 105 times, third most in the league. So it wasn't a question of changing his approach. He had the exact same approach, more balls just left the yard.