![]() Judge Jeff says: The history of 10-win corner outfielders looks like this: Betts in 2018, juiced-up seasons from Bonds and Sammy Sosa, jump back more than three decades to Carl Yastrzemski twice, one year for Stan Musial, three for Ted Williams and eight for Babe Ruth. In fact, assuming his hard-luck BABIP from last season bounces back, he should get on base often enough for a 40/40 season in a lineup of an elite team with Gold Glove defensive metrics.Īcuña is baseball's next 10-WAR player, and at the age of 23, he might sit at that level for at least the next decade - a time during which Trout will wade deeper into his 30s. He is one of a few rare talents who might well lead his league in both homers and steals this season. Over the past three years, he's put up better defensive numbers than Mookie Betts as a right fielder, on a prorated basis. With Cristian Pache taking over in CF, Acuña won't have to bounce between positions as much. The case for Acuña: With three big league years under his belt, all signs point towards Acuña putting it all together which, for him, would give him an unrivaled array of standout numbers. Since we're in the spirit of throwing things out, perhaps we'll start with this case. It's about sustained, consistent greatness. Being the best isn't about single years of excellence. Neither did Juan Soto or Mookie Betts or Fernando Tatis. Judge Jeff Passan says: Trout didn't stink in the shortened season. Martinez, Jose Altuve, Eugenio Suarez and a host of other players who all stunk in the shortened season. If you can't do that, then how else can you explain Javier Baez, J.D. Now, the only thing we have to do to win this debate is throw out 2020. 807 OPS against left-handed pitching is in the top 10 for left-handed hitters over the past 40 years. Both have a first and second place finish in MVP voting during that time frame as well. Throw in two batting titles and 52 stolen bases over those two years, and Yelich is outpacing everyone in the running - including Trout. In fact, his 343 total bases in 2018 are more than Trout has ever had in a single season. While Trout was leading the AL in OPS+ in 20, Yelich was doing the same in the NL. The case for Yelich: You might have forgotten just how great Yelich has been in Milwaukee after his 2020, but he is the one player who can match Trout stat for stat at the plate over the two prior seasons. Watch: Baseball Tonight 2021 season preview, Tuesday at 7 p.m. We then enlisted our very own Judge Jeff Passan to weigh in on the cases with his ultimate ruling on which stars really could pass Mike Trout as MLB's best - and when they could do it. With that in mind, we asked five of our MLB experts to draft a player they think could make a run at the title of best player in baseball and present the strongest case on that player taking the crown in 2021. 1 was all the way back in 2013, when a then-21-year-old Trout was third behind Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander.īut after a down-by-his-standards-only 2020 season combined with the fact he will turn 30 later this season, the window for another superstar to take Trout's throne is starting to open. ![]() The last time a player other than Trout was No. In fact, Trout has held the top spot in our annual ESPN MLB Rank top 100 for eight consecutive seasons. No matter what you call Mike Trout, you've also called him the unquestioned best player in baseball for nearly a decade now. MLB, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels The five players who could pass Mike Trout as MLB's best player. Hips toward the pitcher are the equivalent of having the leg in an open stance while hips facing away has the closed stance effect.You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser When it comes to the direction that the hips are facing, like the hand waggle, this comes entirely from the batting stance. Shohei Ohtani, one of the best starting pitchers since Babe Ruth, slightly favors his weight on the back leg. Players out in front of balls will want that their weight on the front foot while those who like to swing later will find better contact with weight on the back leg. X determines the weight distribution between the front and the back. Z moves the hips forward and backward, changing outside and inside hitting prowess. Y moves the hips up and down and the player's sweet spot will move with it. Once again, Y and Z are simple to explain. Hips are closely correlated with hand positions.
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