[轉錄] Hot corner demands hard to maintain
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/bbw/2005-11-30-third-basemen_x.htm
Hot corner demands hard to maintain
By Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY Sports Weekly
Third basemen are the pickups of the diamond. They're dirty. They're grimy.
But they're built tough. You're not going to drive a pickup to the prom, but
once it starts snowing or sleeting, nothing is more reliable.
Similarly, most major league teams don't necessarily rely on their third
basemen to be the face of their organizations, but they know that if they
don't have solid players at the position, they're not bringing home a World
Series trophy.
Our top third basemen of 2005:
1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: You get what you pay for: all $25 million a year
for the finest everyday player in baseball. Everyone worried how A-Rod would
do moving from shortstop to third base. His AL MVP award answers that
question, doesn't it?
2. Chipper Jones, Braves: It was four years ago when someone had the bright
idea that Jones no longer could be a productive third baseman. So, the Braves
moved him to left field. Oops. The Braves found out in a hurry they couldn't
find anyone better defensively at third, and they moved Jones back there for
the 2004 season. He missed six weeks of the 2005 season with a strained foot,
but he still managed to hit .296 with 21 homers and 72 RBI in 109 games, and
he made only five errors.
3. Eric Chavez, A's: Playing through shoulder pain for much of the season,
Chavez hit 27 homers and drove in 101 runs. He also won his fifth consecutive
Gold Glove award. Chavez's .966 fielding percentage was only the fifth-best
mark among AL third basemen, but he ranked second in total chances (438) and
double plays (28) while finishing in a tie for third in assists (302).
Who's No. 1?
Alex Rodriguez hit .321 with an AL-best 48 homers and 130 RBI to go along
with a .421 on-base percentage and a .610 slugging percentage. He ranked
first among third baseman in every relevant offensive category. He made just
12 errors and is considered perhaps the finest defensive third baseman in the
AL outside of the A's Eric Chavez.
Case closed.
Really, the only debate here is whether A-Rod should have won the AL MVP
award. Yet, considering A-Rod's defensive prowess and that Red Sox DH David
Ortiz could lounge on the bench in between at-bats, why was the vote even
that close?
After all, A-Rod did hit more home runs than Ortiz (48-47). He scored more
runs than the AL MVP runner-up (124-119). He had just 18 fewer RBI than Ortiz
(148-130). His batting average was 22 points higher than Ortiz's. And yes,
A-Rod's team won the American League East.
"I think being on the field every day is a strong requirement (for MVP), and
doing it from both sides of the field," Rodriguez said shortly after he won
the award. "There's probably 15 or 16 offensive categories, if you want to be
a baseball junkie. I may have led in 10 or 12 of them. I think being a
balanced player and saving a lot of runs on the defensive side was a major
factor."
Most would agree: Rodriguez is the finest third baseman in the game.
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