Aaron Hill
by craig in calgary on Jun 29, 2009 5:43 PM EDT
Email
Print
Hello baseball fans.
Let me introduce you all to a fantastic ball player that needs your help. Currently there is a great injustice that is happening in MLB. Aaron Hill is 4th in Allstar balloting.
Who is Aaron Hill you might ask?
Well since he is playing up in the Great White North, most of you have never seen him play but rest assured he deserves to start the All Star Team. He currently is 2nd in MLB with 102 hits and has 19 HR's, 56 RBI's and is batting over .300. These numbers are all better than everyones golden boy 2nd baseman Ian Kinsler; all while playing gold glove caliber 2nd base.
Currenty Hill is a distant 4th behind Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano. All 4 are terrific players but this isn't supposed to be a popularity contest. When you are filling your ballot, please remember by boy Aaron.
Regards,
Frustrated Bluejay fan.
36 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Really?
19hrs jeeze, he’s on fire this year
by JackofAllTrades on Jun 29, 2009 5:44 PM EDT reply actions
Yeah
Yesterday he broke Robbie Alomar’s record for HR’s by a Bluejay 2nd baseman.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jun 29, 2009 5:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I can't see how he can keep this pace up
That being said, 30 HR’s, 90 RBI’s and batting .300 is a pretty damn year for a middle infielder.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jun 29, 2009 6:32 PM EDT up reply actions
really good
and to jusyt say, he won’t win the all star spot, its too much of a popularity competition
Dont feel bad
He would be leading if he was a Yankee or Red Sock
Chris Dominguez: Bringing dingerz back to The Bay (In a while)
Thats the very reason I am so p*ssed.
As a Jays fan, I loath the Yanks and Sox and knowing that if he had the same season playing in a bigger market, he’d be a shoe-in.
Just think how bad I’m going to feel when Roy Halladay pitches for the godless Yankees in 2 years!
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jun 30, 2009 11:25 AM EDT up reply actions
That must be the worst. NL fans loathe ESPN/SI style BoSox/yankee coverage, but to be in the AL East must make it that much worse
Minor White > Ansel Adams
by say hey nation on Jun 30, 2009 12:29 PM EDT up reply actions
You think the national media is bad
Try watching a game on the Yes network or NESN. The commentators are so biased it makes my blood boil. Its gotten to the point that if I ever saw Dennis Eckersley walking down the street, I’d punch him in the neck.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jun 30, 2009 12:35 PM EDT up reply actions
Just throwing this out there...
They get paid by the Yankees and the Red Sox, respectively. If they don’t say good things about the team, they don’t keep in good standing with the owners. Also, the national media just wants to be viewed/read, and they know that covering the two teams with the biggest fanbases, positively, will get them more viewers/readers.
OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.
I have use my 25 votes and voted for Hill the majority of the time. He is a great hitter
by Heyward is the next crime dog on Jun 29, 2009 6:46 PM EDT reply actions
Why were you voting for DeRosa in the first place?
Zobrist, Kinsler, Hill, Roberts, Pedroia, Cano, and Polanco have all been better than him in the AL. And now that he’s in the NL, he’s looking up at Utley, Sanchez, Phillips, Hudson, Lopez, and Barmes.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
I voted for Kinsler. Why?
Decidedly better fielding. Kinsler’s .380 wOBA vs. Hill’s .369 wOBA. Hill may have an edge in batting average, but Kinsler makes up for it in spades with his walking ability, doing so at twice the rate of Hill, making their OBPs fairly equal (a few points more for Kinsler than Hill). Kinsler is a better baserunner, has more isolated power (.252 to .207), and has had worse luck this season (Kinsler’s BABIP is about 40 points below his career average, while Hill’s is about in line with his career average). Overall, Kinsler has been worth .4 more wins so far this season than Hill. Hill, however, should be going to the All-Star game. However, he is not as good as Kinsler.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
Zobrist played like 30 games at 2nd.
Allstar utility man maybe, you can’t compare him to a guy who plays at 2nd every day
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jun 30, 2009 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions
Fair enough.
But I still contend Zobrist should make the All-Star team somewhere.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
good points BUT
you should at least mention ballpark. Kinsler has been incredible at home in the hitters haven that is Arlington and a total wreck (.664 OPS) on the road. Hill plays in a neutral park. Tellingly, their park-adjusted OPS (124 OPS+ for Kinsler, 120 for Hill) is quite close.
You could (and did) easily make the case for Kinsler – particularly because it looks like Kinsler has improved his defense so much — but the truth is their overall offensive production has been pretty similar, and they are both very deserving.
"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman
Absolutely.
Both of them have good cases for All-Star consideration. Pedroia and Cano are in the conversation because of their Red Sox/Yankees pedigrees.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
Umm... ballpark doesn't affect OBP or baserunning.
While wOBA isn’t park adjusted, WAR is (Look here).
OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.
that argument makes absolutely no sense
the point is that the ballpark has helped his hitting. Look at his home and road splits this season. Now look at his home and road splits over 1000 plate appearances in his career. Yes, he has a .938 lifetime OPS at home and a .737 lifetime OPS on the road. He’s a great hitter, but his hitting numbers are better than they would be if he played in a tougher hitters park. That simply must be taken into account. It’s not complicated.
Also, OBP isn’t affected by ballpark? Seriously? The main component of OBP is batting average, which of course is affected by park. When your fly ball turns into a HR, double, or single instead of an out because of the park you play in, that affects your OBP.
"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman
oh and by the way
Kinsler career OBP at the Ballpark at Arlington: .394 (all-star)
Kinsler career OBP on the road: .321 (ho-hum)
Again, we’re talking about almost 1000 plate appearances of data. And, why, you ask? it’s because of a huge difference in his batting average at home and on the road. His walk rate is similar in both places.
"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman
Crap, sorry, total thinking fail.
I get so used to thinking of OBP as walks (Damn Red Sox and their patience) I forget about the hitting part.
WAR is still park adjusted though, so you can use that without concern.
OverTheMonster - ALLERGEN WARNING: May contain peanut butter.
Aaron Hill is having a magnificent season
On another roster, he may be having even bigger numbers but another frustrated Blue Jays fan, I am disgusted to see Aaron 4th. Just because he isn’t with the Yankees (no thanks I am not a pinstripes fan) or Boston (I have enormous respect for the way that team puts together a lot of different skills and I would love to see Boston and Toronto both going to the postseason). I haven’t voted so far for the All-Star Game for lack of time but I will try to do so. Hopefully, Aaron Hill will keep this pace up. It would be great to see the Blue Jays do what they did in 1993 when Roberto Alomar set the previous Toronto record for homers by a 2B in a year….we’ll see…..it would be a lot of fun. Marco (from Italy)
behind who?
Ian Kinsler:
Offensively, the difference between Kinsler and Hill is pretty negligible (as hugo pointed out earlier), so we can say that’s almost entirely a wash. You referenced Kinsler’s very low BABIP (.258) above, but you failed to reference his LD-rate which is also very low at 15.2%. Hill’s BABIP (.302) is higher than Kinsler’s but that is actually about the same luck as Kinsler, considering his much higher LD-rate of 21.9%.
People put way too much stock into 1/2 season worth of defensive statistics. According to UZR, Kinsler’s been better so far this season, but he’s been bad defensively his whole prior career. Hill has always been an above-average defender. Has Kinsler actually improved his fielding by almost two wins this season?
Ben Zobrist:
He’s been absolutely insane this season, but as was pointed out above, he’s only actually played thirty games at second base.
All this is not to say that Hill should necessarily be #1, I’m just saying that when you declare “Hill should be 3rd” you’re making it sound like there’s no argument for him to be first or second and, if that’s the case, you’re wrong.
"Look at me! I'm Tomokazu Ohka of the Montreal Expos!"
Ok, so 2nd.
I still contend Kinsler should be 1st, and that’s really not too ridiculous to say.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
I'm not saying it's ridiculous to say
I’m just saying that the argument for Hill is probably just as strong as the argument for Kinsler. I’d say they’ve been of about equal value thus far.
"Look at me! I'm Tomokazu Ohka of the Montreal Expos!"
Fangraphs would disagree.
But I understand your point. It’s just…you’re a Blue Jays fan. So it’s a little difficult to see you as unbiased, haha.
"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
Follow us on Twitter!
MLBDD: @mlbdailydish
Justin: @justinbopp
Julian: @giantsnirvana
Satchel: @SatchelPrice
Craig: @craigmwilliams
Adam: @theghostofmlg
Jason: @jasonsbaseball
Ronit: @R0nito
Marisa: @Marisa_Ingemi
Brandon: @patterson_b
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
