Old School v GenX: Round 1

My dad was at the Rangers’ game on Saturday and sent me a text message regarding Michael Young that spiraled into an in-depth text-message battle:

Dad @ 1:31
Michael Young is the best pure “hitter” in baseball. He hits the ball where it’s pitched, always has good at bats and does what it takes to win the game. He is just awesome to watch.

Blair @ 1:37
He has been good so far this year...but OPS below .785 in 2007 and 2008.

Dad @ 1:45
Very comparable stats to Jeter each year and Young has more productive years to come. Not fair to compare a SS to sluggers by using OPS. Compare them to the role they play.

Blair at 2:11
Jeter has had a significantly better average and much better OBP throughout his career:

Derek Jeter: .316/.386/.458 (.844)
Hanley Ramirez: .309/.381/.528 (.909)
Miguel Tejada: .288/.342/.472 (.814)
Michael Young: .347/.445/.301 (.792)

Dad @ 2:19
OK…so Young is right there with some of the best short-stops in the game. Are you trying to make my case for me?

Blair @ 2:31
Ok old man – let me break it down for you:

Young had a total of 3 years in which he had an OPS above .785…

Jeter has 10 out of 14…
Tejada has 8 out of 12…
Hanley Ramirez has 3 out of 3 (while stealing 50 bases every year)…

He has had 3 above-average offensive years in 9 seasons. A career .300 hitter with a career OBP of .345 means that he simply doesn’t do a very good job of getting on base. I understand that every player isn’t going to hit for a ton of power – but a .345 OBP isn’t very good if you aren’t providing the team with other production (steals, power, etc…)

It’s a lot easier to get 200 hits every year when you aren’t willing to take a walk.

Dad @ 2:53
Wrong. As usual – you aren’t old or wise enough to recognize the flaws in your logic.