by Fallout » Wed Sep 08, 2010 6:12 pm
CS3---
I would have ignored your post if it wasn't for your mocking tone, and despite my willingness to qualify my argument, that is, to make it clear that although Gonzalez' walk rate is poor, his other numbers are right there with the other elite players (which they are and I did point out that he should be recognized for that), you seemed to have misconstrued my argument into a simple "Omg Gonzalez doesnt walk he sucks!!"
It is very easy to laugh at an argument if you ignore many facets of it--so I will make it clear as to what I believe, and that is: That Gonzalez' numbers are for the most part, fantastic, and sit atop or very near the top for hitters in the NL. That is given. What I am saying, and I hope this is clear, is that unlike the other top hitters in the NL, Gonzalez' walks are putrid, and that should be taken into consideration when evaluating him for the MVP, just like it should be taken into consideration that he plays a more demanding position and plays it well, and that he also steals bases.
Perhaps I should've focused more on OBP over walk rate, and, as you know, OBP is a combination of hits and walks. So, even with his higher avg, all those lovely hits, and runs and rbis which are partially luck-driven, Gonzalez' OBP is still dwarfed by that of Pujols and Votto. No, walks aren't everything--but they are not some minuscule part of baseball that should be overlooked or do not matter.