TOWER GROVE — The community poll on the best tools in the National League began with a few obvious skills. Best Hitter. Best Power. Best chances to get an early consensus.
Today’s two tools aren’t nearly as obvious. They are:
- BEST BUNTER
- BEST STRIKE-ZONE JUDGMENT
As mentioned Friday, the blog will feature over the next several weeks the same ballot that Baseball America distributes to managers around baseball. Each manager is asked to identify the three best players in his league at the “tool”. Some of the tools ahead are Best Curve, Best Infield Arm and, the final blog entry, Best Defensive Outfielder. We’ll go two-by-two until the last line of the ballot, Best Manager.
Today’s is tricky, but you can start with some obvious selections, like Juan Pierre or Willy Taveras for the bunter category or local hitter Albert Pujols for best strike-zone judgment. There are, as ever, darkhorses for each tool and these tools are wide open for surprises (read: plate discipline and … Pat Burrell). I’ll be back with bunters in the comments, but for now I’ll use the usual blend of eyeballing the game and scanning the statistics to go with these three for strike-zone judgment:
- Albert Pujols, Cardinals
- Brian Giles, San Diego
- Chipper Jones, Atlanta
Leave your rankings in the comments below and, if you haven’t already, fire off your top three at the previous Best Tools ‘08 entry: Best Hitter. Best Power.
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