My Best Junior Seau Impression (Final Article)
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by user Ufgators
Hey everyone. With the school year fast approaching, I will be forced to allocate more of my time to school work. Thus, I will not be "retiring" from the 'chair, but rather "graduating", for we all know that:
"I'm not retiring. I am graduating. Today is my graduation day. Retirement means that you'll just go ahead and live on your laurels and surf all day in Oceanside. It ain't going to happen." |
While I will still put forth an effort to produce "The Rant" each week, I would like to leave you guys the same way I came in: With a fresh, new article on a Sunday!
Why are we as fans so fixated on the big stats (HR's, PPG, etc.) rather than the other crucial stats (RPG, Stolen Bases, etc.) ? How come a rebound must take the back seat to a lay-up? Why must players like Rickey Henderson be forced to look on in the shadows of Barry Bonds? I am not suggesting that one player is more important than the other, but asking why it seems this way to begin with?
To start, let us compare Tyson Chandler and Shaq. Tyson averaged an even 9.0 rebounds per game last season, but lacked in the scoring column. Shaq, however, averaged nearly the same amount of rebounds, but was a legitimate threat in the scoring column. As fas as blocks go, they are nearly equal! Despite their near equality as defensive players, Tyson will never be mentioned in the same breath as Shaq due to his inability to score. Need more evidence? Chandler had 0.5 steals per game, while "The Diesel" had 0.4 steals per game. Chandler averaged 1.6 turnovers and 3.8 personal fouls last season, compared to Shaq's 2.9 turnover average and 3.9 personal foul average! One of the definitions of "center" according to this is "A person or thing that is the chief object of attention, interest, activity, or emotion." Well, that pretty much describes Shaq! Despite the scoring average, Shaq and Tyson Chandler are near equals as defensive players, with a few minor categories in Chandlers favor, and a few in Shaq's favor.
Next, let's examine Homerun vs. Stolen Bases. According to everyone's favorite baseball site, Barry Bonds holds the single season homerun record with 73 dingers, while the speedy Rickey Henderson holds the record for most swipes in a season, with 130. Rickey Henderson had more stolen bases during the 1982 season than some teams have had in an entire season. For example; in 2002, only the Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, and Seattle Mariners stole more bases as a team than Rickey Henderson did by himself. The last two men to break the prestigious homerun record are accused of taking steroids. Whereas Lou Brock and Rickey Henderson-- the players who stole 118 and 130 stolen bases respectively--aren't even thought of as steroid users. Sure, home runs are crowd pleasers, but so are stolen bases! One can make the argument that homeruns are the only contributions that can directly alter the course of a game. To this, I offer you Dave Roberts. As a diehard yankee fan, this is going to be hard for me, but for the sake of the article, I will go on. Roberts made a significant number of contributions to the Red Sox' first World Series win in 86 years. The most notable of contributions was his stolen base against the Yankees in the ALCS Game 4. Facing elimination in the bottom of the ninth inning, down 4 runs to 3, Kevin Millar drew a walk from Yanks closer Mariano Rivera. Roberts, who had not played in 10 days, came in to pinch run. Rivera threw over to first base three times and on the next pitch, Roberts managed to steal second base. Bill Mueller followed with a single, Roberts scored, and the Sox went on to win in 12 innings and begin their run of eight straight wins en route to the World Championship title. Sure, David Ortiz can hit homeruns, but what good is a solo blast if you're still down by one run?! Roberts' ability to get on base and advance to the next base on his own was a key element in the Red Sox' victory over the Yanks.
As we can see, points per game and home runs, though they are more glorified, are no more important than stolen bases and rebounds per game. When asked who is the greatest player in the history of baseball, we automatically think "Okay, so the greatest homerun hitter is Hank Aaron, so he must be the greatest player ever!" Has the media really molded us into thinking that homeruns--which, most of the time, are aided by supplements--are more important than stolen bases? And if it weren't for Allen Iverson's ability to score, would we overlook his defensive acheivements in favor of someone else? Although this is an extreme example, as AI is one of the most prolific scorers in NBA history, how many people can recall that he is a 3-time NBA regular-season leader in steals per game? What about the year he was the NBA regular-season leader in free throws made? Quite frankly (i couldn't go out without a Stephen. A reference) all stats are important to every game. I leave you with this: When down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, who would you rather have on base: David Ortiz (lets assume Big Papi isnt incapable of hitting something other than a homerun) or Dave Roberts?
Date
Sun 08/27/06, 9:21 am EST
