Who was a better hitter in the U.S. major league: Ichiro Suzuki or Hideki Matsui?
Ichiro Suzuki Born: October 22, 1973 in Nichi Kasugai-gun, Aichi, Japan 2001- 2013: active
Hideki Matsui Born: June 12, 1974 in Ishikawa, Japan 2003-2012: retired
Seattle traded Suzuki to the Yankees July 23, 2012 where he now plays. Suzuki is actually older than Matsui who essentially retired after playing only 34 games in 2012 for Tampa. To his credit Suzuki has played in 2,030 games while Matsui played in only 1,236 games. It might seem a little odd to compare them but let's see what we get.
Obviously Suzuki is a better all around player than Matsui who started to break down physically after leading the American Conference in games in each of his first three years playing for the Yankees. Here are some batting numbers.
OBA:
Suzuki: .362
Matsui: .360
SLG:
Suzuki: .416
Matsui: .462
OPS:
Suzuki: .778
Matsui: .822
OPS+:
Suzuki: 112
Matsui: 118
Matsui wins the career averages.
_________________________________
Season high averages:
OBA:
Suzuki: .414
Matsui: .390
SLG:
Suzuki: .457
Matsui: .522
OPS:
Suzuki: .851
Matsui: .912
OPS+:
Suzuki: 130
Matsui: 137
Matsui dominates the season high averages.
____________________________
Season high totals:
Hits:
Suzuki: 262
Matsui: 192
2B
Suzuki: 34
Matsui: 45
3B
Suzuki: 12
Matsui: 4
HR
Suzuki: 15
Matsui: 31
TB
Suzuki: 320
Matsui: 305
Overall I'm leaning towards Matsui. How about you?
Stimulating, provocative, sometimes whimsical new concepts that challenge traditional baseball orthodoxy. Note: Anonymous comments will not be published. Copyright Kenneth Matinale
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1 comment:
Excellent analysis of two very different kinds of players - but I admire them both!
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