Comments on: Yankees, Nick Johnson and Hideki Matsui

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:35:55 +0000

Did I mention Matsui has a better career slugging %, and OPS?

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:29:39 +0000

“since they’ve had careers of similar quality”… you brought up the career thing in the first place. Matsui has a better lifetime average than Johnson. Am I missing something? Your entire argument is based on OBP. You aren’t considered average, home runs, RBIs, postseason experience, total bases, strikeouts, and hits (Matsui is better in all of these categories on a 162 game average).

Johnson is a .273 lifetime hitter while Matsui is a .291 lifetime hitter

I’m not saying Matsui can sustain this for much longer but I think he could have been productive for one more season as the Yankees DH.

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:19:45 +0000

Thanks for the comment Jim. He was the World Series MVP for a reason. Matsui’s World Series totals –> 8-13, .615 BA, 3 HR, 3 R, 8 RBI, BB = MVP.
Anybody think Nick Johnson would put up those numbers when Teixeira and Cano had an awful series?

By: Bill@TDS

Bill@TDS — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:17:58 +0000

“Other than the amount of walks and OBP, Matsui is a better career hitter than Johnson in almost every other aspect.”

Rich, that’s like me saying “other than being completely tone-deaf, I’m a great singer.” There’s more to singing than actually being able to hit the pitches, but it’s a vitally important part. Similarly, getting on base at a good clip is the single most important thing for any hitter to do. The other things matter, but when you add it all up (as the stats I looked at in my post do quite nicely), Johnson comes out ahead.

I don’t see how it matters who had the better career up to this point (especially putting aside age), but I think it’s a toss-up. Matsui has played more, by about a season’s worth of PA, but Johnson has hit a little better and was once a really good defensive first baseman, while Matsui was always a terrible defensive outfielder. I might still say Matsui because of the postseason and stuff. But all that is basically irrelevant when you’re talking about 2010, when Johnson is very, very likely to be the more productive player.

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:13:55 +0000

You are 100% correct. The only thing you left out is what an AMAZING pinch hitter Matsui was in the playoffs. Not many people can excel in that role, and it is SO very important in the playoffs and in clutch situations throughout the season. There is no one I would rather have coming off the bench to bat in a tense spot. As usual, Brian Cashman takes things for granted and is burned. Of course, they will spin it as if they intended to do this all along, but it was a terrible mistake. I just hope it doesn’t come back to burn them when they face the Angels in the playoffs.

By: Rich

Rich — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 17:47:30 +0000

Hey check out my next post about what the Yankees lineup will look with Johnson in it. They gain a great OBP guy but lose some pop in the middle of the order. I didn’t expect a Yankees DH to be an OBP guy that hits 2nd but the Yankees lineup calls for it. The Yankees don’t trust Granderson to be the # 2 hitter.