Share Your General Thoughts on BP

[Ironman92]

I've not been around long and am confused about how people feel of BP.

My assumption was the vast majority loved him and is many people's favorite player.....this being a Reds forum.

Here are my honest thoughts....

I think he's a HOF talent (don't think he'll do enough to quite make it) I think he's a better hitter than his average shows but he feels the need to hit the glamorous home runs a good bit too much.

I think his defensive abilities are amazing but get annoyed as sometimes he Jim Edmonds' plays and even more when he does that and errors. I believe his range is excellent but exaggerated by the Reds TV guys.

He seems like a big kid and is looking to have a great time....but also a hot dog. with too much "look at me" at times.

I think batting 4th he should get 100 RBI and near 100 runs.....he's never done that but this year is looking good.

I don't believe other players and managers have as high opinion of him as many of us do.

Overall, I think he's incredibly talented, a hot dog, but also glad he laces them up for the Reds at 2nd base every day.

Please share what you think of BP. Thanks

[RedEye]

He's a great 2B in the field and a league-average hitter. The Reds are lucky to have him. He should not be a cleanup hitter no matter how many RBI he gets.

[dougdirt]

Offense: Very overrated by a majority of Reds fans. He is a solid hitter. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Defense: Outstanding. Can make every play you can think of.

Other stuff: Wants to much to be "the guy". Goes back to his days in Cleveland and while he seems to have toned it down, he was openly whining about the attention that Josh Hamilton was getting and why he (Phillips) wasn't getting it. I really don't care about those kinds of things because I don't believe they do much for anything that happens on the field since baseball plays don't really rely on others to get your job done (Phillips doesn't really rely on someone setting a pick or blocking a player for him to field a ball or him to hit a pitch). Great with the fans. He genuinely seems like he enjoys being a "celebrity" and seems to embrace it as much as he can.

Glad he is on my team and not on someone elses.

[westofyou]

Flashy, good fielder, has the skills to run, hit for power and has a great arm.

Can't buy a walk, can't steal more than a handful of a bags or hit 25 HR's.

He's solid and I'm glad he's a Red

At the dish he doesn't scare any other teams fans at all, that speaks volumes.

Reds HOF yes, National, not ever

[RedFanAlways1966]

Reds HOF yes, National, not ever

Only chance to Cooperstown is to hit a walkoff HR in the 7th game of a World Series against a mighty team. And that would only be by the Veteran's Committee some 20 years after he retires. Would love to see it happen!

[mth123]

Best defensive 2B I can recall watching over a long period (Pokey might have been better for a year or two). Good bat that plays well for a defense first MI. Not a HOF. Lock for the Reds HOF. Probably one of the guys in the 5 to 10 range as far as 2B in the majors. Not elite all around, but very good player. Overall he's a strength, but he's a complimentary player.

Wish he was in the line-up tonight.

[Griffey012]

Thought the contract we gave him was going to be terrible...I was completely wrong, so far he is playing at a level that is worth it, I thought he would regress rapidly. He is not a high walk guy, but doesn't K a ton either (I know, I know, K's arent that bad), but he tends to adjust his AB to get a job done when he gets down in the count, maybe it is just observational bias.

Not sure why people hate him in the 4 hole? He has been killing it w/RISP this year (1.000 OPS). He has been terrible with the bases empty.

I don't see BP as a "Hot Dog" but I see him as an entertainer. Hot dogs play when they want to play, go out of their way to show boat, etc...BP plays hard but visibly has fun doing it. If he goes 3-4 and loses he is pissed and happy for the win if he goes 0-4 (at least via his twitter). Personally, I think he is less me, me, me than a lot think. Do you know how boring games would be for the kids and those who don't like baseball in the fashion we did if we had 9 Joey Votto personalities on the field? BP may have been a prima-donna early in his career, but he has been a class act on and off the field for much of his time in Cincy. I can't recall an athlete involving the fans as often and as much as he does before and after games.

Has become one of my favorite players ever since I moved to Cincinnati a few years ago.

[traderumor]

I like to show up early to watch the other team hit and my boys usally get a baseball thrown to them.

[mth123]

I like to show up early to watch the other team hit and my boys usally get a baseball thrown to them.

Subtle play on the term BP. A winking smiley might keep most of the board from thinking your wacky.

[11larkin11]

Overrated by some casual fans, underrated by Redszone.

[UC_Ken]

I agree with most, as good a defensive 2B as I've ever seen, an overrated offensive player who should never hit higher than 5th. Not a bad offensive player, just average. And not insignificantly he's got a great attitude.

[LoganBuck]

Admittedly I clicked on this thinking it was about Batting Practice

[Ironman92]

Overrated by some casual fans, underrated by Redszone.

This helps....I couldn't get the vibe on him, most responses have pretty similar feelings.....what I've taken the past few days has been all over the place.

[RedEye]

Thanks for this thread, Ironman92. At least we are talking about something related to actual baseball and BP over here. Sheesh.

[Roy Tucker]

Awesome in the field, solid bat for a 2B, lost his base stealing speed somewhere.

What I like about him the most is his personality. I like how he interacts with fans and kids in particular. Always talks to them and signs autogrpahs. Not many players do that.

Oddly, I don't know if he's all that popular with his teammates.