Every decade has its star. For the 2000's, it was Pujols. For the 2010's, could that star be Joey Votto?
Every decade has its star. For the 2000's, it was Pujols. For the 2010's, could that star be Joey Votto?
That seems pretty unlikely.
Votto is already 27, which would mean that he'd have to maintain this level of performance through his mid to late 30s in order to even be in the discussion for player of the decade.
If anyone on the Reds current roster has the chance to be that player, it's probably Jay Bruce. He's younger which means that he should be in his prime years for most of the decade, otherwise you're probably looking at similar profiles (Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Mike Staton, etc).
I don't know about "player of the decade," but Votto might be the best hitter in the NL over the next 5 years. I'd take that.
Even though Votto is awesome, it will be hard to maintain the level he was at last year. If he can he is a superstar.
My bet is on Buster Posey though Carlos Gonzalez looks to be a legit offensive threat. Cargo needs to improve on his road splits but all the tools are there.
It will still be very difficult to match what Pujols did this past decade. Here is an interesting stat I read the other day on Pujols. There have been less than 10 players in baseball HISTORY who have had a single season that equals Albert Pujols career average, stats wise (avg, rbi, hr, slg, obp, etc). I just don't see a lot of players matching that standard.
Last edited by MikeThierry; 01-25-2011 at 11:51 PM.
I think Joey will be a legitimate triple crown contender the next 5 years. If he can stay healthy, he has a chance.
All things being equal and not knowing much about Bryce Harper besides the hype, the one guy I would bet as being the best player of the next decade would be Jason Heyward.
He OPSd .849 this season and if you throw out his June where he played with a banged up wrist before the DLd him, you are looking at a guy that OPSd .900 as a 20 year old in a neutral to negative offensive ballpark. The guy has light tower power and exceptional plate discipline for his age and see him as having the best skill set right now to consistently be a 1.000 OPS guy.
Man, I hope you're right. It'll be interesting to see if he can repeat his performance from last year. I think he can be even better, but those are still some lofty numbers to put up on a yearly basis.Originally Posted by Vottomatic
Yeah, it will be Jason Heyward.
Justin Upton and Bryce Harper are also guys to watch out for. Basically, you need to be younger than 23 and making strides in the majors to be a Pujols or A-Rod type player.
For his 10 years,I would choose Votto.I wouldn't trade him for anyone mentioned above,even though he is a first baseman.
I think he will be in the discussion for best of the decade along w/ Mauer, Hanley, Posey, Cano, cargo, heyward,
To be fair Pujols has only done this himself twice. It's not like it's an easy thing to do to eclipse all your career averages in a single year.
As far as who will be the best player through the end of the decade, I'd go with Posey, Heyward, or Longoria.
I'm saying Joey's decade is '08-'17.
Yeah but even a below average season for Pujols is still a career year for many other players. He's one of the best players in baseball history, some would even say the best right-handed hitter. The chances of a player matching his level of play in the next decade are quite small; however, I can still see a player being a "player of the decade" without being as good as Pujols.
I just have a real suspicion it will be a race between Buster Posey and Jason Heyward.
I think we saw Joey's career year last year. I just can't see him duplicating those numbers again. There has to be some regression to the mean. I see something similar to 2009, which isn't chopped liver. It's still a great year. Something to the tune of .415/.570/.985, which is still all-star caliber.
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