Fun, hypothetical question....

[Playadlc]

at least I thought it was, anyway.

Micah Owings got me and my buddy thinking about this the other day...I hope I can explain this right.

Who would be the better team between one comprised of entirely MLB position players or one with only MLB pitchers?

Assume that -

Both teams would be playing a normal regular season against each other (meaning that both teams couldn't just throw the same pitcher out there every game, there would have to be some sort of pitching rotation.)

Both teams have a 15 man roster (25 allows too much room for specialization, IMO.)

No DH rule.

I said position players because pitchers are going to suck in every defensive position but pitching.

[RedsManRick]

I think a team full of position players would destroy a team full of pitchers. Pitching itself is less than 50% of the game -- the position players would have the advantage at the plate and in the field. Even with position players throwing batting practice, the pitchers would hit in to plenty of outs. I can't imagine pitchers playing CF and SS... let alone catching.

[gefootball10]

I think a team full of position players would destroy a team full of pitchers. Pitching itself is less than 50% of the game -- the position players would have the advantage at the plate and in the field. Even with position players throwing batting practice, the pitchers would hit in to plenty of outs. I can't imagine pitchers playing CF and SS... let alone catching.

they always say good pitching beats good hitting anyday. however, with a fellow pitcher calling the shots as your catcher that may not be a good thing...i say in one game the position players win. if they were to play 100 games (sort of mini season) i say position players win anywhere from 55-65 of them, with the pitchers getting the hang of positions throughout the season.

[rotnoid]

I think the pitchers would get the hang of it eventually, but if the hitters hit the gaps it could be very ugly early. There'd have to be some sort of mercy rule of course, especially for the first half of the season.

Not to mention, I bet a lot of position players have at least pitched in high school before. They were most likely the best athletes on their teams and got a small taste.

[texasdave]

My money would be on the pitchers. Owings or maybe Zambrano or maybe Hampton would lead that league in homers against the "batting practice" pitching of the regulars. It would be interesting.

[Scrap Irony]

Position players would dominate, I think. Remember, many of them not only used to be pitchers, but were good pitchers. Some of them were great pitchers. IIRC, Mark McGuire had a 90 mph fastball. Shawon Dunston hit 90 from the SS position. Almost any RF or 3B could hit that as well. Give them a couple months and the old off-speed stuff would come back.

And hitting any round ball with round object is almost impossible to begin with. For anyone other than Pujols.

[texasdave]

And most pitchers were probably their team's best hitters at least through high school and many of them still raked in college. Pitching beats hitting.

[TeamSelig]

Idk... I think the pitchers probably end up winning. You could literally pick the best 5 pitchers in the game for your rotation, guys who really won't have to hit or field much. Then you can pick the Micah Owings, Zambranos, etc. for hitting. Most are athletic enough that they could probably field their position in a half way respectable manner.

[TeamSelig]

RF Dontrelle Willis
LF Micah Owings
CF Rick Ankiel
C Carlos Zambrano
1B Mike Hampton
SS Brandon Backe
2B Tim Hudson
3B Jorge Sosa

Maybe put Arroyo in there somewhere?

[improbus]

RF Dontrelle Willis
LF Micah Owings
CF Rick Ankiel
C Carlos Zambrano
1B Mike Hampton
SS Brandon Backe
2B Tim Hudson
3B Jorge Sosa

Maybe put Arroyo in there somewhere?

That team would beat any group of position players. Janish was throwing 90 mph, but they were absolute meatballs.

[bucksfan2]

RF Dontrelle Willis
LF Micah Owings
CF Rick Ankiel
C Carlos Zambrano
1B Mike Hampton
SS Brandon Backe
2B Tim Hudson
3B Jorge Sosa

Maybe put Arroyo in there somewhere?

Who pitches?

[TeamSelig]

Lincecum

[Caveat Emperor]

Who pitches?

Better question -- would this hypothetical league use a DH?

[Roy Tucker]

This is a really intriguing question.

Even the best MLB pitchers need quality fielding behind them to have a prayer of getting MLB hitters out. At least at the start, those pitchers playing the field would probably suck like reeeeaaally bad, at least in the infield. The OF they may be able to get by. I think people underestimate how hard it is to play MLB quality defense and how much a pitcher relies on it. And who the heck is going to catch? They might get better over time though. Ostensibly, pitchers are the best athletes on the team. You'd think they could adapt. Maybe.

But on the other hand, there aren't that many position players that can pitch worth a hoot. Paul Janish can come in and throw 90 mph straight fastballs which I was impressed by but he got lit up like a Christmas tree. You get a decent hitting pitcher up and they might be able to do something. They could probably pitch well enough to get most normal hitting pitchers out. A good hitting pitcher, I don't know.

I'd probably go with the position players, mostly because of fielding.

[blumj]

CC Sabathia-1B? He's not that much bigger than Prince Fielder.