World's best slugger vs world's best pitcher, who would you sign?
Let’s say that you were a baseball manager. Your current team is mediocre with no clear gaps or advantages. You have enough money to sign either the world’s best slugger or the world’s best pitcher. Both are willing to work for you for the same amount of money.
Would you sign the slugger (i.e. batter) or pitcher?
Personally, I would sign the slugger as he would play everyday while the pitcher would only pitch once every five days.
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11 Answers
Pitcher so fast.
The pitcher essentially controls the game, and having an awesome slugger tends to make the other hitters slack.
In the circumstances you detailed, I would also sign the world’s best slugger because he would be playing most days.
If I was the LA Dodgers of the early-middle 60’s, I would love to have had Hank Aaron or Willie Mays.
On the other hand, if I was the Cincinnati Reds of the early-middle 70’s, Nolan Ryan would have been a great addition to our team.
Pitcher in a second. They be rarer.
Excuse the ignorance, but why wouldn’t a pitcher play every game?
@meiosis
A pitcher puts so much effort into every pitch (most pitches are close to 90 MPH/144 KPH), and they usually throw about 100 pitches a game.
Consequently, they need about 4 days of rest for their arms to recuperate.
@weeveeship My first impulse was the same as yours, but on further thought, I think I would sign the pitcher. He has more influence on the games that he starts. A great slugger cannot control a game.
Great pitching beats great hitting. Sign the pitcher.
Your logic that the hitter bats every day doesn’t work. The batter only bats 3–5 times a game. A great pitcher faces up to 27 batters.
While the slugger plays every game, he only has 3 or 4 at-bats per game. The slugger’s impact on any one game is rather small. The difference between an average hitter and the world’s best slugger, while certainly not insignificant, is not as large as the difference between an average pitcher and the world’s best pitcher. An average pitcher will win you about half of his games, while the world’s best pitcher will win upwards of 75% of his games. Even if he only makes 30–40 starts, you’re talking about a 10+ game difference.
I’m with @Ivan for exactly the same reasons, as well as the other’s supporting the pitcher side. The general impact the pitcher will have is much more significant.
@ivan answered the question.
It’s why the Giants are in the World Series (Zito notwithstanding).
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