In this offensive deprived era of baseball, great hitters have become few and far between. Defensive shifts, pitching changes, and increased velocity from pitchers have all led to MLB hitters looking more baffled than ever at the plate. But fortunately for us, there still remain a few elite hitters.
But who exactly is the best hitter in baseball, and how exactly can we define “best” in terms of a hitter? Is power the number one factor for being the best? Guys like Nelson Cruz, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jose Bautista certainly fit this description. How about contact hitters like Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, or Joey Votto? Then of course we’ve got mix of power and average guys such as Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, and Adrian Gonzalez.
There are great cases to be made for each of these guys, but if the title of this article didn’t give it away for you, I’m going to argue that Jose Altuve is the best hitter in baseball.
Hold on just a second now. Before you all decide to freak out and say that a guy whose never hit more than seven home runs in a season can’t be the best hitter in baseball, give me a moment to explain.
Consider this: Mike Trout, Nelson Cruz, Jose Abreu, and Giancarlo Stanton were the top four home run hitters in the MLB last season. Each also batted at least .271 with Abreu’s .317 average being the highest of the bunch. However, they also struck out at least 131 times each last season with Trout’s 184 punch-outs ranking 3rd in baseball and Stanton’s 170 ranking 9th. To have that many completely unproductive outs is certainly a major detractor from their games. While nobody would deny that these players are amongst the best in baseball, striking out that frequently hurts their case as the best pure hitter in the game.
That’s where Altuve comes in. Altuve’s never going to be a top-flight power hitter in this league, but that absolutely should not allow people to write him off as the best hitter in the game. Baseball fans are obsessed with the long ball, so much so that we often forget that a player who bashes 37 home runs in a season can also have a measly WAR of 1.9 (Chris Carter). While Altuve might not bash home runs like other star hitters, he’s also never struck out more than 85 times in a season (and currently has a 9:8 K:BB ratio so far this year).
What Altuve brings is consistency and an ability to hit the ball to all-fields; a trait that has become increasingly important in an era where defensive shifts are at an all-time high. Additionally, Altuve’s splits are outstanding, another key attribute for a ball player these days given manager’s tendencies to use platoons. Last season Altuve batted a robust .414/.447/.566 against left handed pitchers and an impressive .319/.356/.419 against righties. His line clearly favors left-handed pitching, but when your weaker side would still place you in the top 5 in baseball in batting average, you’re doing something very right.
Altuve’s numbers thus far this season have been even more outrageous than 2014. This past Saturday (5/2) he went 1 for 4 with a three-run homer. This performance was a disappointment for Altuve however as it ended a nine-game multi hit streak in which Altuve also scored nine runs, hit a home run, batted in nine runs, and stole four bases. As of Sunday morning, he was batting .371 for the season.
So while there is certainly a case to be made for a number of great hitters out there, Altuve is the most consistent and brings the most to the plate (pun intended). Making every at bat count is something Altuve does perhaps better than anyone else in the game.
Main Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
