who's the best baseball player in the MLB right now?

[SP33Demon]

Ichiro wishes that he was as productive as Rickey Henderson. His highest WAR so far is at 7.2 and he's been at 4.8 - 5.5 for the last few seasons. Meanwhile, Rickey Henderson managed to put up WARs over 10 twice and was at or over 7.0 five times in his career.

I mean when you're using things like "higher strikeout rate when swinging at the ball" as a negative, that's when you know that you refuse to look at overall production and just have a pathetic argument.

This is a valid argument, if you're comparing both of their first 10 American years. Rickey had a better first 10 years offensively.

Ricky's best years were from age 21-31 (1980-1990) and his decline started in 1991. He was only good for 10 years. Ichiro started his American baseball career 6 years older and was still just as good defensively. Saying that Rickey was an "elite outfielder" is a joke and flat out lie. Elite fielders don't post lifetime dWAR's of 7.1, Ichiro will more than double it by the time it's said and done (he's at 12.7 now). And PS: many elite outfielders are leadoff men. Brett Gardner, Carl Crawford, and Shane Victorino come to mind.

You say "20 points in OBP is huge". Well, how does that compare to 50 points in average? You're a smart guy, right? You can't tell me that 20 OBP > 50 points in average, even for a leadoff hitter. You can't tell me that someone who led both the NL and AL in batting average over 10 years minus Pujols (1 % point) is not phenomenal in this day and age. You can't tell me that intentional walks don't mean anything, or batting with RISP. The bottom line is Rickey was a 1 tool player for 14 years, a 2/3 tool for 10, and Ichiro has been a 4 tool his entire career. There is greatness in longevity and Rickey was just a flash in the pan. Ichiro, when it's said and done, is 4X200 seasons away from being the all time hit king (including Japan's hits). Will you still say Rickey is the greatest in 2015 when Ichiro is the international hit king?

 

[actuarial]

Saying that Rickey was an "elite outfielder" is a joke and flat out lie. Elite fielders don't post lifetime dWAR's of 7.1, Ichiro will more than double it by the time it's said and done (he's at 12.7 now). And PS: many elite outfielders are leadoff men. Brett Gardner, Carl Crawford, and Shane Victorino come to mind.

No one said he was elite during his entire career, that's what you're missing. During his prime, he WAS elite and dWAR bears that out. Isn't it weird that his best year of dWAR is tied with Ichiro's? And guess what - he had a 10 year stretch with a cumulative dWAR of 11.

All your statistical arguments break down to "well he continued to play after he wasn't elite anymore". No shit. That doesn't mean that in his extended prime - longer than Ichiro's MLB career mind you, he kills Ichiro in everything other than batting for average.

Basically, if you want to find the best leadoff season in history - it's Ricky. Two year stretch - it's Ricky. Three year stretch - it's Ricky ... Ten year stretch - it's Ricky. 24 year stretch - it's still Ricky until Ichiro plays for that long.

 

[SP33Demon]

No one said he was elite during his entire career, that's what you're missing. During his prime, he WAS elite and dWAR bears that out. Isn't it weird that his best year of dWAR is tied with Ichiro's? And guess what - he had a 10 year stretch with a cumulative dWAR of 11.

All your statistical arguments break down to "well he continued to play after he wasn't elite anymore". No shit. That doesn't mean that in his extended prime - longer than Ichiro's MLB career mind you, he kills Ichiro in everything other than batting for average.

Basically, if you want to find the best leadoff season in history - it's Ricky. Two year stretch - it's Ricky. Three year stretch - it's Ricky ... Ten year stretch - it's Ricky. 24 year stretch - it's still Ricky until Ichiro plays for that long.

Rickey doesn't kill him in anything in his first 10 years vs Ichiro's first 10. Ichiro has led the league in hits and led all of MLB batting average in his first freaking 10 years. Let's go back to Rickey's first 10 to compare apples to apples from 1979 to 1989. Rickey didn't even lead every year in steals despite the crazy amount he attempted.

Same exact SLG%, .429. Rickey had a .290 BA, Ichiro .331. OBP, Rickey exactly .400, Ichiro .376. Rickey has 871 SB to Ichiro's 387, both steal at 81%. IBB, Rickey only 31, Ichiro 156. Rickey leads the league in walks 3X, Ichiro in hits 10X. Rickey 70.9 WAR, Ichiro 54.8. Ichiro dWAR 12.8, Rickey 10.5. Gold Gloves, Ichiro 10, Rickey 1.

It basically comes down to whether you prefer a dangerous hitter who bats 41 points higher and plays better defense, or a guy who walks more equaling higher OBP with more total steals attempted. Power (SLG%) is the same, Rickey had more HR's and Ichiro had more triples. RBI's, almost the exact same with Ichiro +1. WAR does say Rickey was more valuable overall by 1.6 more wins per season (16 total). So much for "killing" Ichiro in everything but average.

If Ichiro can keep up his meteoric pace he will soon pass Pete Rose and there won't be any debate. Hitting transcends walks, period.

 

[cubby1223]

He's never failed a test. He is pretty religious - no drugs or alcohol and has been quoted as saying he wouldn't care if he was tested every day...

Steroid users say the same thing. He knows he cannot be tested every day because of union protections. Therefore there is no downside to making the statement.

 

[rocadelpunk]

Steroid users say the same thing. He knows he cannot be tested every day because of union protections. Therefore there is no downside to making the statement.

hmm touche

 

[RabidMongoose]

This is a valid argument, if you're comparing both of their first 10 American years. Rickey had a better first 10 years offensively.

Ricky's best years were from age 21-31 (1980-1990) and his decline started in 1991. He was only good for 10 years. Ichiro started his American baseball career 6 years older and was still just as good defensively. Saying that Rickey was an "elite outfielder" is a joke and flat out lie. Elite fielders don't post lifetime dWAR's of 7.1, Ichiro will more than double it by the time it's said and done (he's at 12.7 now). And PS: many elite outfielders are leadoff men. Brett Gardner, Carl Crawford, and Shane Victorino come to mind.

Yes, Rickey Henderson was an elite outfielder. However, as he aged, he became a pretty poor outfielder.

You say "20 points in OBP is huge". Well, how does that compare to 50 points in average? You're a smart guy, right? You can't tell me that 20 OBP > 50 points in average, even for a leadoff hitter.

AVG in itself doesn't really tell us much about a player's productivity. Basically, a player with a .280 AVG and a .400 OBP is more productive than a player with a .310 AVG and a .380 OBP with all other factors being the same. That's not even arguable from a statistical standpoint, unless you're from some old school thought that completely rejects all modern analysis.

You can't tell me that someone who led both the NL and AL in batting average over 10 years minus Pujols (1 % point) is not phenomenal in this day and age. You can't tell me that intentional walks don't mean anything, or batting with RISP. The bottom line is Rickey was a 1 tool player for 14 years, a 2/3 tool for 10, and Ichiro has been a 4 tool his entire career. There is greatness in longevity and Rickey was just a flash in the pan. Ichiro, when it's said and done, is 4X200 seasons away from being the all time hit king (including Japan's hits). Will you still say Rickey is the greatest in 2015 when Ichiro is the international hit king?

Well, you're just obsessed with looking at isolated numbers instead of a player's overall production.

Having a nice average is great and all, but being more productive is more important and valuable.

The fact that you're even saying that Rickey Henderson was just a flash in the pan is utterly hilarious. If Henderson was just a flash in the pan, then Ichiro is basically a turd in a toilet.

This is basically going to come down to people with a more modern view of baseball vs. the old school type. You are obsessed with batting average. That's fine, but modern baseball statistics don't view AVG as an overall measure of a player's productivity.

Ichiro is a good player, but from an advanced statistical standpoint, he's not as good as Rickey Henderson. And he's definitely not anywhere near the 2nd best player in all of baseball. Now, if you're going with emotion or looking at isolated statistics instead of overall player productivity, or whatever other old school analysis you use, then I guess you can come up with some argument that Ichiro is awesome and is the #2 player in baseball and that Pete Rose is the greatest player of all time or whatever else.

 

[RabidMongoose]

Rickey doesn't kill him in anything in his first 10 years vs Ichiro's first 10. Ichiro has led the league in hits and led all of MLB batting average in his first freaking 10 years. Let's go back to Rickey's first 10 to compare apples to apples from 1979 to 1989. Rickey didn't even lead every year in steals despite the crazy amount he attempted.

Same exact SLG%, .429. Rickey had a .290 BA, Ichiro .331. OBP, Rickey exactly .400, Ichiro .376. Rickey has 871 SB to Ichiro's 387, both steal at 81%. IBB, Rickey only 31, Ichiro 156. Rickey leads the league in walks 3X, Ichiro in hits 10X. Rickey 70.9 WAR, Ichiro 54.8. Ichiro dWAR 12.8, Rickey 10.5. Gold Gloves, Ichiro 10, Rickey 1.

It basically comes down to whether you prefer a dangerous hitter who bats 41 points higher and plays better defense, or a guy who walks more equaling higher OBP with more total steals attempted. Power (SLG%) is the same, Rickey had more HR's and Ichiro had more triples. RBI's, almost the exact same with Ichiro +1. WAR does say Rickey was more valuable overall by 1.6 more wins per season (16 total). So much for "killing" Ichiro in everything but average.

This is a strange argument. You seem to discount Henderson's steal totals as being from an era where steals were more important and then just straight up compare these player's SLG when Henderson played in an era where hitting was not as prominent as it is today. Ichiro generally plays in an era where hitting numbers are higher.

Let's take a quick look at OPS+, which doesn't even give a bonus to Henderson and his superior OBP. Hell, Henderson's career OPS+ is 127. Ichiro's highest OPS+ of his entire career is only 130. Henderson was at 130 or higher 13 times in his career.

Moreover, I'm not sure if I would say that 'power' is the same between these two players. It depends on what you mean. Ichiro's SLG is basically sustained through his AVG and hitting a bunch of singles. I don't think that most people associate hitting singles with power. Hell, Ichiro is lucky if he hits 40 XBH in a season, while Henderson was knocking in 20+ HR and 50-60+ XBH seasons. I'd look at isolated SLG instead as a measure of power, unless you think that getting an infield single is 'power'.

By the way, a 1.6 advantage in WAR in a single season is HUGE. That's not a small difference. Just the fact that you seem to think that this is a tiny difference just shows how little understanding you have of advanced statistics.

There simply isn't a measure of overall production that shows Ichiro as being more productive than Rickey Henderson. They all clearly show Henderson as being more productive.

 

[zinfamous]

lol tell that to Buckner!

Buckner didn't lose the game. The Red Sox had an inning and a half after Buckner to not lose that game. Buckner didn't even cost the tying run, right?

Just like Bartman (yes, the fan) didn't lose the game for the Cubs. Gonzalez--yes, a bonehead defensive play--had more to do wtih keeping that inning alive.

But it was Dusty's boneheaded decision to Prior in after 7 1/2 (yes, amazing) innings, during that collapse. He should have been yanked as soon as Gonzalez blundered. He clearly froze on that mound after that.

 

[zinfamous]

This is a valid argument, if you're comparing both of their first 10 American years. Rickey had a better first 10 years offensively.

Ricky's best years were from age 21-31 (1980-1990) and his decline started in 1991. He was only good for 10 years. Ichiro started his American baseball career 6 years older and was still just as good defensively. Saying that Rickey was an "elite outfielder" is a joke and flat out lie. Elite fielders don't post lifetime dWAR's of 7.1, Ichiro will more than double it by the time it's said and done (he's at 12.7 now). And PS: many elite outfielders are leadoff men. Brett Gardner, Carl Crawford, and Shane Victorino come to mind.

You say "20 points in OBP is huge". Well, how does that compare to 50 points in average? You're a smart guy, right? You can't tell me that 20 OBP > 50 points in average, even for a leadoff hitter. You can't tell me that someone who led both the NL and AL in batting average over 10 years minus Pujols (1 % point) is not phenomenal in this day and age. You can't tell me that intentional walks don't mean anything, or batting with RISP. The bottom line is Rickey was a 1 tool player for 14 years, a 2/3 tool for 10, and Ichiro has been a 4 tool his entire career. There is greatness in longevity and Rickey was just a flash in the pan. Ichiro, when it's said and done, is 4X200 seasons away from being the all time hit king (including Japan's hits). Will you still say Rickey is the greatest in 2015 when Ichiro is the international hit king?

I'd like to see Ichiro do that. I really would.

I'm just not putting anyone ahead of Rickey in that spot. Not yet. Ichiro would be the first, of course. I didn't realize that Ichiro's OBP was that huge--much bigger than Ricky's actually. I'm kinda stunned by that, b/c Rickey walked like a muthafuckah.

He also stole the shit out of some bases. 30? bah, try 200! yes the game has changed dramatically since then--and for the worse, if you ask me.

I do love Ichiro, he is truly one of the all-time greats. But Rickey is Rickey! He just wants to play!

oh wait, I misread....of course Rickey has higher OBP! wtf did I let you confuse me like that?!

 

[zinfamous]

Steroid users say the same thing. He knows he cannot be tested every day because of union protections. Therefore there is no downside to making the statement.

oh comethefuckon. you're a cubs fan, right? Even you have to admit the awesomeness that is the Pujols, right?

I lvoe the Cubs too--I'm not a native, or anything, so I don't really hate the cards--and I get that--but Pujols is no joke.

 

[KMFJD]

Brandon Inge?

 

[rcpratt]

Brandon Inge?

 

[SP33Demon]

This is a strange argument. You seem to discount Henderson's steal totals as being from an era where steals were more important and then just straight up compare these player's SLG when Henderson played in an era where hitting was not as prominent as it is today. Ichiro generally plays in an era where hitting numbers are higher.

Let's take a quick look at OPS+, which doesn't even give a bonus to Henderson and his superior OBP. Hell, Henderson's career OPS+ is 127. Ichiro's highest OPS+ of his entire career is only 130. Henderson was at 130 or higher 13 times in his career.

Moreover, I'm not sure if I would say that 'power' is the same between these two players. It depends on what you mean. Ichiro's SLG is basically sustained through his AVG and hitting a bunch of singles. I don't think that most people associate hitting singles with power. Hell, Ichiro is lucky if he hits 40 XBH in a season, while Henderson was knocking in 20+ HR and 50-60+ XBH seasons. I'd look at isolated SLG instead as a measure of power, unless you think that getting an infield single is 'power'.

By the way, a 1.6 advantage in WAR in a single season is HUGE. That's not a small difference. Just the fact that you seem to think that this is a tiny difference just shows how little understanding you have of advanced statistics.

There simply isn't a measure of overall production that shows Ichiro as being more productive than Rickey Henderson. They all clearly show Henderson as being more productive.

Steals were more important back then. Case in point:

Ichiro's SBO (Stolen Base Opportunities): 3505
Rickey's SBO: 2475

Rickey attempted 1072 steals/2475, yet Ichiro was only given the green light to steal 476 times /3505. Could he have stolen as many as Rickey? Probably, they have the same steal % rate and Ichiro was on base more times with a base open. Seattle's coach is the one who decides whether to send him or not. That's why I'm discounting Rickey's steal totals.

OPS+, of course Rickey will be higher. Rickey also had a higher ISO.

1.6 WAR is a lot now, back then not so much. Compared to the rest of the league, Rickey finished in the top 10: 8 times. Ichiro, 5. So no, it's not that big of a difference and Rickey didn't even finish in the top 10 twice, relative to his peers.

Henderson was more productive, but not as feared. Ichiro has over 5X the amount of intentional walks and I'm not sure why you choose to ignore this fact. He's almost always walked with RISP because of his insane batting average (.337) in such situations (1226 ABs). Rickey may have had the same amount of RBI's in his first 10 years, but it's a given that Ichiro should have more RBI's if he wasn't walked so many more times. In fact, Ichiro has almost 2.5X the amount of intentional walks that Rickey had in his entire career.

In summary, sabremetrically Rickey may have been better but Ichiro is more feared with men on base because he is even better in clutch situations. Rickey got worse (like most normal players under pressure), and Rickey played in a time of less bullpen specialists. I know who I would want with the game on the line at the plate and it's not Rickey.

 

[PimpJuice]

Hitting transcends walks, period.

Rickey had better OBP which means he got on base more, and with a whole lot more steals. Rickey taking a walk and stealing second is a whole lot better than Ichiro simply getting a hit.

Rickey was a beast, Ichiro is good but he'll never be the force that Rickey was. Rickey once had the most leadoff homers of all time. Think of all the times he gave his team a 1-0 lead with one at-bat.

Ichiro's hit total is overrated, he never walks so obviously hes going to have more hits due to more ABs.

 

[YoungGun21]

I'm glad to see that we decided Pujols was the best player and pretty much ended the conversation after page 2 to move on to an argument with a less obvious answer between Rickey and Ichiro.

 

[PimpJuice]

In summary, sabremetrically Rickey may have been better but Ichiro is more feared

Ichiro is not more feared, he is IBB'd because of the shitty hitters behind him in the Seattle lineup.

He is a good hitter, but you put a good hitter behind him and he'd get pitched to every time. You don't walk people who aren't home run threats unless theres a guaranteed out batting behind him.

 

[SP33Demon]

Rickey had better OBP which means he got on base more, and with a whole lot more steals. Rickey taking a walk and stealing second is a whole lot better than Ichiro simply getting a hit.

Rickey was a beast, Ichiro is good but he'll never be the force that Rickey was. Rickey once had the most leadoff homers of all time. Think of all the times he gave his team a 1-0 lead with one at-bat.

Ichiro's hit total is overrated, he never walks so obviously hes going to have more hits due to more ABs.

Rickey got more steals because Oakland made him run. Ichiro has had over 1000 more opportunities than Rickey and steals bases at the same rate, 81%. He could easily have more stolen bases if Seattle weren't so conservative.

Ichiro doesn't have to walk because he's so skilled with the bat. It's why he's feared more than Rickey ever was, and managers put him on base intentionally 5X more than Rickey (153 to 30) with runners in scoring position. If Rickey was such a "beast" with homeruns, then why wasn't he intentionally walked with runners on? Simply because he wasn't an offensive threat, that's why.

Defensively, Rickey was a flash in the pan. Good for 5 years, then shit. Ichiro has been good for twice as long and hasn't even lost a step at 5 years older than when Rickey played ball.

 

[SP33Demon]

Ichiro is not more feared, he is IBB'd because of the shitty hitters behind him in the Seattle lineup.

He is a good hitter, but you put a good hitter behind him and he'd get pitched to every time. You don't walk people who aren't home run threats unless theres a guaranteed out batting behind him.

Wrong, it's because he bats .337. Who would you rather face, a guy who gets a hit over 1/3 of the time or someone who gets one 1/4? It's common sense, and Rickey wasn't feared. Managers will pitch around Ichiro because they're not stupid.

 

[PimpJuice]

Rickey got more steals because Oakland made him run. Ichiro has had over 1000 more opportunities than Rickey and steals bases at the same rate, 81%. He could easily have more stolen bases if Seattle weren't so conservative.

I could say Rickey would have had more hits if he didn't walk as much. What "if" replies are invalid.

Ichiro doesn't have to walk because he's so skilled with the bat. It's why he's feared more than Rickey ever was, and managers put him on base intentionally 5X more than Rickey (153 to 30) with runners in scoring position. If Rickey was such a "beast" with homeruns, then why wasn't he intentionally walked with runners on? Simply because he wasn't an offensive threat, that's why.

Ichiro might be skilled with the bat, but he's less skilled than Rickey at getting on base which is the point here. Getting Intentionally walked has nothing to do with fear in this case. I've already explain it but I'll do it again. Look at the respective hitters behind each player, theres your clue. Ichiro is walked because nobody fears the hitters behind him. Not the case for Rickey.

why wasn't Rickey intentionally walked with runners on? Simply because he wasn't an offensive threat, that's why.

You stating Rickey was not an offensive threat makes you a fanboy.

 

[PimpJuice]

Wrong, it's because he bats .337. Who would you rather face, a guy who gets a hit over 1/3 of the time or someone who gets one 1/4? It's common sense, and Rickey wasn't feared. Managers will pitch around Ichiro because they're not stupid.

I'd rather face the guy who bats .337 who isnt a home run threat and a lesser threat to steal second than the guy who bats ~.300 who could possibly put a run on the board with one swing or put himself in scoring position by stealing second.

you lose again.

 

[SP33Demon]

I'd rather face the guy who bats .337 who isnt a home run threat and a lesser threat to steal second than the guy who bats ~.300 who could possibly put a run on the board with one swing or put himself in scoring position by stealing second.

you lose again.

It's with RISP, keep up. You can't steal a base if a person is on it. And if you'd pitch to a .337 hitter with RISP, then it makes no sense to put even more runners on base with the 2-3-4 hitters coming up.

Ichiro's highest intentional walk total was 27 in 2002 (the year after he won Rookie of the Year and MVP). He was walked to get to Bret Boone (114 OPS+), John Olerud (139 OPS+), and Edgar Martinez (140 OPS+) who mashed 61 HR's/268RBI's on a 93 win team. You obviously don't follow baseball if you think managers are intentionally walking him because they want to face hitters like that.

Either way, your logic makes no sense. If a manager is intentionally walking a player to get to a lesser player, it means they think that hitter is a threat and they aren't willing to risk a hit by pitching to him. That's called fear.

 

[AMDZen]

Troy Tulowitzki

Because defense is part of baseball too.

This.

In 10 games this year he has 12 RBI's and 5 HR's already.

So far in baseball, right now, its Tulo

 

[BrownShoes]

“Rickey did his own thing,” said Eckersley, who was Henderson’s teammate on the A’s. “I never saw anyone like him. It’s like Manny being Manny. Rickey was Rickey.”

Even though Henderson was more known for his speed and scoring runs and Ramirez is more known for his hitting and driving in runs, they have a lot in common. Mattingly said that Rickey used to disrupt opponents and Manny does that now, forcing them to plan strategy around one dominant player and to worry about might happen next.

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/the-similarities-between-rickey-and-manny/


Tony La Russa’s definition of dangerous is a baseball definition. Because he has been a manager for 30 seasons, his version of dangerous is someone who is looming in the ninth inning when a team is trying to protect a one-run lead. Dangerous, to La Russa, is a pseudonym for Rickey Henderson.
When La Russa, who now manages the St. Louis Cardinals and used to manage Henderson with the Oakland Athletics, reflects on the players he has studied for three decades, he believes Henderson is most terrifying of them all.
“For the period of time that I’ve been around, I think the most dangerous player is Rickey,” La Russa said. “In our time, Rickey worried you in more ways than anyone.”
So step aside, Barry Bonds. Sit down, Albert Pujols. They are dominating players, but La Russa stressed how Henderson’s combination of patience, speed, power and instincts made him “the guy that you felt was the most dangerous as far as taking that thing away from you.” That thing was the lead and the game.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/sports/baseball/14rickey.html?ref=rickeyhenderson


"He was, by far, the most dynamic leadoff hitter I've ever seen," former Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan said. "If you got 2-0 on him, you were fearful of throwing it down the middle because he could hit a home run. But if you threw ball three, he was going to walk, and then he's on second base. We had many, many long discussions on our pitching staff about how we could control this guy. He was irritating, infuriating and great."

"There was no one else like him," former pitcher Tom Candiotti said. "I hated Rickey. Really, I couldn't stand him. He never swung at my knuckleball, he never swung at my curveball. He never swung until he got two strikes. He had the strike zone the size of a coffee can. If you threw him a fastball, he would hit it for a home run. If you walked him, it was a triple. It was ridiculous. It was like, 'Good gosh, what are we going to do with this guy?'"

"But he didn't like day games," Candiotti said. "We had a day game in Oakland, and Rickey struck out. He walked all the way through the dugout talking to himself, he always talked to himself. He was saying, 'I don't know who's inside Rickey's body, but he better get out because the guy in there doesn't like day games, he only shows up on day games, so he better get out.' We were all laughing so hard. I wish I'd played my entire career with Rickey because he was just so entertaining. And he was just so good."

Henderson was always on base -- only Pete Rose, Barry Bonds and Ty Cobb reached base more times in baseball history -- and not just because he was a good hitter. Only Bonds drew more walks in baseball history.

Henderson was also one of the best defensive left fielders of his time: Few left fielders went to the line, and got the ball to second base, faster than Henderson. In 1981, he became the first left fielder in the live ball era (1920-on) to lead the majors in outfield putouts.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof09/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=3816914

 

[SP33Demon]

This.

In 10 games this year he has 12 RBI's and 5 HR's already.

So far in baseball, right now, its Tulo

He's off to a good start but still plays at Coors.

 

[AMDZen]

He's off to a good start but still plays at Coors.

They've played like 3 of their 10 games so far at home. And all of his HR's have come on the road.

Now whats your excuse?

The OP said "who's the best baseball player in the MLB right now?"

And I answered it correctly